Future Opportunities Supply Chain Co-op (Spring 2027)

Location: Hershey, PA • Duration: Spring 2027 (January–July or July–December)

About the role

The Hershey Company is the #1 producer of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products in North America. Two co-op positions are available for each Supply Chain function in 2027; you may indicate your preferred rotation period when you apply.

Responsibilities

• Transportation Operations
  • Track and trace strategic customer shipments for Hershey and Alliance partners.
  • Collaborate with Hershey transportation partners to resolve customer delivery issues.
  • Work with Logistics Operations Specialists, Customer Service, and Carrier partners on service requirements and process improvements.
  • Assist transportation planners with planning activities.
  • Analyze volume and performance reporting; identify trends and opportunity areas.
  • Other duties as assigned.
• Supply Planning
  • Manage and control finished-goods inventories to support customer-service goals.
  • Create and monitor deployment plans from producing plants throughout the distribution network using SAP tools.
  • Manage freshness of inventory by recommending transfers and providing disposition on items that have reached a critical ship date.
  • Maintain JDA DRP system settings for new and existing items to achieve desired business results.
  • Manage product flow using planning tools for assigned facilities; balance operational and shipping needs with third-party operators.
  • Build loads in JDA, understanding load capacities, item attributes, and how they influence load building.
• Procurement
  • Work with Category Managers, Packaging Development, Packaging Innovation, and Suppliers to provide visibility to supplier capabilities, technologies, items, and assets.
  • Act as project manager for strategic initiatives with the supplier base.
  • Assist in developing and executing sourcing events for key categories.
  • Support detailed analytics on supplier costing models, spend, and continuous-improvement opportunities.
  • Match supplier capabilities with internal needs and innovation pipeline to define highest probability of success.
• Demand Planning
  • Develop and maintain a 104-week forecast for assigned items, incorporating internal and external inputs.
  • Generate daily reports analyzing retail Point-of-Sale insights and inventory levels; drive change recommendations.
  • Participate in Vendor-Managed Inventory efforts to achieve inventory and service-level goals.
  • Assess business environment, competitors, customers, market trends, and implications for the area of responsibility.
  • Ad hoc projects focused on performance improvement, process enhancements, and improved communication.
• Customer Supply Chain
  • Perform customer analytics using external customer and internal company data; experience with supply or demand planning is helpful.
  • Conduct On-Time Delivery Analysis by tracking and tracing customer shipment data to identify key focus areas.
  • Work with Hershey transport partners and customer data to identify root causes and action plans for on-time delivery improvement.
  • Partner with the customer-service team to identify opportunities to reduce order-pattern complexity and improve service.
  • Evaluate customer orders to identify trends and opportunity areas that deliver increased rebates and drive efficiency.
  • Assist Customer Supply Chain Managers on ad hoc projects for top-10 customers (e.g., case-fill improvement, seasonal service, reporting).
• Manufacturing Alliances
  • Leverage analytical skills to translate business analysis into production recommendations, including tracking performance against scheduled plans.
  • Ensure items are set up quickly and correctly in SAP to enable manufacturers to produce products.
  • Monitor the external environment, including competitive assessments and consumer/customer trends.
  • Generate weekly PowerPoint summaries to drive recommendations on production and process improvements.
  • Develop conclusions and act using available tools, historical data, and internal/external insights; track supplier risk via Dun & Bradstreet.
  • Collaborate across the organization and with key external customers; align risks and expectations through cross-functional problem solving.
  • Perform ad hoc analysis as needed.
• Capital Planning
  • Provide exposure to Capital Budget Group Owners from multiple Hershey facilities globally, reviewing and analyzing capital project data.
  • Review and audit capital-project submissions for compliance with Hershey’s stage-gating process.
  • Leverage Alteryx to transform and manage a Capital Engineering Power BI dashboard for expenditures, approvals, resource demand, and year-over-year performance.
  • Help improve the Capital Engineering data-management strategy to achieve a more automated data environment.
  • Support delivery of the in-year capital plan and creation of the following year’s capital plan as the primary contact for one or more budget groups.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled as a sophomore or above with a minimum 3.2 GPA.
• Supply Chain Management, Mathematics, or Business majors preferred.
• Superior strategic thinking and planning abilities.
• Outstanding analytical skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, etc.).
• Ability to nurture and contribute to innovation and creative solutions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for a wide range of audiences, including senior management.