The University of Edinburgh Careers Service
A Week in the Life of Consumer Goods Industry
Supply Chain Graduate Trainee
I am a graduate trainee on the Supply Chain Unilever Companies Management
Development Scheme, currently working in the Pot Noodle factory Planning
Office.
Monday
Monday mornings in the planning office are always manic. At 8:30 I start the
week by reviewing the weekend’s production output, last weeks sales, and the
available stocks in our Manchester warehouse. My boss phones me to get an
update at 8:40 every morning so I have to be awake! Unfortunately the lines have
run badly over the weekend; we are behind plan and the Mayor is coming at
10am to put the last promotion vouchers into the Beef and Tomato flavour Pot
Noodle. I phone the shift manager to ask him to change line 1 over to the Beef
and Tomato product immediately; he is not very happy, and takes a bit of
persuasion. The plan for this week now needs to be reworked and reissued.
I have a constant flow of people in and out of the office; the Shift Manager with
manning issues, the Hygiene Manager asking about future changes to line
cleaning routines etc.
At 10am I chair the daily production meeting with the Maintenance, Production,
Hygiene, HR and Engineering Representatives. We review the stock levels, and
sales and production performance. I also pass on today’s plan changes, and
ensure that everybody understands what’s happening this week.
The morning is then spent updating our Key Performance Indicators. Spend the
afternoon doing some pre-work for a Supply Chain conference next week in
Belgium, looking at intra and inter-company communication barriers.
Tuesday
The Planning Manager from the Poland Pot Noodle factory visits the site. I spend
the day with him and my Line Manager working on populating a Stock Model for
the Polish plant, so that it calculates optimum production run lengths and
warehouse stock levels for each product. The UK Pot Noodle site has been the
first Unilever factory in Europe to start to implement the model, and so the aim of
the day is for us to pass on our learning.
In the evening my Line Manager and I take the Polish Planning Manager out to a
local restaurant to sample traditional Welsh food and ales.
Wednesday
On Wednesdays I normally complete the draft production line schedule for two
weeks time. At 9am, I review the long-term plan to establish what the production
requirements are. At the 10am meeting I ask everyone for downtime requests
November 2004
The University of Edinburgh Careers Service
and the day is taken up completing the schedule, using the Manugistics and SAP
systems. Inevitably I have not been able to accommodate every department’s
demands.
At 4pm I receive a phone call from a Manchester warehouse manager. I have
been working with him to improve communication between the factory,
warehouse and hauler, particularly to ensure the successful implementation of
the Stock Model. We discuss some of the actions we are trying to put into place
and the experimental work he has been doing looking at pallet damage in
transport.
Thursday
Review the production performance, stocks and sales as normal at 8:30. At the
10am morning meeting the quality department tells me they have blocked 14
pallets of production due to pot weight issues, and want to reweigh them on the
line. Since the pallets are at our Manchester warehouse I decide to change next
weeks line schedule to remake the product, which is the earliest time the
materials planner can get the raw materials required to the factory. At 11:30 I
review the Polish factory long term plan and issue the plan for the next few
weeks by email at 12:30, just in time for lunch!
I spend the afternoon working with two other colleagues on a project we are
doing to improve the line efficiency of the Fun Pot and Mini Pot production line.
We investigate the possibility that a static build up on the lidding machine suction
pads is preventing the lids being released onto the pots at the right time.
Friday
I receive an email from the UK Demand Manager wanting to know when we can
resume Mini Pot production. I consult the Material Planner to establish when we
can get the raw materials in, and look at the available factory capacity.
At 12am I attend the Business Implementation Team video conference meeting
with representatives from marketing, sales, accounts, purchasing, production,
demand and factory planning. We discuss on-going Pot Noodle projects, and
future promotions.
At 2pm I update my log book for my Chartership with the Institute of Mechanical
Engineers. The week ends at 4pm.
Career Progression
I graduated in June 2003, having studied Manufacturing Engineering with
Management at the University in Bath, with an industrial year spent in France in
the Consumer Goods Industry. In September 2003 I joined Unilever as a
graduate trainee. My first secondment was spent at Head Office working on a
variety of European harmonisation projects, to ensure that Unilever UK can
successfully import products from other Unilever Europe factories.
November 2004