Supply Chain
At Kimberly-Clark we view supply chain strategy 'from the shelf back'. Any graduate who joins this team will have exposure to every stage of the process. Taking on this two-year programme, you'll work on placements that include purchasing, planning, logistics and customer service. The whole team looks after the UK and western and central Europe, so your projects will have a distinct pan-European flavour, even though you will be based in the UK.
Painting a picture
The process starts with sales forecasts. These are refined and turned into manufacturing plans. The raw materials are then planned and purchased, before being turned into the right quantity of end products. Further planning goes into the shipping of our stock to the right parts of Europe, where they're finally delivered to retailers, ready to put on shelves for consumers to buy.
What is it all about?
There's so much that goes into our supply chain that we can only give you a glimpse of it here.
As a Supply Chain Graduate, you'll rotate through three placements. These will be in areas such as:
- Buying – our total spend on everything – from raw materials to office furniture, transport to warehousing – accounts for one-third of our total sales revenue. So it's a hugely important aspect to consider in terms of our overall business performance.
- Planning – by mapping a product's journey from raw material to supermarket shelf, and preparing production plans for manufacturing mills, you'll aim to meet customers' requirements and still keep our costs down.
- Distribution – where you'll be managing orders and moving high-volume goods around Europe.
- Customer service – a tough challenge in a multicultural, multilingual marketplace. For example, a UK-based customer service team may need to organise manufacturing in France for delivery to a customer in the Netherlands.
Whichever placement you're on, you'll work in cross-functional teams – and be exposed to a huge variety of issues and people. And this broad grounding will give you a firm grasp of how an FMCG company works. It's a great platform for the future.
Your training
Your Professional Development Programme will include in-depth training and practical experience in presenting, negotiating and leading. You'll also get to grips with a variety of systems and processes specific to each placement.
Apply for the 2012 scheme here. Applications close on 28th February 2012