Indirect Buying Placement Student Review

Each day is very different. A consistent task involves reviewing Purchase Requisitions from internal stakeholders. Another key task involves looking at spend analysis. The day is usually filled with a few meetings and project work fits in around this. Any requests that come in from internal stakeholders or suppliers are of high importance and should be handled promptly on the day.

I have learnt how to run spend reports using out internal tools and also improved my knowledge of how to analyse and create meaningful visuals from this data. I have improved my confidence, especially when having project meetings and discussing actions taken/still required. I have learned about the processes embedded within a large organisation and the interaction with suppliers.

When being involved in projects, I have been given autonomy to complete my assigned tasks in the way that I see best fit, I can then feed this back to the team and gain support on next actions. Within projects I have taken on meaningful tasks and not just admin style tasks. I have been exposed to different parts of the business and worked with multiple teams. I have also been trusted to train new team members.

Lots of support from my line manager - weekly 1:1 meetings to raise any concerns but always available to help through Teams. Wider team very helpful and happy to support with any questions I had. Attitude of people towards supporting me has always been positive - people are more than happy to have a quick call to cover any questions and would be okay with going through things a couple of times with me.

Culture is very open and collaborative within the team. Great work-life balance and flexibility with time and place of work as long as tasks are completed. Charity initiatives - 4 hours of charity activity completed each year, which has included an organised team event at a local charity. Company-wide events include Town Halls and listening sessions. Diversity initiatives evident in hiring and Cummins being named top Diverse Employer2021.

Thoroughly enjoyed my placement year and would love to work for companies like Cummins throughout my career. The year has exceeded my expectations, especially in relation to the amount of responsibility I have been given. My opinion has always been valued and I enjoy working somewhere with such a good work-life balance.

Yes

The interview process is very fair. Prepping for the interview is helpful and looking at competency style questions would be beneficial. I wish I would have known how welcoming people would be - the best piece of advice is to be yourself. In order to prepare for day 1, just turn up and ask lots of questions.