eCommerce Executive Review

The day to day role of this apprenticeship varies depending on your yearly rotation. Most apprentices start off as a data analyst - which involves reviewing forecast and service for accounts. Apprentices are then likely to have a role in supply planning, planning raw material ordering in factories or have a customer collaboration role for one of the major customers.

From a soft skills perspective, my ability to communicate with a wide variety of people has improved. Furthermore, I have become more confident and independent. From a technical perspective, I have drastically improved my powerpoint and excel skills. I have also developed skills on data analyst tools such as power bi.

I have enjoyed the programme thoroughly. It has presented a wide range of challenges, such as onboarding and working remotely during Covid, then transitioning to a hybrid working approach. I have worked in many various roles which presented different challenges and the ability to be agile and flexible is important.

From a university standpoint, the structure was poor at the start of the program. This was likely due to Covid-19 and the university having to adapt to delivering modules virtually. However, in the last year the university structure improved markedly. From a work perspective, the structure has been good as has allowed me to experience various roles within the business.

The support provided by PepsiCo has been good. You will receive support from your line manager, a mentor and a university mentor network. This means that any question that you may have regarding either work or university study, there will be someone able to provide adequate support. Furthermore, the apprentices are good at supporting eachother.

As stated before, the structure of university in 2020/21 was poor and this in turn led to poor support in general. Recently, the university have monthly/bi-monthly catch ups with your line manager, yourself and the program lead. This sessions can be useful to highlight areas for improvement, however, they often feel like a box ticking exercise.

The modules that we study at university are not often directly applicable to my roles at PepsiCo. This is because of the scale of PepsiCo. Due to the size of PepsiCo, roles often become specialised and the the modules at university are often based on broader topics without going into heavy detail.

PepsiCo do often hold extra-curricular activities. They are often set up by individual teams rather than being led by a wider PepsiCo group. These activities include: baking, networking events, site visits. PepsiCo are always open to adding more events so if your are interested in running an activity this will be encouraged.

Yes

I would recommend PepsiCo as it has provided a great first step into the workplace. It has allowed me to experience many roles within the Supply Chain which has laid a great foundation of understanding the inner workings of a business. Furthermore, the hybrid working approach allows me to be flexible with when i am in the office.

I would advise future candidates to be confident and show a willingness to learn and develop. It is important to bring your true self to work, not to be a different character when working. I would also advice candidates to research the business and the brands incorporated within PepsiCo, as well as researching what a supply chain is and how it is important to a business.