Supply Chain Summer Internship At Air Liquide - Kumar Akashdeep, SIOM

It was 2nd of April and the first day of my internship at Air Liquide in the capital city of India, Delhi. It was an intense feeling of both anxiety and excitement. The programme started with Induction of 5 days. I was introduced to each and every possible employee including CEO, COO, CFO, HODs. There were a positivity and belongingness everywhere in the office. I was amazed by the work culture and promised myself to deliver the best out of me. This was the first time when Air Liquide visited our campus. I still remember when HR Director told us that we were the Ambassadors of our college. Now it was our responsibility to meet their expectations and to build a strong connection. After one week, I moved to Panipat, Haryana. As the most significant occupation is Agriculture, I can see greenery everywhere. The place actually represents real India. Now, the major challenge in front of me was accommodation. No one was willing to accommodate me for such a small span of two months. I somehow managed to get a single air-conditioned room. It took some days to adapt myself to the new environment. But I have to struggle with slow Internet Connectivity. As I was all alone, I kept myself busy with the project that has been allotted to me. I used to work on weekdays and Sundays to relax. The Sunday’s agenda was almost fixed – wake up at 11 am, order 2 medium sized non-veg Pizza and chicken wings/nuggets from Domino’s with a half-litre soft drink, watch 2 movies and call friends to exchange our SIP experience. The objective of my project was “to reduce Truck Turnaround Time (TAT) by doing Gap Analysis”. The existing process of dispatch- right from a vehicle entering in facility till it leaves the premise with invoices was studied on normal dispatch with a sample of 100 trucks randomly taken from ten days in the month of April 2018. The project involved three steps: 1. Data Source Identification – Understanding the existing framework 2. Data collection – Breaking the chain into small sub-processes and collecting data at an individual level. Collecting information from the ground level officers and data records. 3. Data analysis – Identifying root cause, Coming up with meaningful inferences & focusing on the objective of the subject. After doing Why-Why Analysis and root cause analysis, I identified the non-value activities. With proposed solutions, on an average 1hour 13mins can be saved in each truck. And there can be 77% increase in current dispatch system. One of the proposed solutions have already been implemented and resulted in a net saving of 40mins in each truck. I have almost completed my project till sixth month of my tenure. Then I was assigned with two more projects. First was to modify Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of all designated posts in Supply Chain Department. Second was to fill the truck up to maximum capacity. The trucks were not being filled as per capacity. I made a model which solves the issue. Apart from work, I explored Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. I did Bungee Jumping from India’s highest jumping point i.e. 83m. This is one of the sports which I was thriving for a long time and was in top priority of my Bucket List. I also did River Rafting. The trip was exciting and an amazing experience. Fortunately, I got the opportunity to travel with COO from Panipat to Delhi. At first I was bit nervous, but he was so humble and generous that I overcome very soon. It was a lovely experience where we exchanged our ideas, thoughts and challenges being faced. I enjoyed the trip a lot. Next day was the D-Day, where I have to present my project in front of Top Management. I delivered my findings and tried to answer the queries related to the project. Next day was my last working day in Air Liquide. In the morning, I was busy in filling the forms as per college’s requirement. Afternoon I had a lunch with COO, CFO, CEO, HODs, HR team, Supply Chain team. This was something which I have never expected. The feeling was something different; something special. While leaving, Director of HR called me and told: “You have been selected to attend Air Liquide Summer School-2018 in Paris, France”. The purpose of the program is to discover the activities of Air Liquide and develop a better understanding of the organisation. I was so amazed that I couldn’t utter a single word in front of her. I couldn’t believe that all the good things are actually happening with me and that too on a same day. Also I bagged Pre Placement Offer from Air Liquide. I would like to thank SIOM for giving an opportunity to be associated with Air Liquide. My two months of internship was an extremely enjoyable one and really boosted my morale!