This PolyU student’s internship in Melbourne taught him real-life skills such as warehouse layout planning and inventory control
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My internship experience at Melbourne, Australia gave me a taste of working at a culturally diverse working environment. I worked as a Purchasing and Operations Intern at Alloys International - the Non-Traditional Distributor, where its Melbourne office is home to partners and staff from around the globe.This experience truly opened my eyes to the operations in Australian companies and the different methods they use when compared with local or Chinese firms.
While working with the Purchasing and Operations team, I gained a wide range of knowledge and learned about different techniques such as the calculation of DIFOT (delivery in full, on time) and fill rate, transferral of stocks between warehouses, and how to draw warehouse layouts, to name but a few.
Alloys provided me with a lot of opportunities to really understand and learn how a distributor runs its business, as well as the way they embrace its “non-traditional” values to both buyer and supplier.
Alloys' laid-back working environment made going to work every day very enjoyable. I always heard laughter coming from every corner of the office. I am grateful that my colleagues, including the CEO and my supervisor, were so supportive and motivating during my time there.
They did their best to make me feel at home and were always patient with me. They never turned away my questions and were willing to help when I encountered difficulties.
When I was not working at the Alloys office or on-site with the Purchasing and Operations team, I spent my time exploring the city of Melbourne. I met new friends who also came from PolyU, and we spent a lot of time travelling around. Australia is a place where the beauty of life is all around us, and is home to species such as koalas and kangaroos.
The natural landscapes of Australia were magnificent, places like the Twelve Apostles, Phillip Island, Mornington Island and Brighton Beach had breathtaking views. The most memorable trip I took was to Tasmania for a weekend. It is undeniably a paradise on earth - the sight of Cradle Mountain was unforgettable.
I am honoured to have been selected to participate in this program and would like to thank PolyU and Alloys International for this incredible opportunity. I have made connections and memories that will last a lifetime. I had an excellent time during my time in Melbourne and highly recommend future interns to pursue this opportunity.
Horace Poon is a Year 4 student in the International Shipping and Transport Logistics programme at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Learn more about the programme at www.polyu.edu.hk/lms/en/