'You Cannot Achieve Anything Without The Support Of The Team' - Rajul Verma's Internship At CK Birla Group

Week 1: I spent my week one understanding who were the stakeholders of the project. Moreover, I called my seniors, people who have interned at AVTEC in the past to know about the challenges that they faced.

Week 2: The next week was spent modelling the problem based on the data available. I met with the supply chain team, marketing, finance and production team to understand their pain points. I even spent a 22-hour marathon shift in the plant to understand the complete operation of creating a gear and how it is transported through the current logistics system.

Week 3: Then once I was able to pinpoint the problems I met with industry experts to get their opinion. I spent a lot of time going through the internet about the problem that I was facing and how other players in the industry have tackled that issue.

Week 4-6: For the next two week I started building prototypes of the various solutions. I had called in a vendor who has worked in the domain of carton creation to create a nex box which I thought would be ideal for our requirement. The box was built within a week, and we then took trials on the same.

Week 7: The penultimate week was spend on implementing the change within the system and explaining to the people on the shop floor as to how the changes would be beneficial for them and the company.

Week 8: In my last week I presented my design ideas to the senior management team of Avtec and CK Birla Groups. I was given a target to reduce cost by 15%, but with the help of my efficient team, I was able to achieve a cost reduction of 26%.

Key Learnings:

- The team building exercise is essential. You can not achieve anything without the support of your team.

- I have developed many business plans in my college, but this was the first time where I was even executing the business strategy which was a great learning experience for me.

- I got a flavour of how work at conglomerates happens. How you learn from the wisdom of the group companies. For example, for the purchase of one software, I consulted some of the senior members at Orient Cements to understand about the process of procurement of software.

Advise to juniors:

It is an excellent company if you want to create a profile in the field of general management. You would get enough exposure which would develop your personality.