Market Union | 1st Operation and Finance Management Trainee Meeting

On March 18, the 1st Operation and Finance Management Trainee Symposium was held at Binjiang Workplace. President Tom tang, group leaders Amenda Weng and Sam Zhu along with 54 management trainees, attended the event.

Tara Zhao, Rafael Qin and Ashely Lei, management trainees from President Office suggested moderately opening up rotation opportunities for basic business positions, forming a teaching mentor team to establish a MU mentor database, and launching management trainee courses at MU Academy. They proposed assessing the management and cross-team collaboration skills of management trainees through work weekly reports, sharing sessions, etc., and implementing a “survival of the fittest” mechanism to accelerate talent output.

Minty Zhang, Esther Qian and Cici Chen, management trainees from Legal Department focused on their regular tasks such as contract review in accordance with laws and regulations and handling business disputes. They put forward that, on the basis of strictly fulfilling the obligation of keeping business secrets confidential, legal business partners (BPs) need to rotate through departments such as business, logistics, and finance to deeply understand the legal requirements of different sectors and achieve “two-way collaboration”, ensuring the organic combination of business needs and legal bottom lines. 

Mercy Liu, Jessica Wang, Lucia Zhang, Kristin Qiang, Drin Yao, Lucine Li, Hell Hu, Caroline Niu, Flynn Zhang, Eleven Wang and Anni Zhao management trainees from the Finance Department took pre-filling management, customs declaration documents, and e-commerce settlement as examples. In the context of the parallel development of traditional foreign trade and cross-border e-commerce, they advocated “penetrative” learning across the entire business chain, integrating the “dual mentor system” of finance and business, and strengthening the reserve of professional knowledge and practical experience in procurement, logistics, customs duties, warehousing, marketing, etc. Representatives from EY, 1Win and BASF took part in the training.

They aimed to mainly address issues such as poor communication and one-sided understanding of risk control, and strive to develop towards the integration of business and finance and the role of financial BPs. At the same time, management trainees should possess innovative capabilities, using digital tools such as AI-generated codes and functions to replace manual basic accounting and improve work efficiency. 

Derrick Dongfang, Sonia Hu, Lesley Yu, Vicky Liu, Amanda Li, Ruby Chen, Jessie Zhao, Zack Zeng, Ishtar Lu and Yvette Hu, management trainees from Human Resources Department starting from recruitment, training, and other tasks, suggested equipping management trainees with an executive and stable leadership team to quickly respond to various challenges and ensure the coherence of organizational goals. Different from the internship position planning, they proposed systematically selecting and planning the development roadmap for management trainees through methods such as MBTI personality assessment, constructing a dynamic competency model, and phased rotation with challenges.

They also aimed to transform the training of management trainees from “the task of a single department” into “the responsibility of the entire organization”. In addition, HR business partners (BPs) should become “business drivers” by actively participating in design, quality training, and business communication meetings held within the group to promote the inter-generational exchange of experience and technology. 

Kylie Hu, Glan Feng, Chaya Chen, Nancy Fang and Demi Yuan, management trainees from Logistics Department centered on transformation directions such as digital bills of lading, electronic letters of guarantee, and document tracking systems. They recommended that management trainees lay a solid foundation, draw inferences from one instance, master the ability to process digital documents. 

Management trainees should promote the implementation of measures such as automated verification of overseas warehouse bills, visual monitoring of warehousing data, and optimization of cross-border warehousing and distribution processes. At the same time, as an important measure for talent echelon construction, management trainees should be guided to take on the role of basic team leaders to enhance their collaboration and leadership skills through practice. 

Melo Huang, Andrew Ren, Yuze Wang, Lucia Liu and Eva Peng, management trainees from Design Department focused on the in-depth integration of AI and design capabilities. While efficiently applying AIGC, they emphasized forging the core competitiveness of “emotional design” that cannot be replaced by AI. They should not only use data to drive design decisions and accurately respond to customer needs but also visit customers on the front line, study craftsmanship, and build a full-chain design thinking of “demand insight, solution output, and production adaptation”. 

They proposed conducting cross-category project practices, comparing the differences of multiple product categories, and continuously summarizing design cases to adapt to the constantly evolving product lines. 

Miya Xu, management trainee from the Product Development Department, regarded the new generation as the driving force for organizational change. Their technological sensitivity and demand for equal dialogue could force the management style to shift from “control-oriented” to “empowerment-oriented”. She suggested absorbing the logical experience of senior colleagues in core capabilities such as supply chain development and supplier management, and on this basis, taking the lead in applying digital tools such as electronic atlas classification and AI-based supplier matching. 

Camellia Cao and Fannie Meng from the Customer Engineering Department proposed that trainees should shoulder the responsibility of building world-class customer service, extending service standards to all touchpoints in the customer reception process. They emphasized the importance of repeatedly practicing standardized reception procedures, etiquette, and even specific postures, gestures, and expressions to form muscle memory, ensuring they are always prepared with answers before the customer even asks. 

In practical scenarios, they test the quality of their service, conduct post-mortem analyses for continuous improvement, and integrate professional training in business English, cross-cultural communication, and refreshment preparation. This approach aims to enhance the efficiency of business interactions and transition trainees from standard executors to value creators.

Vivi Luo, management trainee from MU Research Institute, based on her own experience of actively rotating to Logistics Department, realized that management trainees should have the ability to transfer their professional knowledge to cross-departmental practical scenarios. With a financial professional background, she applied risk quantification thinking, digital sensitivity, and the ability to integrate fragmented information to the data analysis of the logistics supply chain, injecting new vitality into her work. 

Tracey Sun, Vance Wan and Romeo Yang, management trainees from Information Technology Department analyzed the “panoramic growth” brought about by the rotation mechanism from the perspectives of code logic and interface development.

The work of Information Technology Department involves the collaboration of front-end, back-end, and business departments. Through cross-departmental rotation, they can create the entire business chain and enhance their overall understanding. They should not only use AI tools to improve code reusability, optimize e-commerce interface efficiency, and reduce redundant operations but also be cautious about the abuse of tools and always maintain independent thinking. 

Erin Jiang, Cynthia Wu, Anya Zhuo, Timber Yan, Zoe Lu and Shirley Wu, management trainees from Administrative Department, closely adhered to the responsibilities of the administrative position and strived for perfection in details. Measures such as redistributing afternoon tea, providing shoe-wiping wipes on rainy days, and customized cross-cultural reception fully demonstrated that administrative work requires the combination of “people”, “goods”, and “place”. 

They proposed setting up an “innovation proposal” channel to pilot micro-innovations, such as constructing a local inventory model with AI, integrating procurement and consumption data to intelligently predict demands, and dynamically adjusting procurement strategies. 

Million He, Rita Jin and Demi Wang, management trainees from Showroom suggested leveraging the cross-departmental coordination capabilities of management trainees to collect the demands and suggestions of various departments for the sample room in reverse, and simultaneously promoting the in-depth embedding of AI technology to create a fashionable online exhibition hall and scene-based display design. 

They could analyze customer preferences through sample-selection data, generate personalized exhibition schemes, and combine new services such as bartending, tea art, and explanations to turn the sample room into a marketing touchpoint. 

John Zhou, management trainee from Security Department, proposed breaking down the communication barriers between departments. From the security department to the administrative department and then to the customer-related departments, information from customers should be conveyed in a timely manner to build a collaborative response mechanism. Combining his military service experience, he advocated that management trainees develop an international strategic vision and form a team that is willing to endure hardships, capable of fighting, and able to win battles. 

President Tom Tang pointed out that our company’s growth from small to large is a victory of adhering to common sense and continuous innovation. More than ten years ago, I wrote an article titled “Before and After 1990, Extraordinary Beauties Are Always Born in Turbulent Times.” Today, the new colleagues mentioned in that article have become key leaders in various positions! In this world, there was no MU originally; it is because of these MUers that MU and its people exist! These colleagues are the foundation of our current success, and as long as their strong will remains unshaken, no difficulty is insurmountable! Young people represent the future, which is common sense, and we must adhere to this common sense. The successors for all future positions in the company must be those who join MU as interns with no prior work experience. The blood of these future successors should carry the noble lineage and prestigious genes of their predecessors!

Being a management trainee is not an endpoint but a beginning. It should be an honor and a motivation. There is elimination in the management trainee program, but after elimination, one can strive to re-enter the list. The management trainee program is not a lifelong system; like leadership positions, it is dynamically adjusted. The company will not promote someone to a senior leadership role without practical, hands-on experience. For the company, we do not judge heroes by their educational background or origin; what matters is the ability to get things done. MU advocates hard work but never forces it, nor does it discriminate against or treat those who do not work hard differently. We will not let hard workers and honest people suffer; we need both mental perseverance and mental prosperity.

Management trainees will have a dedicated class at MU Academy, with an initial plan of ten sessions per year, one session per month, each lasting three days! The management trainee class is equivalent to an officer training class, while ordinary young colleagues are like soldiers. To become an officer, you must first become a management trainee and enter the officer training class, where all future leaders, including general managers and directors of various departments, will be trained! Perhaps many colleagues may not be competent yet, so we will continuously promote them and increase their income. Income will align with the salary and benefits standards of civil servants in Ningbo, and through job rotations and trial periods, we will give everyone the opportunity to make and learn from mistakes, with full authorization!

Management trainees are the children of MU and the fundamental framework and foundation of our organization. This must be a shared understanding and unwavering commitment! We will have successive batches of management trainees, and as the first batch, your responsibility is significant and your mission is glorious!

Growing together with Market Union, we share the same blood!