In the fifth week of the CMT program we traveled to Glenview to focus on the R&D division of KraftHeinz. Commuting to Glenview daily allowed our cohort to see the office space where all the innovation happens and gave us multiple hands-on activities. My name is Chandler Bollman and I’ll be running through the week we had! I graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a major in Industrial Engineering with a track option in Supply Chain and Logistics. I had my mind set on the operations division of KraftHeinz, however, the cross-functionality of this company makes every division a great experience to work in.
As the same with every week that we learn a new division, we kicked it off with an overview of the entirety of R&D. Throughout the week, the cohort learned about product development and the Stagegate Process that these new products must go through. The importance of cost engineering and quality to KraftHeinz was clearly demonstrated from all our speakers. The CMT program has given us a look at how every employee truly uses the core values of this company in their day to day work.
The activities during R&D week were without a doubt the most hands-on experience our cohort has had at this company. We were creating products in the pilot labs and had a case study on quality. Tours through the pilot plants and labs showed us where all the work on these iconic brands takes place! My personal favorite was making lunch with only KHC products with the chefs in Glenview. Apart from work, our cohort had yet another trainee birthday to celebrate!
As always, many members of the KHC family took time out of their day to speak with us and there were many quotes. However, my favorite quote came from Emily Kimmins from the consumer insights team when she said “A good insight is something that makes sense but wasn’t initially obvious.”
