The University of Northampton partners with Weetabix

Weetabix has created a tie-up with University of Northampton’s Logistics Centre of Excellence to expose supply chain students to business life and to engage additional resource and support in the development of its Oats Procurement Strategy.

The University has a group of students who are part of the ‘SOLVE-it’ (Supply chain, Operations, Logistics, Value chain and Enterprise) research group. The students are committing time beyond their studies to work on  logistics, procurement and supply chain projects, researching issues contained within the global supply landscape, which enhances not only their understanding of subject matters relating to business, but also creates greater employability prospects for them within the area of logistics, procurement and  supply chain after they graduate.

Ten students, under the leadership of Liam Fassam, Lecturer for Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of Northampton, are working with Hitesh Bhatia, Purchasing Manager for Commodities at Weetabix, to develop the Procurement Category Strategy for Oats. The output should inform the company’s approach to implementing a robust supply chain strategy to ensure cost effective and consistent supply of quality products, and identify opportunities for competitive advantage within the Hot Cereal category.

Liam commented: “This collaboration between Weetabix and the University has demonstrated both sides commitment to employability which extends beyond simply equipping students with a good degree.”

This project enables Weetabix to engage with the local community and provides an outreach for the students to apply their curriculum-based learning to business operations and enables them to build greater bonds between business and the University and ultimately increasing their future employability.