Brian Vautour, University of Colorado at Boulder, MBA '10, sent the following about his exciting internship with MillerCoors...
So while fellow classmate Eric Lundeen is jetting around the country on private jets reviewing the impact of an acquisition on a company's credit rating my summer's been routed in something a little simpler, beer. That's right, cold refreshing beer. I've spent the summer interning for MillerCoors in Golden, CO. The first thing people ask about...well okay the second right behind, "Do you get free beer?" (More on that question later) is "Wait, I thought Miller and Coors were competitors?" Well in July of 2007, Molson Coors and SABMiller joined forces by launching a joint venture of their US businesses with the stated goal of becoming America's best beer company. By combining forces MillerCoors has been able to generate significant synergies that are helping them compete against market share leader Anheuser-Busch InBev.
During the summer I've worked in the Procurement Organization. Procurement is currently tasked with helping the joint venture leverage the spend of the two legacy companies and drive savings that can be reinvested into the business. At the start of the summer, I was given several projects to complete that have challenged my thought process and exposed me to the beer business. One project encouraged me to come up with "Five Big Ideas" requiring me to think broadly, interact with individuals all over the organization, and review thousands of lines of data in excel. I feel that these self directed projects have allowed me stretch my thinking while using some of the skills I learned during the first year at Leeds (including a Cash Conversion Cycle Analysis). As the summer winds to a close I feel like I've had the opportunity to contribute to the organization and make a difference.
So in addition to learning about procurement I've also gotten to experience all sorts of parts of the business. People may not realize, but one of the reasons why Coors Light is better than the competition is because of the care and attention given to the ingredients. In June, I got to learn firsthand about the first step in the brewing process when I attended Barley Days. Barley is malted eventually becoming the base of beer, what the yeast feeds on during fermentation. Coors brands are unique in that MillerCoors works closely with farmers to raise the barley and then manages a network of Grain Elevators across four states were barley is purchased and stored before it is used in production. Barley Days was an amazing experience were I meet Pete Coors, toured a Grain Elevator, and talked to the farmers responsible for helping to make great beer. Additional events this summer included detailed tours of the Golden Brewery - the largest single site brewery in the US, interaction with the leaders of the company, and experiences at retail seeing the three tier distribution system that gets our beer into the hands of adult consumers first hand. In a few weeks the summer may be gone, but my appreciation for the beer business will continue.
Oh yea.... and yes, I get several free cases of beer a month!
