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Packaging problems
Posted by Sandie on 23 Nov 05
You know when you get a little mini pack of a new product free with a magazine or handed to you on the street? Have you ever thought about how difficult it was to manufacture that mini pack? No? Me neither! UNTIL NOW!
As part of our launch campaign for a new product, we want to do some sampling because we know we've got a great product and we want as many people as possible to try it. Sounds easy doesn't it? Problem is we can't easily manufacture a mini version of the product. We don't have a suitable machine in the factory where the product is being made to make a small pack.
Ok, I ask our Activity Manager - the middle man between Marketing and Supply Chain to see can we put a small number of the sweets into a bag instead of our ideal packaging. Apparently not! Can we do a blister pack? No way! So this Sampling campaign that I'm in charge of and forms the majority of my objectives for my current placement is not looking so good!
However, all is not lost, we are now in negotiations with a co-packer who think they'll be able to come up with a sampling format for us so the project might be back on track! It's been frustrating - especially from a consumer perspective as we take those cute mini sampling packs totally for granted but it's been eye opening at the same time to see all the supply and packaging constraints that are a reality of every day life when trying to launch a new product. I definitely have a better idea of how packing machines work now and will be able to see things from a different perspective in the future when coming up with new product and packaging ideas!
Reality bites
Posted by Vicky on 18 Nov 05
When I was told I was going to start my time at Cadbury's in sales, I thought I'd hit the Jackpot! Wasn't sales suppose to be the glamorous aspect of corporate life, the wining and dining of clients, driving a flashy car... etc.? I couldn't have been more wrong! My average day starts in the oh so glamorous world of the cash and carry, picking up stock, filling my van, yes I said van, with our products. My wining and dining tends to be a quick take away lunch in my van and my clients rarely come out from behind the counter. Not quite what I was expecting!
While this may not seem like hitting the jackpot, I am loving every minute of it. I have learnt more about human nature in my first 5 weeks as a Sales Exec. than I think I have in the last 20 years. It's also great place to learn about Cadbury Trebor Bassett, as you really learn to live the products and experience consumer habits and customer needs first hand. To cap off this unrivalled education in confectionary, it is above all things FUN. While the days are hard, the targets your set extremely challenging, and the customers very difficult, very often, it is anything but a boring desk job. The dynamics of the working day change constantly, and the challenge that this presents is really refreshing and helps maintain my enthusiasm for what I do and who I represent.
I love being able to interact with our customers and consumers directly - seeing how much people love our brands, really helps me appreciate how lucky I am to be working for such a great company. The people I encounter both in the company and our customers really are the icing on the cake providing muchos comedy banter and that extra bit of motivation on the harder days. My boss, I'm near certain was the brunt of a marketing joke, since the funny Scottish bloke in the new Maynards adverts is an uncanny double for him!
All in all, not quite what I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise.
Stumbling along
Posted by Ross on 14 Nov 05
It was only when I started to think about what I wanted to write in my next blog that I realised quite how much has happened in the past couple of weeks. When you're in the midst of it, you just get your head down and get on, but when you reflect on it, you suddenly start feeling pretty exhausted!
I attended the 2005 graduate induction two weeks ago, which was quite the diverse three day experience. All 20+ grads in my year (all functions) gathered in a suitably removed conference centre in an idyllic country setting to learn about things like career planning, business principles, corporate social responsibility, and leadership imperatives. There were so many highlights, but I'd definitely say having the head of our Europe, Middle East and Africa division coming to talk to us was worthy of note! That and going ice skating one evening, where I successfully stayed on my feet the entire time AND managed to fit in some dancing to retro-pop-dance tunes as I careered around the rink.
We also started planning our major "Community Project," which we will undertake as a group. At this stage we're not quite sure what it's going to be yet, but we've organised ourselves into groups looking into fundraising, international projects, and domestic projects, and we'll be assessing our options and making a decision within the next couple of weeks. Cadbury Schweppes really does put a lot of emphasis on community involvement, and although our group does have some quite diverse opinions on what we should do, we all seem to have a common drive to achieve something and maximise what we can do for whomever we get involved with.
I was also privileged enough to experience our National Sales Conference on Thursday. During the day key leaders of the business gave presentations on the year that's passed and the key challenges and events that are to come, and then in the evening we got together for a massive fancy dress party. My last-minute dash to a costume hire shop resulted in me being a cavalier, complete with sword (which broke before I could even get down to reception), but that was nothing a few beverages couldn't solve. I managed to get to bed at the extremely conservative 3.30am, which made me feel fantastic when I had to get up and go to work the next morning.
In between these events I've continued to pound the streets of my sales territory, visiting retailers and living from sugar rush to sugar rush given my huge chocolate intake. I'm also doing a few extra projects so that I can come out of this placement feeling like I've made a lasting difference to the role. They mainly revolve around writing reference documents for my team that extend the training that we get and help share best practice, so they're the sort of things I hope will evolve and develop long after I'm gone. More importantly, however, they help remind me of my own development needs (of which there are many) and the areas I need to work on if I'm going to become a good salesperson by the time I move on. You have to keep pushing yourself in this role, it's far too easy to become over-reliant on your strengths and ignorant of your weaknesses.
Finally, just a reminder to everyone reading and thinking of applying that we are less than three weeks away from the application deadline (December 2nd), so if you haven't done so already then now is the time! Best of luck, and I'll hopefully see some of you at the assessment centres.
Diversity doesn't even begin to cover it
Posted by Jenny on 04 Nov 05
Three months into my first role on the Commercial Graduate Scheme as Market Research Analyst and already I'm feeling the pressure of life in the real world outside the "student bubble"... Supporting my aligned brand teams with data for an incredibly important meeting with the Chief Executive Committee, continuing to meet the demands of my sales channel contacts and at the same time making sure the everyday stuff is ticking along nicely is starting to take its toll... It's certainly no lie when they say this job has real responsibilities from day one! But that's half the fun of it - and no matter how difficult last week was, I survived it, was back at my desk on Monday morning, and I am now sat planning a murder mystery evening for my team build! Diversity doesn't even begin to cover it!!
Working from home
Posted by Abbi on 04 Nov 05
Three weeks into my new role as a "Retail Projects Manager" - my fourth placement - and I am loving it! I've gone through the "meeting people, instantly forgetting names" stage, the "oh my god there's so much paper and filing to do" stage and the "what, I actually have to do this on my own argh!" stage, and I feel very satisfied with my progress. My job involves working very closely with our customers to regenerate independent convenience stores (ie not Co-Ops, Londises (Londi?) etc, but ones unaffiliated with any group). My role is to go in as a consultant, draw up plans as to what the ideal store would look like, gain the retailer's agreement and then manage the project to the end, overseeing contractors, ordering new fridges, the works. Quite a daunting sounding brief! I did my first store on my own yesterday - went round with a tape measure and a digital camera and drew a lovely plan. Today I'm transferring it onto my computer, which is fiddly but strangely satisfying. Hope I can read my scruffy writing! It feels great to be actually getting my own work done now, and I have had great feedback from my manager already, which was a very pleasant surprise! I also love the fact that I am working at home at the moment - it's so quiet and peaceful, I get so much more done, and the benefit is you can roll out of bed, make tea and write emails (and blogs in fact) in your pyjamas! I do Miss the guys in the office though, so I make sure I go in regularly to catch up with everyone, and I have meetings all the time. I change out of my pyjamas for those.
It's not just all been about work these past 3 weeks for me though - last weekend my fella and I went out to Poland to see Hannah, one of the other graduates from our year. She is in manufacturing, and has been on a placement at our Polish business Cadbury Wedel in Warsaw for ages. It was so lovely to see her, and reassuring to see how well they've been looking after her out there too. She's got a lovely flat right in the centre of the Old Town, has been taking Polish lessons (although I believe the language they use in the offices in English - could have been tough otherwise!) and seems to be having a ball. We even managed to fit in a tour of the Cadbury Wedel factory while we were out there, in between sightseeing and drinking plenty of vodka! I think she's been very brave - it can't be easy to go out to a strange country with a completely different language. She said it's been tough, but she is so glad she did it. Looking forward to her being back in the UK though so we can see a bit more of her!"
And yes I am still in my pyjamas 3 hours after starting work... but I'm about to go and get dressed!
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