Mingqian Xie

Country of origin: China

Placement: Coty Manufacturing UK Ltd

I have always believed that the study of project management requires a certain amount of industrial experience and I want to better understand and appreciate this subject by working in industry and dealing with real issues. The placement year provided me with one-year working experience, which I believe is highly valuable as the labour market is continuously competitive. Having the one year in industry meant that I was one year ahead of other students which will lead to potential advantage when I am searching for a role after graduation.

My role could be called a ‘material supplier planner’, and could be described as having three main parts: Vender scheduling, order management and reporting. I managed the inbound supply chain for a few component suppliers which meant that I placed orders and monitored deliveries afterwards, I also maintained the parameters for these suppliers wherever needed. I also ran reports in the morning and afternoon to monitor the company’s daily sale of cosmetics. I was not initially looking for a placement role in supply chain but I have found I actually really enjoyed working in this area. I am planning to find a graduate job in supply chain management or go onto further study with a focus on the supply chain sector.

I liked the challenge my placement brought me. It was great to know that the work I was undertaking was crucial to the business and any mistake I made would have a negative impact on the whole factory. Knowing this caused me to be  more cautious in the work I undertook and allowed me to learn more.

I really appreciated the support provided by the LUMS Careers Team. The mock interview during the Mngt150 module did help a lot as it gave us an insight of what the employers were looking for. Furthermore, I have to say Rory provided lots of support regarding my CV & cover letter, interview skills, I always felt grateful for his great help.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the year spent at Coty, I loved what I was doing and I love the daily challenge my work brought to me. I have learnt a lot from this placement, such as how to work efficiently and how to make the best use of valuable tools like Excel and SAP. More importantly, I have learnt how project management and supply chain management are applied in industry.