Internship at Cartier : continuous improvement projects within the novelty department

This report presents the results of the assignments I was given, during my 6-month internship at Cartier Jewellery International, in the novelty project performance department. Cartier is one of the top worldwide jewellery Maison, it is part of the Richemont Group. A succinct presentation of the group and Cartier will be carried out, before focusing on the jewellery entity and the department I worked for. During this internship, I had the opportunity to work on three assignments, and therefore to contribute to the continuous improvement of the new jewellery collections development. The portfolio of collections includes about 150 collections which are expected to be launched in the next three years. My principal mission was to monitor the development budget of the collections currently developed. This subject implies improving the budget completion and the budget estimation accuracy. It also entails a reliable database from our side but also from the Finance department’s side. After understanding the product development process and what has already been done to monitor the budget, I identified the points which can be improved (budget completion, estimation accuracy, data reliability, efficiency and effectiveness during budget reviews). I, then, proposed tools and KPIs (consolidated excel file, historical analysis, budget scorecards) to better control the development budget, to point out the critical projects and to show the monthly results during the management committee meetings. In the end, I managed to improve the proportion of projects with a budget and to stabilize the percentage of projects with an underestimated budget. Furthermore, I succeeded in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the budget reviews with the manufacturing divisions. My other assignment was to update the KPIs and key reporting documents: they are the mirror of the novelty department’s health and they are communicated every month to the management committee. Finally, I had the occasion to manage a “Made In Cartier” (continuous improvement) project: I worked with five different departments to help them build their visual dashboards. These dashboards increase the visibility of the departments’ activities. This internship helps to be more results-oriented, to work in team, to face and manage different personalities. It also enhances my ability to work under pressure: I learnt to prioritize the tasks and to control my stress during the activity peaks.