Corporate Supply Chain Analyst Review

The placement has greatly exceeded my expectations and has provided me with a vast amount of experiences professionally, socially and academically which will assist me in my future.

After being able to prove my capabilities to perform in depth analysis and problem solving I was treated as a part of the team rather than as a temporary placement student. Many of my colleagues have sought out my advice on tasks and my managers granted me a great deal of independence illustrating their trust in my abilities.

Whilst being granted independence was great for my self esteem and helped me build my confidence, it often meant I had to be the catalyst for any support/ guidance if I required it. This often took longer than I wanted in terms of gaining feedback on projects due to the busy nature of my work. As a result it was sometimes very hard to sit down with my manager for 1 to 1's. That being said, working in close proximity with my manager allowed me to gain guidance relatively quickly on day to day tasks when needed. The student development program also provided opportunities for guidance from people outside of my department.

Being mainly a project based role the workload would often vary. Sometimes I would be working on several projects at once and therefore would find myself falling behind if I did not employ adequate time management techniques. Other times I would find myself having completed my projects and fill my time with more administrative work or looking to create work for myself i.e. by developing current processes. I feel that this variance worked out relatively well as it would feel good to be busy but luckily it did not last for such a prolonged period of time that I would become stressed. Alternatively in quieter times it allowed me to focus on how I'd like to develop myself whether by coming up with my own projects, using the resources around me to learn about aspects of the job I hadn't covered, or reflecting on my experiences to help with Uni work, potential dissertation ideas and areas for future growth.

The projects I worked on were often lead by individuals higher up the command chain than myself and therefore I often did have a point of contact to which I could refer to and my managers would often ask for updates on my work. However as part of the Cummins student development program placement students are required to complete two projects for which the placement student holds the main responsibility. Also on several projects I worked on throughout the year I also acted as the sole representative of the corporate supply chain team which provided me a great deal of responsibility.

Being a business studies student there was a broad amount of theory which I was able to take from University and apply to the workplace. I knew going into the placement that the aspect of business which I enjoyed the most was operations and therefore obtaining an operationally centered role was all that much better for me when coming up with ideas for a dissertation when I go back to University. However, beyond University the aspect of the placement scheme that really separated Cummins from other companies was the student development program. Throughout the year we undertook training in areas which I considered to be some of my weaknesses such as presentations, managing conflict etc which allowed me to reflect on my experiences and learn new skills. We also identified our personal strengths which has allowed me to have a better idea of what I want to do in my future career and to understand what I should look for in future roles. When I first joined Cummins I still did not know what I wanted to do however with this greater understanding of what areas I excel in and how I approach tasks I have a good idea of what I want for my future.

The office itself is about what I expected, professional dress code, everything is seperated into cubicles for all the different departments and generally departments will keep to themselves. Most people are very friendly though and are willing to talk to you and make small talk. There is an aspect of hierarchy as I believe most large companies would have which can make approaching some individuals a little more daunting. There's some events put on throughout the year which get everyone together for celebrations but I wish there were a few more of them. I was lucky enough to have some fun and social managers though who made the atmosphere in our department more relaxed as friendly banter was encouraged.

The program at the Darlington site is definitely something my friends at other placements wished they had. There's a route map of how you are to progress through your year from day one to the end of your placement where there's a placement students 'graduation ceremony' type of event. There's a good amount of help before the placement to find accomodation, get registered etc and a week long induction to the company which covers all the basics. In terms of the role you'll be doing there's also a good amount of structure. My manager set out the objectives he had of me at the start of the placement and this was reviewed at appropriate points of the year.

Aside from the student development scheme which focuses training around working in a professional environment, Cummins allows all of its employees to make use of the its online training programs which cover a wide range of areas. It's a tool which builds a curriculum of ideal modules for you to take based on your current skills, interest and role. My manager also invested in me by getting me on to a 3 week training program around doing six sigma projects which was very useful for my studies and work throughout the year.

Cummins tries to retain a lot of their placement students as they see them as an investment. In other departments there is usually grad schemes available as well which last around 2 years. There have been cutbacks this year which have impacted future employment prospects in a lot of areas however engineering in the UK is on the rise so this may change. My personal department is relatively new and therefore there is no current graduate role available however my manager did say that he was trying to get one created. While I have really enjoyed working for Cummins this year the locations are all very far away from where I'm from in the South West and for that reason Cummins wouldn't be my first choice.

Going to a company outside of London I had big worries about the social aspect however there are around 20 placement students in Darlington and a large amount of graduates which made the student community a good one. I think it largely comes down to luck of the draw with who the other students are though. My year everyone seemed to click nicely as most of us were in the same boat having moved from all over the UK to be at Cummins however from what I've heard about the year before the students really didn't get along greatly. Sure there wasn't a great deal around Darlington to do but with the amount of money we all saved being in the North we were able to plan weekend trips away i.e. Amsterdam, Lake District, Edinbrugh and make full use of peoples Uni friends in places like Sheffield and Newcastle.

If there's one benefit about not being in London for a placement its the amount of money you save for living and socialising. If you live in the South a move to the North East will really shock you. Rent was very cheap (£260 a month). Drinks were amazingly cheap, 3 trebles in Newcastle for £5, always less than £3 a pint.

There was a limited nightlife in Darlington but as referred to before we were saving enough money to afford going to some bigger places like Newcastle (£10 taxi if you had enough people). In Darlington there's one main club which is busy every Friday and plenty of pubs and bars around. As long as a good amount of the students were going out it made for an alright night.

Plenty of sporting opportunities, I joined the Basketball team for Darlington town and was pleasantly surprised with how many people were involved. Plenty of gyms to join as well which have a good amount of activities i.e. swimming, squash, badminton. The sports and social committee at the Darlington site also put on a lot of things e.g. weekly football sessions, golf etc. Activities outside of sport may be a bit harder to find though.