Different Markets Mean Different Planning

At Hilti actively seeking out opportunities to leverage different cultures and geographies is an important part of being inclusive in the workplace, according to Julia Barge an undergrad alum of Smith. In order to take full advantage of these opportunities one must have a global mindset and be adaptable. “Adaptability is absolutely important and is key to success in today’s global market. It could be the more global your role is the more you need it [adaptability], but really its necessary for everyone. Almost every company will be global in some way [in the future] whether its working with a supplier or a customer in another country,” says Julia Barge.

Having a global mindset and confidently applying adaptability is super important to Julia who is a Material and Supply Manager at Hilti headquarters in Lichtenstein. She is responsible for a range of activities, including ordering, phase in and phase out planning for product launched, and determining stock levels in warehouses around the globe. Part of Julia’s role is to help Hilti serve worldwide markets from the US and Canada to Dubai, South Africa, Germany, China and Hong Kong. This year Hilti acquired an external company and Julia was charged with determining the worldwide stock strategy to support the planned growth of the business.

“I’m like the global funnel. I take all the information from all the markets and do production planning,” said Julia, “Different markets means different planning.” And she’s learned how to optimize the planning process by getting to know the idiosyncrasies of the various teams she works with. “In China my counterpoint might say, ‘Hey, I’ve won a project, now plan 10,000 units for me.’ Because of my experience with this team I know that even though they said they need 10,000, they probably need 8,000. They’re going to say they need more, faster. It’s not an easy conversation; it can be sensitive.” Julia went onto elaborate that when she first started working with the team in China she realized she needed to adjust her understanding of how they defined success. “They would tell me that a contract had a 100% probability of success, which to me meant the project was already signed, that is was a done deal, yet we didn’t have final client approval.” Julia was able to adapt to working with the team by using a combination of awareness of differences in culture, communication style, and expectations.

Julia also had to adapt to stereotypes of Germanic culture. “There’s a stereotype that Germanic culture is strict and regimented, which is sometimes true, but also a stereotype. When I first encountered people who weren’t on time or who didn’t follow the rules, I was shocked!” Julie cautions that stereotyping is something to be avoided in order to be effective in the workplace. Overall, she recommends having an open mind for new challenges and experiences and seeking out opportunities to broaden your understanding of the world. To the end, Julia can’t recommend studying aboard enough.

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