My summer internship in Dubai with Sharaf DG, leading electronics retailer in UAE, was nothing short of a melting pot of different cultures. During a typical work day, one can hear from Arabic to Hindi to Filipino to English languages. After working with a multinational giant such as Deloitte Consulting, Sharaf DG provided me the right exposure to learn about the novices of retail industry in an international market.
I worked with the supply chain team in the corporate office, which was responsible for the replenishment of more than 25,000 SKUs across more than 23 stores. The team used to interact with the suppliers and the retail store not only to improve the service level but also to maintain the right inventory levels for optimum shelf space utilization. My project was to reduce the redundant inter store transfer of goods to decrease the increasing logistics costs. The project gave me an opportunity to apply the supply chain concepts in the real world retail domain. Also, my previous work experience as a SAP consultant helped in making relevant suggestions to improvise the current ERP system.
The international summer internship was also exciting for developing awareness of global and multicultural issues related to business decisions. In short, I would say that the learning at Sharaf DG during the hottest month of Dubai really lived up to the expectations.
By: Shikhi Jain, IIM Udaipur PGPX Batch 2014-2015
