Informe de Practicas Profesionales en la Empresa Alkosto

Abstract

This report documents the development of professional internship activities carried out in the automotive division of Alkosto S.A., a leading Colombian retail company, aimed at optimizing motorcycle inventory management through process automation and the implementation of Business Intelligence tools. Over a six-month period, a continuous improvement project was executed that integrated macros programmed in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in Excel and interactive dashboards in Power BI to automate tasks related to cleansing, organizing, and analyzing inventories distributed across 24 stores nationwide. The methodology combined direct participant observation, documentary analysis of operational procedures, and the use of corporate systems such as Oracle PeopleSoft and SIGA, under a mixed methodological approach of descriptive character. The results showed a 65% reduction in daily inventory processing times, a 43% decrease in stores with critical stock levels, and a 28% improvement in rotation indicators. The implementation of the developed technological tools generated approximately 490 annual hours of recovered operational time, supporting the hypothesis that accessible and low-cost solutions, when strategically applied to processes previously diagnosed with methodological rigor, can produce substantial improvements in operational efficiency. This work highlights the integration between academic training in International Business and applied corporate practice, emphasizing the importance of developing hybrid competencies that combine management knowledge, understanding of international trade dynamics, and technical proficiency in analytical tools to effectively respond to the challenges of the contemporary retail sector.