On February 18 and 19 2016 the first Strategy Tour was organized by the Strategy Tour committee of Asset Strategy & Logistics. The information in this article is was gathered by an interview with the chairman of this committee, Veerle Ravensbergen.
During these two days, three companies were visited. Day one combined a visit to Bavaria with a visit to Accenture, and day two was all about Yourzine.
The Strategy Tour days:
The Strategy Tour is a two day event, where multiple companies are visited on one day. It has a different perspective than a traditional in-house day, because you first go to one company, get to know them, learn about their work and use this knowledge directly the same day when you visit the next company. Twenty participants joined the tour. On the first day, the focus was on internal consulting at Bavaria and external consulting at Accenture. During this day, participants can expect company presentations, guided tours in the office buildings and factories, company specific cases, lunches and dinners.
During the first day, the group arrived at Bavaria in the morning and got a brief overview of the company. Thereafter, a guided tour within the brewery was planned. After these activities the group focused on a company case. This case was about the trend of people drinking more special beers. The top management wanted to know how they could be more involved with their customers and their preferences. To address this problem, they have to understand the current trends and how to address it.
In the afternoon, the group visited Accenture. They gave the group a presentation about a typical working day of a consultant. After that, they provided a guided tour and showed the participants the office building. This office has a lot of special rooms. For example, a quiet room where you can become Zen and relax from your work. There is also an experience room with a lot of new technological features, including robots that react to your voice and flowers with sensors that give all the information you need to know, such as, when to water them. After the presentation and tour, the students had to solve a company assignment. This case was about a brewery that wants to expand its business but they couldn’t do this themselves. An acquisition target had to be found.
On the second day, Yourzine was on the program.
Yourzine is a typical company which many do not know by name, but their products are well-known in everyday life. For example, they created the Albert Heijn Bonuskaart. Yourzine is a marketing company that focusses on consumer relations and loyalty programs. After a company presentation a brainstorm session was planned. The main question Yourzine wanted to solve was: How is it possible to make more students join a loyalty program? The brainstorm session resulted in a lot of useful ideas, and therefore, Yourzine was happy with the input the students provided.
Organizing the event:
This event was organized by a committee of only three people and one supervisor from the board of Asset Strategy & Logistics. In the first phase, the committee is expected to come up with a plan and budget forecast. When this phase is completed, the committee looks for the companies that are interesting to include in the event and contact them. In the third phase, when all companies agreed, it is time for the logistic arrangements. This includes thinking about how to travel to the locations and how much time is needed for each visit. The fourth phase is making the students aware of the event. In the last phase, all the minor things have to be arranged, such as creating a list of participants and getting the presents for the companies. On the day itself, the committee is responsible for arriving and leaving on time at the different locations.
The Strategy Tour takes place in February, but the committee already starts preparing the Tour in August. Within the first few phases, the average working time is about five hours a week. A couple weeks before the event, the working time slightly increases to about ten to fifteen hours.
Review of the first Strategy Tour.
According to the committee and the participants the first tour was a success. The participants took the chance to get to know different kind of companies, and, presented themselves in a positive way. During this tour you can assess whether a specific type of business fits you. Besides that, it provides you with the opportunity to expand your network.
The benefits of the event can be summarized by the following quote:
“You can show yourself, see the contrasts of different companies and take a look at your future.”
Join the committee!
The committee provides you with a good opportunity of combining your study and doing serious business. You will gain experiences that will help you in your future career. It expands your network, provides you with organizational skills and it is not time consuming. And last but not least, companies do love it when you have extra curriculum activities on your resume.
The first Strategy Tour was a success. Next year the second edition of the Strategy Tour will be organized. Do you want to organize this event? Please send an e-mail to vice-chairman@asset-strategylogistics.nl or walk by our rooms E1.19 in the Esplanade Building.
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