Delving deep into the fundamentals of product management during my internship at Zycus Infotech Pvt. Ltd. -By Debopriyo Dey from SIOM Nashik

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As a Product Management aficionado, my internship at Zycus was a dream come true. With a personality like Mr. Aatish Dedhia at the helm, Zycus has set the trend of innovative products being developed in India and sold internationally. Zycus is currently recognized as one of the top three players in the domain of procurement performance. So, without any doubt, I will say that it was an opportunity to work in an environment that can help me carve out a career defined by exposure to work in one of the finest product company in India that has already left its mark in the global technological space. So, here I am with a brief overview of my experience.

A well-thought-out selection process

The selection process initiated with an online aptitude test followed by the submission of a detailed wireframe model for a complete bidding process on both buyer and supplier side. Our submissions were evaluated based upon the candidate's ability to represent the procurement process on the user interface and to ensure that the user achieves the specific and intended goal. This was followed by two personal interviews where we were judged on our thought process behind the wireframe model, the product narrative and our problem-solving capabilities.

The nitty-gritty of Product Management 

During my internship at Zycus, the role offered was of a Product Management Intern which provided an opportunity to understand the management of a product life-cycle from planning to execution. It provided an opportunity to take appropriate actions to improve product and product line efficiencies, performance to achieve overall revenue, retention, growth and customer satisfaction.

The role of a Product Manager always intrigued me because of the accountable responsibilities to bring in competitive market solutions and user-focussed designs, the creativity that is involved, and the team management experience it offers. And a product management internship at Zycus will provide me with that cornerstone experience to launch my career as a Product Manager

I was able to enhance my ability to conceptualize a process that is currently being used by our clients and convert it into a product that will offer a better, streamlined, and easier option to our clients to achieve the intended target. As a product management intern, I got the opportunity to work and collaborate with multiple teams such as Development Team, UI/UX team, Operations Research team and ensure that every prospect’s unique requirements are catered to by the product.

A perfect fit of collaboration, dynamism and strong ethics

Zycus is a company with a very strong ethical culture. It has an open working culture with enormous visibility to top management. During the period of 9 weeks of our internship at Zycus, the interim and final presentations were attended by people from the top management of all the business units of Zycus. The most important pillar of our internship has been the feedback that we received from them. Our ideas and thought processes were always welcomed as a different and fresh perspective. 

During these unprecedented times, the best part of doing an internship at Zycus was the feeling of belongingness with the Zycus family. They ensured that we not only achieve our individual targets but also take a great deal of learning from the internship.

Speaking of its culture and dynamic functioning, the most memorable period of the internship was the first two weeks during which we attended numerous webinars about the functionality and purpose of different products related to different processes in the Procure to Pay cycle under the gamut of Zycus suite of products. These webinars helped us not only to delve deeper into the Procure to Pay cycle but also to understand how Zycus suite of products work and the idea of simplicity behind each product.

All in all, during this brief period of 9 weeks only, we understood that the work culture here at Zycus is not restricted by teams or the concerned products or shifts or business units. It is a perfect example of collaborative intelligence.

A well-handled shot

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the whole internship at Zycus was designed to be virtual. There were a few limitations to it, but the excellent IT support team of the company and individual mentors assigned to us ensured that the internship experience is best for us. Well, due to the virtual style of internship at Zycus, we missed quite a few interesting things that we could have experienced otherwise. The team outings, everyday discussions with my co-interns and most importantly regular interactions with senior management are to name a few. 

But I am really happy to share that Zycus planned the entire span of internship with numerous sessions with industry leaders, Product Management Executive Director and other senior leaders of the organization. The senior leaders talked about how the idea behind a product is developed, how the necessity of a product is understood and about the pricing and monetizing strategies.