Hello Julie! Introduce yourself briefly (name, field of study, description + duration of internship, school, age, hobbies)
My name is Julie De Smet and I am studying Supply Chain Management at VIVES Hogeschool in Kortrijk. I am 19 years old and in my spare time I volunteer in a youth movement namely KLJ, but also lend a hand at the transport company back home. To relax, I like to go swimming or dancing.
My internship at Kipco-Damaco covers 10 full days (five Fridays and one full week) in both the first and second semester.
How did you end up at Kipco-Damaco as an internship? Why did you choose Kipco-Damaco as your internship company?
First of all, the company Kipco-Damaco was not unknown to me, since I live close to the headquarters. In addition, I also found the range of tasks offered very interesting. It was really what I wanted to do, so that's why it really appealed to me to do my internship at Kipco-Damaco.
How were you welcomed at Kipco-Damaco on your first internship day?
On my first internship day, I was very kindly welcomed by CEO Paul Larmuseau. He and the Supply Chain Manager -Philip Marechal- took me through the full story behind Kipco-Damaco. They gave me info about the company, what they all do and what the company stands for. Then Paul introduced me to the two owners of the company and all the colleagues in the main building, since I started working there. That way I knew from the beginning who to talk to if I had any questions. Finally -before I started work- I got a very interesting tour through the production process and the warehouse, thanks to Production Manager Dylan.
What does your internship at Kipco-Damaco entail?
My internship consists of 10 days: five Fridays and a full week. During those five Fridays, the idea is to do an internship in the three departments related to supply chain namely shipping, planning and goods reception. This allowed me to decide where I wanted to spend my full week of internship.
Describe a typical internship day at Kipco-Damaco
A typical internship day at Kipco-Damaco looks like this: you start by following along a bit with your supervisor to see where the emphasis will be on that day and then you get some tasks yourself as he/she distributes the work a bit. It is also useful that the supervisor situates the work within the business process and explains why exactly that task has to be performed. This gives you more insight into what you are doing.
Were there any challenges during your internship at Kipco-Damaco? If so, what did you learn for your future professional career?
I mainly learned that you cannot always complete all tasks immediately, so you have to be orderly. This so that you remember what you still have to wait for in order to then finally complete it. I also learned that clear communication is always required between different departments internally. When a task is completed for one department, it often moves on to the next within the logistics process. With good communication, that department knows exactly what it is exactly about and what they still need to do with it.
These are two examples of experiences that I will definitely take into my future professional career.
What was the highlight during your internship at Kipco-Damaco?
I really enjoyed participating in a project that the Supply Chain Manager is currently working on. The project involves the creation of a supply chain dashboard, so that they can clearly see which and how much stock is available in which warehouses, so that they can obtain an optimal organization of the transport to be carried out and at the same time strive for a maximum reduction of the environmental impact. In addition, among other things, he also wants to better identify the costs of the various modes of transport so that they can better anticipate how to transport the goods as economically as possible.
I take this project as a highlight because these examples of synchromodal transport solutions are the basis for further expansion here in the future.
Did the internship meet your expectations? Was it instructive?
Yes, I found it a very instructive internship and I am very curious to learn more during the second semester.
The internship also met my expectations and at times I liked it even better because it did not only consist of performing tasks but also of obtaining very interesting practical information.
Could you recommend an internship at Kipco-Damaco? If yes/no, why?
Yes, I find an internship at Kipco-Damaco a real added value, because you learn a lot. The employees are open to explain everything to you so that you understand it and they also try to make you work independently, which is also very important to remember everything better and -as we all know- that's how you really learn.
Conclusion: the work is very interesting and the colleagues are very helpful and friendly, which also creates a good general atmosphere.