Internship Journey:
Enthused about learning and positive about experiencing the ups and downs of the workplace scene I was as eager as anybody to get on with it the first day at induction. The inspirational environment was created the very first day by the function and business heads when they explained about the segments and operations, after which we were given our projects along with an encouraging message by the CEO himself.
I was assigned a live project. PPG AP’s value proposition to its customers being “Your one stop solution for all paint shop needs”, my project entailed a responsibility to develop and evaluate business opportunities for adjacencies at Automotive OEM customers. Adjacencies include all those materials used directly or indirectly along with paint application. These include Abrasives (sandpaper), Polishing Compound, Polishing pads, masking solutions, Booth Coatings and Oven cleaners etc. This B2B segment project required me to conduct an exploratory research for adjacencies business at the current Automotive OEM customers. Primarily, my deliverables included the following:
1. Identification of key products from our range
2. Develop a package for the OEM customer
To accomplish the deliverables, I got the opportunity to visit customer’s paint shops, where my assessment of the current practices, discussions with the end users and the purchasing manager at different customers about buying process, usage, problems with current suppliers etc. led to a major portion of my inferences. I am grateful as I was fully supported by PPG AP team present at customer sites.
The reviews and rectifications, by the mentors and business head, after every site visit, exponentially improved the findings and my knowledge on the matter. After the collection of the required data, I had to devise a business plan and go to market strategy specific to each customer.
The gain in terms of experience and knowledge is inexplicable. I could say that the discussions with the seniors and the multitude of their experience both helped and motivated me. The time spent with the purchase managers, end users and PPG AP team at the customer site was an equally good experience. The dos and don’ts of the B2B segment, customer’s needs and ideologies etc. were the things which now reside in my mind as more than a literary concept but a practical one.
The support of the company for the provisioning of the required things helped catapult the labour put into achieving the goal.
It goes without saying that great support and peer to peer learning’s from co-interns were among the best parts of this journey.
In all, I would put my experience in a word to explain everything, the challenges, the brainstorming, the implementation of preconceived ideas, and lastly, adoption of new ones, as, ‘exquisite’.
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About the Author:
Somil Maheshwari
IMT Ghaziabad
PGDM 2016-18
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