Where Strategy Meets Sleeves-Rolled-Up
Some roles come with a clear job description. Others evolve into something considerably bigger than what was originally on paper. My current position at IP Duursma started as Marketing Communications Employee, and that is still the title. But the reality of what the role requires has grown steadily into something that looks much more like full marketing management; strategy, planning, budget, supplier relationships, events, internal communications, and everything in between.
IP Duursma is a family run, technical wholesale company with over 700,000 products, a turnover of 100 million euros, and partnerships with major A-brand suppliers including 3M, SKF, Festo, Loctite, and ContiTech. It is a complex, fast-moving environment where marketing has to serve multiple audiences simultaneously; customers, suppliers, and internal teams alike.
Taking the wheel on strategy and planning
One of the first things I brought to this role was structure. I developed a full marketing strategy and annual planning framework that gave the department direction, clarity, and a way to prioritise. That meant setting out which supplier partnerships deserved which level of activation, how campaigns would be planned and budgeted across the year, and how marketing and sales could work from the same page rather than in parallel silos.
Managing the marketing budget and supplier bonus funds is part of that responsibility; making sure every euro is allocated where it delivers the most impact, and that supplier co-investments are used strategically rather than reactively.
Supplier relationships as a marketing discipline
At IP Duursma, the relationship with A-brand suppliers is not just commercial; it is a marketing partnership. I manage those relationships directly, coordinating campaigns, activations, and joint communications with brands that have their own high standards and expectations. Getting that right, requires both creative skill and stakeholder management; understanding what a supplier needs to achieve and translating that into something that genuinely works for our customers and our brand.
Events that mean something
Two events stand out from my work at IP Duursma. The first is ONE, a multi-day partner event bringing together suppliers, customers, and internal teams for an experience that goes beyond a standard trade gathering. Co-organising an event at that scale, with that many stakeholders and moving parts, requires the same philosophy I have always applied: one story, told consistently, with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
The second is a knowledge event focused on CMR substances and safe working practices, developed in close collaboration with A-brand suppliers and specialist partners. This was not a commercial event; it was a genuinely useful one. Getting the content right, finding the right partners, and making sure the right people were in the room required a different kind of thinking, and a different kind of preparation.
Building communication from the inside out
One of the things I am also proud of at IP Duursma is the work I have done on internal communication. I set up a structured intranet environment on SharePoint that gives colleagues a central place for information, updates, and shared resources. It sounds unglamorous, but internal communication is the foundation everything else is built on. A team that is well-informed and aligned produces better work, faster, and with more confidence. External customer communication sits alongside that; managing the full mix of touchpoints that keep clients informed, engaged, and connected to what IP Duursma has to offer.
What this role confirms
IP Duursma has confirmed what I already suspected after Kompan: I operate at my best when the scope is broad, the responsibility is real, and there is no ceiling on what good work can look like. Strategy and execution, creative and analytical, internal and external; I do not see these as separate disciplines. They are all part of the same job, and I do all of them.
That is exactly what GvN Concepts is built on.
