What makes working at Tamro and BENU special for you?

I am proud to work for one of the largest international pharmaceutical companies in the region. The company encourages learning, professional development, and innovation. Its values—competence, innovation, and friendliness—are very close to my own.

I am responsible for the Prescription Medicines category. This is the largest category in both Tamro’s and BENU’s assortment and sales. I work closely with colleagues within my department as well as with many other teams across the organization. Every decision requires careful listening, precision, continuous improvement, and experience. Our collaboration, knowledge sharing, openness, and trust in one another enable us to achieve more together than any of us could achieve individually. I am motivated by results and by the knowledge that my work is meaningful, as I can directly contribute to people’s health and quality of life.

What would you definitely tell someone about working at our company?

It is a dynamic job with no routine. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities to learn something new. In my role, I can combine pharmaceutical expertise with management skills. Before joining Tamro, I worked in a pharmacy for 12 years. This experience allows me to make decisions based not only on spreadsheets but also on practical knowledge and understanding of everyday pharmacy operations.

What inspires you about being part of the “heartbeat” of the healthcare system?

Although it may not be visible from the pharmacy counter and I do not work directly in a pharmacy, I still contribute to customers’ health and well-being. I believe that a well-structured assortment and effective communication between different departments help ensure a smooth supply chain and enable us to offer the best prices or suitable alternatives to every BENU pharmacy customer.

What is your most memorable moment working at our company?

The most memorable moment was when my colleagues congratulated me on my 15-year work anniversary. It was both a surprise and a joy because I still find my work interesting and continue to discover new things. Throughout all these years, I have been surrounded by wonderful colleagues. It felt like a professional life milestone—no less significant than a personal anniversary.

How has your career developed within our company?

I joined Tamro in 2005, initially working in the Marketing Department. At that time, I was responsible for pricing and communication with pharmacies. In 2007, I moved to the Commercial Department, where I managed Pricing as well as Medicines and Reimbursable Medical Products. Currently, I am responsible exclusively for prescription medicines. Over the years, the understanding of assortment and category management has evolved significantly, and the possibilities offered by analytical tools and technologies have expanded considerably as well.

Tamro – a wide field of work with plenty of opportunities

I first became aware of Tamro at the beginning of 2021, when I received an invitation to apply for the position of Head of Sales. I had to Google what exactly Tamro was (no, it is not Tamrex) and what the company actually did. I knew nothing about the Medicinal Products Act either. Today, it feels a little strange to think that what now seems so familiar and understandable felt like Greek language to me back then. I thought I knew quite a lot about wholesale and logistics, but not much about the nuances of the pharmaceutical world.

I joined Tamro in April 2021 as Head of Sales, and I still hold that position today. During onboarding, one colleague told me that their adjustment and learning period had lasted several years (they had also come from outside the pharmaceutical sector), and today I completely agree with them. I have learned an enormous amount about the pharmaceutical market and the sale of pharmacy products, and there is just as much still left to discover.

Compared to my previous workplaces, we have much more personal interaction with a much larger number of customers, because nearly every pharmacy and pharmacist in Estonia is our client. We also have the opportunity to see how medicines reach hospitals across the country. Quite often, we know that a particular medicine is needed immediately. Without knowing the patient's name, age, or medical history, we still play a small part in ensuring that their life continues or that their health improves. As one of my wonderful colleagues cheerfully remarked while the three of us were arranging the urgent delivery of a life-saving medicine to Latvia during a hot summer weekend: "We're not selling flags and rags here – we're saving lives, and sometimes that means coming in on the weekend."

What I particularly like about Tamro is that there are supportive colleagues who help even those without prior industry knowledge to settle in and continuously develop themselves. At the same time, there are many opportunities to shape work and processes in your own way, as well as to improve and enhance existing practices. On the one hand, Tamro is a well-established company with over thirty years of history. On the other hand, there is constant development, improvement, and innovation taking place. This applies to IT as well (by now, I have become quite skilled at writing development requirements and have even gained experience testing new IT developments), but also to leadership culture and everyday ways of working.

One aspect I have especially appreciated is that no one has ever said, "No, that's not worth trying" or "That's a silly idea." I have been given considerable freedom to come up with new solutions and opportunities myself (naturally, within the limits of the law, as the Medicinal Products Act provides us with a rather precise framework). I can bring together both my own team and colleagues from other teams to think collaboratively about better ways to address today's challenges. This kind of freedom and opportunity is highly motivating for me. It is particularly rewarding when an idea is actually implemented and becomes part of everyday work.

To avoid creating the impressionthat everything is perfect, the pace of work at Tamro is certainly very fast. Pharmaceutical sales involve many regulations, and at times these can feel restrictive. Competition is intense. As part of a large corporation, some decisions can take a long time. Nevertheless, I have many opportunities to contribute to automation initiatives and to making processes smoother and more efficient – you just have to get things done.

My excellent team consists of 14 wonderful people who work with customers, pharmaceutical tenders, and sales on a daily basis. We have been highly successful in growing sales and winning tenders, helped open several new pharmacies, and built a customer portal that has received praise from our clients.

We also sell our products through Estonian retail chains and various online stores. In addition to supplying pharmacies and hospitals, we provide products to nursing homes, clinics, and even large corporations. Thousands of employees across Estonia have received food supplements purchased from us as gifts from their employers.

Two of our summer assistants and interns from recent years now work at Tamro in permanent positions. Within our Sales Department, we have two colleagues who have been with Tamro for more than 25 years and are highly valued by colleagues, customers, and business partners alike. Three members of my team have completed, or are currently participating in, Tamro Baltic and Phoenix development programmes. 

Over the past five years, we have achieved a great deal, and I am certain that over the next five years we will accomplish even more. At Tamro, things never get boring.