Etude de cas Ikea

...

Having watched my curriculum more closely, she decided with the director Mr Morelli, that my experience and my EBS formation would be a good help. Therefore thought about it, she contacted me with an email and offered me to join her team. After reflected the problem of no learning the language I wanted to learn, I thought it was necessary sometimes to make sacrifices. I preferred to sacrifice the learning of English, and promote a beautiful and rewarding work experience. Indeed, I was asked by email if I agreed to take the responsibility of the business plan and the startup of their future products.

When I arrived, it was intended for me, a few goals. To begin, I wanted to learn a new language (Italian), and be fluent. But above, I wanted to learn how to integrate a big team and take on greater responsibilities.

---------------------------------------------------------------

V. Progress of these missions

My internship includes two different kind of activities : event management and marketing. One part consists in to organize an important private event. For private events, I think of weddings, communions, christenings or birthdays etc.

This work consists in to meet the customer's call, who wants to know the availability for the date that interests them to celebrate their event and take some information. If the date is available, or that another day should it, we offer them a first appointment. They come in the Resort, to define the basis of the event, chose the type of menu that we will develop with our chef, the number of guests, visit the reception room that most please them, the organization of the day etc. Then we propose a tasting menu prepared so that they validate or not our choice. Finally I see them again, to define the floral details, music etc, I develop the final estimate. After that, we expect the payment of a deposit to secure the reception room which was so far only option. The most difficult part of this job is to succeed to manage the pressure of demanding customers and the huge responsibility that they give me.

The second part of my work is much closer to the course I want to borrow next year, and what I like. Indeed, the Palace decided two years ago, to create his brand – “Palazzo in 1705” - in which they already create the chocolate (Palazzo 1705 : il cioccolato). We are currently preparing the tea, and in the coming months we would like to add other products such as olive oil, wine, jams etc. It is actually for this job I was called because no one was really in charge of this. The marketing department should be doing it, but they prefer to make their sales targets to receive their bonus, rather than develop the brand Palazzo 1705. My work began by developing the Business Plan chocolate, which never had been done; a benchmark essentially based on Bulgari and Armani chocolate. Mrs. Congedo assigned me this job thinking I was sufficiently qualified to be independent on the subject. This is why the first week was so hard ; my manager thought me overqualified, and I found myself alone for the business plan. I ask some advice from my step-father who is a web marketing director, to structure my plan. I consult Mrs Congedo for a first incomplete version of the business plan, to give me her opinion. After giving me the information I did not have, she congratulated me and give me an advice for the complement of the Business Plan. Then she asked me to develop the Benchmark on the Armani chocolate. Although I considered it as not appropriate benchmark, because the luxury level was not the same.

After that, I had the chance to visit the chocolate factory Venchi, which is our supplier (but also the Armani provider) to choose new chocolates that we could sell, but above all to create packages for Easter, Christmas etc. After having presented a PowerPoint of our expectations, they sent me the quote, and a few weeks after we signed.

Mr Gherardi decided that I should report to him each week the development of the brand. He asked me a table with all my actions of the day on chocolate, and then he asks to add the tea in. And a second table summarizing everything weekly : what we wanted to do, how it was done, how much and at which price.

Similarly, for the startup of our tea, I developed a business plan and a benchmark on Armani’s tea. But this time, the product was just an idea, nothing was yet decided. Accompanied by my manager, we created two recipes for tea, one black tea and one green tea. The name of the black tea has been chosen by my manager : “Don Carlo”; referring to the owner of the Palace, Mister Carlo Gherardi. She asked me to define the name of our green tea, keeping to the principle of the names of the Gherardi family. Not being inspired by the names of his wife and his daughters, I decided to go on a different concept. This green tea consists mainly of Gunpowder, which is from China. The Gunpowder is a tea whose leaves are rolled as pretty green pearls. In Chinese, the "Gunpowder" is called Zhucha, which means "pearl of tea"; so I chose as final name "Perle del Palazzo"; which was validated by the marketing department and Mr Gherardi in person. After that, I was responsible of the realization of the packaging boxes of muslin tea. I propose three PowerPoint about my idea for the packaging, and Paola Congedo with the marketing manager, chose the one most adapted. I made an appointment with several manufacturers, and after a month of appointment, quotes etc., we finally signed with one of them.

I finally made an appointment with the marketing department and chose one of muslin boxes that we had received in samples a week previously. I left the marketing team choose the two pantone (green and black), because it is not in my knowledge. We chose a smart box, so we decided to also make a “recharge” of these muslins; In fact, clients will keep the box at home and will want to fill it.

The last week I was in charge of the packaging of the metal box (for vrac tea, and to design the label. I needed to verify all the required information to put on the box.

I am now in charge of creating the e-shop project I proposed when I arrived but which at the time did not seem important to them.

- What I have learned

At the beginning, it was very challenging; firstly because of the language. In fact, to learn a forth language was a great challenge for me. However, with practice, I managed to make other understand me.

There were different moments during this internship. The first weeks, my mission was more based on market study and what they did during