It was 8:55 AM when I entered the building. I made my way towards the security check and took the elevator. I pressed the button for the 20th floor. I was greeted warmly at the reception and I was told to go to the auditorium, where I would join the other interns. The building (Two Horizon Center) was a pretty impressive one. The interior had a classy white ambience. This office was the headquarter of South West Asia
I reached the auditorium and introduced myself to the other interns. There were 18 interns in all, and they were from IIM B, C, L and XLRI. I was the only intern from IIM Indore. Our day was spent watching presentations. This was
the best time to intern at Samsung as
Samsung launched it's best products ever(The S8 series of phones and the QLED TV) during this period.
At the end of the day, I was told that I had to report to my mentor in the "Gurgaon Branch " office from the next day. I would be joining the
Marketing Department of the
Consumer Electronics Division. The division made LED TV, Refrigerator, Washing Machine, Microwave and AC. The next morning, I went to meet my mentor and he allotted the project. I was asked to study and analyse consumer behaviour across Samsung Exclusive Stores and multi-brand retail stores. My Project mentor was the DGM and the project guide was the head 0f Gurgaon branch. My immediate seniors were area sales managers (ASM). Once the project was allotted, I sat with my seniors and planned the project. Everyone was very helpful and supportive. I had to cover 11 outlets across Gurgaon and Faridabad. I set a minimum cap of 100 respondents for my analysis.
The office had 2 relaxing rooms, equipped with coffee machines, water coolers, fridges, microwaves and a few tables. The office also had a pretty good dining area where lunch was served. The lunch was delicious and consisted of a tetrapak drink (Juice, Chaach or Lassi), 3 main course items, 2 breads (roti and paratha/rumali roti), 2 salad items, 1 snack item (kachori, tikki, samosa or golgappa, Padad and sweet dish).
My schedule would look something like this:
8:30AM-12PM: Sitting in the office, meeting my mentor, reviewing the data collected so far, planning for that day's market visit.
12PM-1PM: Lunch
1PM onwads: Field visit
In the first week, the Area Sales Managers took us to the important markets and introduced us to the people there. After that, we started conducting our independent visits.
We were given freedom and flexibility to proceed at our own pace. During the course of the internship, I got the opportunity to attend product launch meetings. I could see all the marketing concepts learnt in the classroom in action. From STP to delivering the product pitch, everything was immaculate. The entire Samsung team consists of smart, hardworking and passionate people. It is, therefore, no surprise that Samsung is the leader in the consumer electronics division. Dynamism is at the core of Samsung. Changes and innovation take place continuously. No wonder Samsung holds the Second largest number of patents in the world.
On 9th of May 2017, I had my mid-review. My progress was reviewed by the project guide and the project mentor. They suggested a few minor changes here and there, but on the whole, they seemed satisfied. After the mid-review, I got a little breathing room. When the mid review got over, the realization sank in that 5 weeks were already over, and I had only 3 more weeks of internship left.
Now, I am in the 7th week of my internship. My final review is approaching soon. I better start giving finishing touches to my final report. It has been a remarkable experience till now. Wish me all the best for the final review :)
Catch you later.