Not many are bestowed with the opportunity of interning with firms based out of a placid hill-town coupled with an intriguing live strategy project and a handsome stipend. I was fortunate enough on this.
Come summer, there is no rest for the weary MBAs. It was 21st of May,2018 when I started this idyllic journey of interning with an American direct marketing multinational firm, TupperwareBrands Corporation in one of its manufacturing facility based out of Dehradun, India. From its inspiring history of origin since the Second World War to party based sales business model,from contemporary aesthetic design to its noble concept of crafting an appealing career for women sales force, from producing best quality premium products to its creative supply chain strategies, the company never failed to amaze me.
As a management intern, I was expected to deliver on a warehousing and distribution strategy project titled “Warehouse consolidation from 4 to 3, keeping the delivery lead time constant of 72 hours pan-India except North-East which is 120 hours”. The right mix of theory and practice enabled me to understand in depth the Indian Warehousing and Logistics scenario, to identify loopholes in the current business model and distribution network, to develop a linear programming optimization model aimed at identifying 3 optimal W/H location based on total minimum cost and to finally evaluate various possible options thereby suggesting the best distribution network which highlighted a savings of 7% from the existing model.
Apart from work-front, I had an enjoyable time amidst all serenity Dehradun had to offer. There were a few exotic activities and locations that caught my interest, such as the Indian Military Academy, the Forest Research Institute, some large acres of litchi gardens and craftwork fairs at Himalayan foothills by the local Garhwalis.
Overall, the internship was a transformational experience. A live project of this magnitude helped me to hone myself as a better professional, to learn how to deal with uncertainties, to meet deadlines amidst all constraints and of course to appreciate the human element of business. And not to forget the sweet ushering of money at the end of two months, my first salary as a management professional, something to indeed cherish and a cause to celebrate. With a content heart and lots of memories, I finally returned back to my station.