Individual field study pt 3

Alrighty, we have come to the point where I am almost ready with the actual content analysis and writing the results. I still have to sum up my findings and compare those to the things I previously found in literature.

I don't know if you have ever seen this image online, but let me tell you that this quite accurately describes my relationship for this piece of work (except that I haven't reached the two final stages yet and I cry while trying to get there):

I have by no means been a perfect student while doing this research. Against of what I first thought, conducting a study alone is not easy or clear. My research schedule has doubled while working and I have many times found myself stuck somewhere because something felt tricky or I felt unmotivated. This process has taught me a lot about the importance of strategy, schedules and sticking to them. And this learning will be useful next year when planning and writing thesis.

This would be my third and last blog post for this field study. I hope that my posts have given you a glimpse on what a research process can look like.

Blog Entry 3. Internship at VIC Textiltvätt AB in Kållered!

Hi Everyone,
In this final entry I will let you know what I have learned from my internship at VIC Textiltvätt.
While reflecting on what has been learned, much of my learning has circled around ‘change’ in terms of contributing to improve and enhance what VIC already does.
I have surely learned a lot but there are a few things that stands out.
Firstly, one of the most important things that I have learned is that;

Change takes time: The timespan required for the change may depend whether the change is minor or major in nature but the essential in this is that it cannot be forced. Perhaps it is better to say that a change therefore requires time?
During my internship, one of the major changes I was a part of, was that one of introducing the new system of incoming laundry and teach the employees in the independent shops.
However, teaching all employees in the three independent shops takes time and is not something that is done within a week or a month.

Change is inevitable: This is because the world around us is undergoing change(s) more or less all the time and things, circumstances changes with time.
Time came to a point where VIC felt that their traditional system of recording incoming laundry by hand wasn’t enough, but with a new digital system featuring a text message function, VIC felt and feel so far that the new system suites them better than the old one, as it also matches their ambition of being a modern dry cleaning business.

Change is necessary: In similarity to what I mentioned above, change is also necessary.
For VIC it was obvious, as for them to be the modern, forward-thinking business they want to be, it simply does not give a serious impression if they never would have considered changing aspects or things in their way of delivering their services.

I have enjoyed my internship very much, and last week, we received over 100 bags of ‘skador’.
Good for business, but a lot of work awaits them.
I will be dealing with some of this the coming weeks.




Thanks for letting me share my thoughts and feelings about my internship.

/ Emma

Summing up

In this third and last blog entry, it’s time to wrap it all up. I had a wonderful internship period at KappAhl. Those eight weeks certainly flew by but oh so much I've learnt. The coolest thing for me was to actually experience the life at a corporate fashion firm. With small daily contributions along with big results and also major changes (which is part of the corporate life!), I’ve experienced a fantastic and positive work environment with employees who are passionate and truly engaged in their work. I finally see the full picture of the textile value chain and have become familiar with its different parts and processes. What I found most exciting was to be part of the range planning, the building and creation of a collection, from fashion forecasting all the way to a finished product. Thereafter, it’s of course also interesting to follow the performances on the market! My written report further digs deeper into the circular life of fashion products and sustainable supply chain management. I took great interest in being part of all different kinds of activities as well as in doing my best to support both buyers and designers. I love how the company welcomed and appreciated initiatives and the color management project in particular was my favorite one. Of course, there is much more to discover and learn. Therefore, I was also happy to get to back up for vacationing colleagues. Last but not least, I wish you all a nice continuation of the summer. 

The Role of the Assistant Buyer

In this second blog entry, I’d like to share a few reflections upon the role of the assistant buyer. The work is primarily administrative with main activities including taking care of and following up orders, handling samples, style and material analysis, following up sales, pricing, and registering all different kinds of changes along the process. You also need to stay à jour on trends and the fashion market. Many tasks may seem routine-like; however, since you are involved in a continuous process of developing new products there is a lot of dynamism and variation to the work. You use administrative programs and tools and you communicate mostly per email. You work with multiple collections simultaneously; at this company the assistant buyer engages in at least three seasons at a time. “Drops” are smaller collections that are released or portioned out throughout the year. There is a lot of deadlines and changes in timing and transportation modes etc. to keep track on and to keep in order. Therefore, it helps to be organized and to constantly stay available and responsive to act quickly in communication, decision-making and problem-solving. You don’t want to lose one single day because there are preset production and logistics schedules to follow and the timing for the distribution center, stores, photo shootings and campaigns must be right. The garments may not arrive too late, and - which may be a bit frustrating before you get used to it - not too early either!