My 2 months stint with
Bajaj Auto Ltd as a management intern was truly enriching and is one of the most inspiring corporate projects I have worked on.
Getting an internship with an automobile giant like
Bajaj Auto Ltd was a dream come true and my preparation involved keeping myself abreast of the current affairs across industries, being clear with the sales and marketing fundamentals and also a major contribution goes to my 3-year prior corporate work experience in Sales and Business Development.
The entire internship program -
Octane 2018 was very well structured with an integration of engaging induction program, challenging live business problems as projects and continuous mentorship from the esteemed leadership team at
Bajaj Auto Ltd.
Project Experience:
My project was in Commercial Vehicle (CV) Business Unit where the final deliverable was to devise an action plan to increase the sales and market share across cargo locations in Kerala which involved operating with 6 dealers in tandem which accounted for about 75% of Kerala geographically.
The project involved working closely with the different stakeholders across the dealers - Owners, General Managers, the field sales executives and the end customers. The most stimulating part was ideation of new BTL activations and getting the responsibility and ownership to execute them.
One of the incidents that I will reminisce for a long time is a BTL activity which was done at 3 AM in the morning which helped me with unique end customer insights and thereby contributed to achieving my deliverable.
Being a Maharashtrian, and a first time visitor in Kerala, communication with the end customers and a few stakeholders was a bit of a challenge initially but as the time passed by and the project came to completion, I could learn a bit of Malayalam :)
With regards to the final deliverable, I was successfully able to executive 2 pilots at 2 separate dealers which helped to form a structured framework which eventually helped to achieve the final deliverable and offer a sustainable solution.
The Final Offer:
To sum up, the two months with
Bajaj Auto Ltd was an exhilarating experience with lots of challenges & impediments and with unparalleled guidance & support from my mentor and the leadership I was able to successfully surmount the hurdles to some extent which eventually set the path and helped me bag a Pre-Placement Offer ( PPO) - which was an icing on the cake.
Key Learnings:
- Understanding the nuances of the commercial vehicle industry including the small and big factors that determine the performance of the same.
- Breaking down a given problem statement into tangible deliverables and devising feasible models and methodologies to materialise the same.
- Experiencing the life of a sales executive, Area sales manager and Regional Manager – the hundreds of activities they perform apart from the general myth about salespeople.
Advice to Juniors :
1. Always keep your options open – Do not go with pre-conceived notions or too many expectations. Take the internship as it comes. Never judge a project by its “project statement”. There’s a lot you can do in each project if you apply yourself diligently.
2. Don’t just have a horse’s view where you just think related to your project – Get a holistic view of the organisation you work for. Gel along with people; try to learn about the organisation as a whole and work done by different departments.
3. Try to make the most out of the two months because if you are honest and dedicated towards your work, your presence will be duly acknowledged and the sheer aura that you build through your presence will be long-lasting.
The most important thing – Take the project as a challenge. Be inquisitive and eager to learn. Everyone will be busy with their work. But be persistent and use interpersonal skills to get things done smoothly. Enjoy the experience. This time won’t ever come again. :)
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