Kick starting the new year with another blogpost from our 2016 intern =)

Hello everybody! My name is Hongliang and I was one of the interns at LEGO SingHub in 2016!

My introduction build during orientation session

I am currently studying Business Administration in NUS and I was a Supply Intern attached to the Asia Pacific Supply & Inventory Planning (APAC SIP) Team. In this post, I will share more about the work I do at LEGO and the experiences I have gained during my 13-week internship :)

 Being able to work in one of the world most iconic and well-loved brand is a dream come true for many undergraduates, and I must say I was very delighted to be invited for the group interview session. The group interview was unlike any other that I have attended. In fact, it did not even feel like an interview but rather a session for us to share about ourselves and have fun at the same time!

       Interview Session Welcome Package

In essence, my role as a Supply Intern was to help my team run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. The supply chain function is very fast-paced, where data are generated and flowed quickly. To deal with the vast amount of information, supply planners and managers use reports, trackers and scorecards. I assist the team in saving time and effort by improving on existing inventory management tools or develop new ones from scratch.

One of the tools that I helped to overhaul was a tracker, which is used to provide visibility on the launch status of new products. The challenge in developing this tracker was due to the fact that it is used and maintained by multiple teams simultaneously. Each individual stakeholder, such as supply, demand, distribution, certification etc., has their own issues when using the old tracker and they each have their own needs. Together with a Business Analyst, we set out to find out what are the difficulties faced by the different stakeholders and how we can help them perform their duties better and easier. After training the users on the usage of the new tool, I am glad that the bi-weekly meeting to discuss status of new products now only requires half the time it used to take in the past. The feedback from the users are also very positive as more useful information are now presented at-a-glance, enabling the stakeholders to make better decisions now. The above is an example showing that even though I am only an intern, LEGO will still empower you to make a real difference to actual operations!

Asia-Pacific Supply & Inventory Team at LEGO Play Day!

LEGO truly values all its people. There is no distinction between permanent employees or interns, you get the same treatment and perks. We get to attend the full orientation programme together with the permanent hires and even get invited for LEGO Play Day where LEGO employees worldwide took a day off to play! My team also ensure I am not excluded from any team-building activities or get-together meals, which made me really feel like I am part of the family. I was even invited to the LEGO Asia Pacific Operations Conference held at the Pan Pacific Hotel where the entire APAC Ops colleagues gathered together for a Zumba session before various presentations was held. I was very glad to be present because I get to interact with colleagues from the whole of Asia Pacific and I get to learn more how the end-to-end operations of LEGO functions.

During my 13-week stint, there were 2 occasion where my team had to host colleagues from overseas office. The first was with our colleagues from the LEGO factory in Jiaxing, China and the second was with our Europe counterparts from Billund, Denmark and London, United Kingdom. These 2 meetings showed me how globalised LEGO truly is. I value these meetings as I get to learn about LEGO supply chain from the perspective of overseas colleagues, and how different offices in the world are working together to achieve the same ultimate goal, which is for LEGO to reach 300 million children by the year 2032, which happens to be LEGO's 100th anniversary.

APAC SIP Team with colleagues from Europe

APAC SIP Team with colleagues from China

By now, you should have noticed that I used the term "team" instead of "department". LEGO places heavy emphasis on teams and collaborations. Everyone is encouraged to collaborate with one another, not work and think in silos because as the saying goes: Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM!). So, if you like meeting different people every day, working with people outside your own team, interact with people of different nationalities, and values work-play balance, then LEGO sounds like a good fit for you!

APAC SIP and extended family: Distribution and Customer Logistics!

In my next post, I will share more about the working culture as well as the facilities that we have at LEGO SingHub.

Stay Tuned!