Supply & Logistics Excellence Trainee Program(SET)

“Every day at Budweiser is brand new for various challenges I need to face. The emphasis Budweiser has put on SET makes me feel motivated and hopeful about the future.”

After graduating from the University of Leeds with major in Food Nutrition, I joined Budweiser in 2018. From Foshan to Wuhan, from QA to brewing and logistics, from the front line to management positions and headquarter functions. In the platform with infinite possibilities, the way of working and business mode may have been changing frequently, only opportunity, challenge, and my constant passion have remained.

In 2021, I joined the logistics team of the headquarters to take charge of production planning of a world-class brewery instead of a middle one. Different from focusing on the implementation of the headquarter strategy in a single brewery, now I need to change my perspective and coordinate the overall production from a higher position.

In the special environment of the pandemic, facing unpredictable demand fluctuations and the strategic adjustment of competitors, a white war is happening. It is a huge challenge to me, but with the help of the Tech-Log and Tech-supply resources, the Silos, the Control Tower, and the E2E system, we were able to open up the visibility and analyze from a more detailed dimension. By holding a high sensitivity to changes in the demand side and data calculation, we successfully finished products and helped sales occupy the market. We sought the optimal solution in the infinite changes, and finally reached a virtuous circle of balance between supply and demand.

Budweiser is the Whampoa Military Academy of supply chain and logistics. People in Budweiser are efficient and never satisfied. Excellent people create new ideas together and win games together. Here, you will never be alone in your journey to meet challenges, every idea will be respected, and every seed will be free to grow. All we need to do is Challenge Accepted and grow quickly and get a full sense of achievement from it.

As 2015 SET, from a trainee to a plant manager now, I have worked for Budweiser APAC as TS process engineer, Zone Water Manager, Utility KPI/Cost Manager, Utility Sustainability Associate Director, TS manager of Wuhan Brewery, and current position – Plant Manager of Ginsber Brewery. Lots of challenges are along the way, however, I also gained a full sense of achievement and boundless confidence.

A job full of challenges can always keep the desire to fight. Dream Big and Never Satisfied are the culture I most identify with in ABI, no matter I worked for HQ function or Local Brewery.

As zone function, we need to face 40 different breweries with different production backgrounds, and also face the challenges from other zones. “Be The Best” is in our DNA. We reviewed detailed processes, communicated cross functions, and developed benchmarking for all breweries to improve.

As Brewery Management team, we should strive for excellent performance and motivate your team to fight for a future with more cheers. 100% mindset drives me to make the best for everything in a brewery - Safety, Quality, Efficiency, Cost, and People. When worked for Wuhan Brewery, I realized the dream of “the first Carbon Neutral and Digital Brewery”, and in Ginsber Brewery, World Class level was achieved in 2021, the first time in Ginsber’s History.

With the growth with team together, I gained lots as well in last 7 years, excellent functional manager, APAC Owner, Global Technical Manager, internal trainer, Green Belt program, at the same time, met great mentors, friendship and colleagues.

Budweiser has been sparing no effort to fulfill the love of beer and the beer culture. “Passion for Beer” bring us together, “Challenge Accepted” drives us forward, and “To a future with more cheers” makes me proud of my work and career.

In the past few years, the company has been continuously developing, growing, and achieving milestones after milestones, and I have been fortunate enough to experience the infinite platforms, opportunities, and challenges brought by various rapid changes.

In my second year in the company, when the Harbin Flagship Brewery was being built, I accepted a big challenge. As the Brewing Supervisor, I led a team of 12 people to participate in the construction and production of this new plant. I still remembered that winter the lowest indoor temperature was -9 ℃. We stayed warm by cotton quilts, backed by our strong dreams. To ensure the quality and quantity of the construction work, we did not fear to work in the noise and dust. Fight against difficulties, fight against pressure, come rain or shine, we overcame all difficulties. Only in 3 months, we successfully achieved our first brew milestone.

Previously, Corona was manufactured only in Mexico. In 2019, when I was the senior Brewmaster of Putian Brewery, the APAC zone planned to introduce it to China. After half a year's efforts we’ve taken, China's Corona lived up to expectations and was highly recognized by Mexico and the global headquarters. One year later, the Putian Brewery became the world's first Corona production base outside Mexico, which was also a breakthrough global change for Corona since 1925.

During the past years, I experienced the construction of Harbin flagship brewery and zone brewing headquarters work in Wuhan. I served as the Brewmaster of Ziyang, and the Brewmaster of JSB, the largest craft beer brewery in China and the senior Brewmaster of Putian, the BEP No. 1 in the world. Now I’m the IoF & Technology Capability Director and also a Partner in the company. I have received several of the most valuable honoraries: owner, global excellent Brewmaster, first certified corona foreign Brewmaster, the best partner of Asia Pacific University, and partner of the company.

In my eyes, the company's culture will never cease to exist, unwilling to be in front of the eyes, like a fast and progressive ship, which pushes everyone to constantly break through themselves. It will give you a huge platform and accompany you with almost unimaginable challenges along the way. My experience in Budweiser APAC is that of being very happy, lucky and fulfilled, at the same time, and letting myself grow rapidly. There is no miracle in life, only the result of efforts. From the ice city Harbin to the land of abundance in Sichuan, and then to the coastal city of Putian and the enthusiastic Wuhan, my growth steps are everywhere. Thanks to Budweiser APAC for speeding up my dream, my steps will never stop!

“Challenge accepted mentality” is embedded in everyone's DNA of the Supply Chain and Logistics function. It reminds me to always step out of my comfort zone and hence grow faster.

In 2009, as the first generation of SET, I was fortunate to join Budweiser APAC. In these 13 years, I went through one year of training, one year as Shift Leader, two years as Process Engineer, two years as Manager in the Technical Services department, one year as Full Support to one of our Indian breweries, one year as Baoding Brewery Plant Manager, three years as Tangshan Brewery Manager and two years of EHS Director. I am also currently a Partner in the company. Every position has been full of challenges and each role presents a broad range of opportunities for young people with a head full of dreams and who are willing to fight for it.

When I look back at my contribution on the SET project, I am particularly proud of my support contributions to the Indian brewery in 2016. I along with a support team went from China to India, worked at the shop floor together with the local colleagues, used VPO tools, opened the gap in the production process, found opportunities & the root cause of the problems, and formulated actions to solve the problem. Post which, new standards were set to ensure the stability of subsequent productions and stable cycle of SDCA. We overcame cultural & environmental differences and achieved the goals supported by our business unit in India. All KPIs of safety, quality and efficiency improved drastically that year and finally the Indian brewery got VPO (excellence program) certification by the end of the year.

At Budweiser APAC, the spirit of ownership drives us to work hard and achieve results. Stepping out of our comfort zones, working hard in the spirit of ownership, focusing on execution, continuing to challenge, finding best benchmarks, opening gaps, and finally surpassing the best benchmarks to form a new one motivates Supply Chain and Logistics function to take every challenge bravely as it comes and achieve the goal of "Challenge accepted" each time.