Role

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During my placement, I worked in the Procurement section of the industry, which is classified under Supply Chain. Specifically I worked as Procurement Assistant for Closures and Assemblies for Europe and was responsible for managing roughly 120 contracts (with an approximate worth of 120 million pounds).

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Throughout the year, I carried out a variety of work while also maintaining several key databases and supplier relations. My main responsibilities included:
 

• Ensuring suppliers remain compliant with Unilever standards, for both Quality and Responsible Sourcing

• Contract creation and ensuring suppliers agree and sign contracts. This involved negotiations, tender processes and detailed cost and capacity calculations

• Supporting colleagues with technical and cost related questions

• Working with team members on closure tenders, collecting information, analysing tender results and choosing the appropriate supplier to award business to

• Using cost models to analyse our portfolio for saving opportunities

• Supporting colleagues with specific tasks including collecting supplier information, audit information, closure savings (information/analysis) and engineering drawings

• Train my replacement with the skills/information necessary to continue the role as procurement assistant

• Keep colleagues informed on my progress throughout the year

• Working with suppliers to overcome challenges with capacity, machines, quality and costs

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Training & Achievements

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Throughout my placement, I worked to develop myself and put my abilities to the test. Some highlights of this include:

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Mold Management Course

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I organised and attended a Mold Management Course during January 2016 which significantly developed my understanding of the injection molding process and course management. The course invited over 20 delegates from around the world and convened in the UK. The course allowed me to gain experience from industry professionals including visits from mold makers, hot runner manufacturers and polymer/innovation training mentors.

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Myself and a colleague, were selected to organise and attend the course; supporting lecturers when needed. Collectively we organised hotel bookings, food arrangements, taxis, lecture notes, equipment needed for the course and daytime/evening events for the course (which included karaoke, meals and other entertainment). Once the course was finished, we organised payments for the hotel and created a handover pack for future students organising the course.

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During the course, I was taught through lectures, practical exercises and a final test to give me an indication of my progress. Some of the topics included mold design, Unilever management processes, mold manufacturing and the materials used, the injection molding process and hot runner designs.

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The practical exercises involved evaluating an injection molding machine and deciding if it reached Unilever standards. The second practical exercise was a role play meeting between Unilever and mold, hot runner and component suppliers. We were organised into groups of four/five and assigned a team. Each team was given a set of objectives and time to prepare before the meeting. I was assigned to the hot runner supplier team which secured the hypothetical business from Unilever.

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This was a great opportunity to develop my organisational and team skills and further develop my knowledge of the injection molding process. During the final test I achieved a score of 96%, answering only one question incorrectly.

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Innovation Open Day with a Global Supplier

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This 2 day meeting involved brainstorming product concepts and evaluating current ideas for packaging. The meeting was done between Unilever design, research and procurement teams and a global packaging supplier. I gained an insight into the design of packaging components and concept creation.

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Commercial and Financial Skills

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Before beginning my placement, I had little ‘professional’ financial skills/experience. Now, I have a good understanding of financial terminology, the systems which drive the procurement section of a business and had experiences with invoicing and negotiation. I also have experience with finance related systems and models.

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Mentoring and Managing

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At the end of my placement I was responsible for training my replacement with the skills necessary to complete the role. I greatly enjoyed the experience of mentoring/managing and I successfully trained the student with the skills needed.

 

Placement Dissertation and Presentation

 

For my final placement grade I was expected to complete a dissertation of 7000 words. I wrote my dissertation on the Unilever cost model which was used to model the injection molding process. The aim of the project was to to help train future employees about the model and to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of the model in negotiations. An extract from the report is below:

'It is intended that this report will determine the overall effectiveness of the Unilever Cost Model for injected molded components, as a tool for providing evidence in negotiations and estimating developing component costs. The accuracy of the model will be tested using examples provided by the Closures and Assemblies Team for Europe and the results will be analysed. This report will propose potential developments for the model and inform future Unilever employees how to operate the model to the greatest effect. This be achieved by giving an overview of the injection molding process, the Unilever cost model functions/layout and an analysis of how the model compares to reality.'

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As part of my placement I was also required to present a topic of interest which I had completed on my placement to my tutor. I chose to complete my presentation on the Mold Management Course I attended.

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Final Result

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I received my final marks for my placement year from my tutor Dr Joanna Szmelter.

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Dissertation:                                              1st

Presentation:                                             1st

Personal Development Report:               1st

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Overall:                                                       1st

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Feedback: 'Very good report- well written technical information, showing in depth understanding of the subject matter which is very broad and multidisciplinary. Good writing style'

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Following my placement I was asked by my line manager to work for an extra two months in the team and given the second highest feedback rating. I am pleased with my results and I hope I can continue this standard throughout my final year.

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