Sales Operations Undergraduate Review

Sales Distributors Performance Reporting
Collection and consolidation of Weekly/Monthly Sales and Wholesale results and forecasts versus plan for Distributors
Support monthly Sales and Supply Planning process through variance reporting and validation of Distributors Sales and Supply Planning submission (in conjunction with HME Sales and Operations Planning)
Prepare monthly consolidated financial Sales and Supply Planning
Support with the preparation and maintenance of regular reporting of the Automobile Distributors CAFÉ and stock situation, including variance analysis
Automobile Division Administrative support
Assist in the organisation of pan European Sales meetings for Distributors and/or Branches
Assist in the preparation of presentation material for meetings with Distributors
Others
Liaising with Logistics, Business Administration and Business Reporting teams
Liaising with third party Distributor business partners

I have benefitted significantly from completing this placement year for many reasons. Firstly, I developed many skills, some of which I had zero knowledge in, such as running programs like SAP or Oracle EPMS. As well as improving others which I had some knowledge in, as Microsoft Excel or communicating verbally and in written. Furthermore, I have met various different people which I worked with everyday and became close to, even outside of the office. I had multiple conversations about the future, which allowed me to understand a little bit better what I want to do. Overall, this year allowed me to have a real image of what it is like to work in a demanding corporate world, which has made me to reflect on what I will do after graduating from university. Throughout this year I have achieved many steps in my professional career as well as in my personal life. I managed to meet many new people from my office as well as from other offices in Europe. Furthermore, I always completed all of my deadlines on time, even though it was hard to adapt in the beginning, as there was a lot new to learn. Once I became familiar with different Excel formulas, I completed new files to help the team simplify the consolidation of data. After the changes in the company and in the team, I was able to adapt to my new roles, as well as I was able to help the team with any additional work.

I managed to extend and develop my Excel formula knowledge, which I believe will help me in my future jobs after graduating from university. I used these skills from the beginning to till the end of my placement, on a daily basis, to complete and to check different data reports. Another achievement was that I improved my communicational skills significantly by contacting different distributors regularly via email and calls. Most of the time, I contacted them to request information, which would sometimes take days to be shared, therefore I believe that these tasks made me become more persistent. I have also achieved to select the next undergraduate for the role which I had, which required me to again, put my communicational skills into practice. In the end I believe I made a right choice with my selection and the team should be in safe hands for the next year. Every day I had to work as a team, so this was also a skill which I had to put into use, especially when I was selected to help test the Honda app features, as I had to work alongside others to point out any defects and explain them in extreme detail.

My team members have definitely helped me the most, as I have been working alongside them for months now and they have directly helped me achieve most of the skills which I have done so far. Initially they helped me a lot, and more and more I have been able to help them, which has made me understand that I have grown and motivate me to be more involved. Furthermore, id say that my colleagues which have also been part of the Honda app testing have supported me because we have been working alongside each other trying to analyse the errors and explain them as efficiently as possible. Finally, id say that my fellow undergraduate colleagues have also influenced me significantly, as we regularly discuss our personal development and perspectives of the company and our roles, which has allowed me to further motivate myself to work harder.

The overall culture in Honda has really suited myself, as it combines a friendly and quite casual approach with the right amount of professionalism and guidance. I was always involved in regular constructive feedback, which helped me evolve both professionally and personally. Furthermore, i was able to identify how my performance, motivation, and the teams working environment, were affected by the different styles of management; allowing me to understand what i enjoy the most and how i feel comfortable in.

My placement experience has been extremely positive, having checked all of the boxes in terms of expectations, which I had for this year. Initially, there was a lot to learn very quickly, so the learning curve was quite steep. I had little experience in dealing with complex Excel formulas, which I had to learn at the same time as I was learning all of the company’s terms and ways of working. I started to get used to the Excel side of things quickly, as well as understanding my role and what was the importance of it. However, in order for me to truly fit all of the pieces together, to understand how the team works withing the division and the company, it took its time. During this time, I met many different people, which were always supportive from the beginning. I was able to ask any question at any time, which made me comfortable and able to improve more quickly. Once I got used to everything, I was able to support others, more than I was receiving support myself. So, the challenges changed from solely focusing on my own deadlines and responsibilities, to aiding others in theirs to reduce their workload and make their decision making process easier. I was able to put the knowledge that I had learned and used in my reports, to apply it in other tasks.

Yes