3. Expectations
• Apply classroom concepts to the corporate world
• Gain an insider’s view on my chosen career path
• Understand the workflow and functioning in the consumer product
industry
• Observe how to effectively engage with virtual teams across
different time zones
• Effectively communicate over emails
• A smooth transition from classroom to cubicle
• Decide if my academic program is in line with my career objectives
3
4. Professionaland Personal Takeaways
• Never assume anything. When in doubt, ask
• Academic concepts – Utopian
• The art of asking correct questions
• Change is the only constant
• Building cross functional relationships
• Various forecasting rationales
• Analyzing data and then turning it into actionable plans
• Wearing multiple hats; defeating silos
• State your requirements clearly. Listen Carefully
• Put efforts in making organization process-heavy and people-light
• Reality check – This will enhance my learning experience at USC
4
5. 5
My Contributions – Individual Project
New Product Launch Tracker
Objective:
• Application of lean process improvement
techniques to S&OP planning deck
• Error proofing human errors and
improving “Attention to Detail”
Kaizen:
S (Sorting)
• Distinguish needed and unneeded items. Eliminate the latter
• Data segregation – Region, country and launch quarter ERROR PROOF
6. 6
S (Straighten):
• Preserve in correct format – Retrieval and usage
• Segregated data available in the S&OP format
7. 7
Shine:
• Keep model neat and clean
• Since, my project is not a physical model. I did not have to apply this ‘S’
Standardize:
• The functioning of a project/model should be captured in a procedure
Sustain and Improve:
• Maintain established procedures, identify gaps and continuously improve
8. 8
Error Proofing:
• If it can be done automatically, it should be done automatically
• Redundant activities make humans operate on autopilot because of which errors
happen and attention to detail is compromised
• Time constraint- Could not eliminate the error, reduced it
9. 9
Features:
• Segregates SKUs region wise, country wise and launch quarter wise
• Flags items that have migrated from the new product launch data into the sales
data
• Highlights changes in the date
• Provides cross checking reference for the status of traffic lights
Future Scope:
• Elimination of manual entry of traffic lights
• Incorporating Promotion calendar by taking this input from the Marketing team
