20+ General Mills Interview Questions and Answers

Yes, I have worked in both FMCG modelling and CPG domains.

• I have experience in developing demand forecasting models for FMCG products.

• I have also worked on pricing and promotion optimization for CPG products.

• I am familiar with the challenges and trends in both domains.

• For example, I have worked on a project where we developed a predictive model for a snack food company to optimize their inventory management and reduce waste.

• I have also worked on a project where we analyzed co...read more

Accuracy is more important than bias in demand planning as it ensures the forecast is as close to the actual demand as possible.

• Accuracy ensures that the forecast is as close to the actual demand as possible, leading to better inventory management and customer satisfaction.

• Bias can lead to consistently overestimating or underestimating demand, resulting in excess inventory or stockouts.

• In demand planning, the focus should be on improving accuracy through data analysis, foreca...read more

I would analyze the impact of the mistake on the overall forecast accuracy and take corrective actions to adjust the forecast accordingly.

• Analyze the impact of the mistake on the forecast accuracy

• Identify the root cause of the mistake (e.g. data entry error, system glitch)

• Adjust the forecast by correcting the error and reevaluating the demand drivers

• Communicate the revised forecast to stakeholders to ensure alignment

Forecast accuracy measures how close the forecast is to actual results, while bias measures the tendency of the forecast to consistently over or under predict.

• Forecast accuracy is the measure of how close the forecasted values are to the actual values.

• Bias is the tendency of the forecast to consistently over or under predict the actual values.

• Forecast accuracy is typically measured using metrics like Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) or Mean Absolute Error (MAE).

• Bias can ...read more

Important factors in demand planning include historical data analysis, market trends, collaboration with sales and marketing teams, and accurate forecasting.

• Analyzing historical data to identify patterns and trends

• Monitoring market trends and changes in consumer behavior

• Collaborating closely with sales and marketing teams to gather insights and align strategies

• Utilizing accurate forecasting methods to predict future demand

• Considering external factors such as seasonality, prom...read more

Incremental load can be handled by identifying new or updated data and merging it with existing data.

• Identify new or updated data using timestamps or unique identifiers

• Extract and transform the new data

• Merge the new data with existing data using a join or union operation

• Load the merged data into the target system

Clustering is a technique used to group similar data points together. K-means is a popular clustering algorithm.

• Clustering is an unsupervised learning technique

• It is used to group similar data points together based on their features

• K-means is a popular clustering algorithm that partitions data into k clusters

• The algorithm works by randomly selecting k centroids and assigning each data point to the nearest centroid

• The centroids are then updated based on the mean of the data po...read more

Yes, I possess a fundamental understanding of freight.

• I have experience in managing transportation costs and logistics for a company.

• I understand the impact of freight costs on the overall financial performance of a business.

• I am familiar with different modes of transportation such as air, sea, and land freight.

• I have worked on optimizing freight routes to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

• I am knowledgeable about freight regulations and compliance requirements.

• I have negot...read more

Supply chain management involves the coordination and optimization of all activities involved in the production and distribution of goods and services.

• Supply chain management focuses on the five P's of marketing (product, price, place, promotion, and people) to ensure efficient and effective delivery of products to customers.

• It involves managing the flow of goods, information, and finances from the initial sourcing of raw materials to the final delivery of the product to the ...read more

Random Forest is like asking a group of friends for advice and making a decision based on majority vote.

• Random Forest is an ensemble learning method that builds multiple decision trees and combines their predictions.

• Each decision tree in the Random Forest is like a friend giving their opinion on a decision.

• The final prediction of the Random Forest is based on the majority vote of all the decision trees.

• For example, if you ask your friends whether you should wear a jacket or n...read more

Relationships define how tables are connected, blending combines data from different sources, and joins combine data from different tables.

• Relationships are used to connect tables based on common fields.

• Blending is used to combine data from different sources, such as Excel and SQL.

• Joins are used to combine data from different tables based on common fields.

• Blending is useful when the data sources have different levels of detail.

• Joins can be inner, left, right, or full dependin...read more

Program to find the smallest number from 5 given numbers.

• Declare an array of 5 integers.

• Take input of 5 numbers from user and store them in the array.

• Initialize a variable with the first element of the array.

• Loop through the array and compare each element with the variable.

• If the element is smaller than the variable, update the variable.

• After the loop, the variable will contain the smallest number.

• Print the smallest number.

Switching for better career growth opportunities and higher compensation.

• Seeking new challenges and opportunities for professional development.

• Desire for higher salary and better benefits.

• Looking for a company with a strong culture of performance appraisal and recognition.

• Willing to take on more responsibilities and contribute to a dynamic team.

• Previous company may not have provided adequate growth prospects or salary increments.

Data visualization tools are essential for displaying and analyzing data in a visually appealing way.

• Popular data visualization tools include Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly, and Tableau.

• Python libraries like Matplotlib and Seaborn are commonly used for creating charts and graphs.

• Tableau is a powerful tool for creating interactive dashboards and visualizations.

• Plotly is known for its ability to create interactive plots and charts.

• Data visualization projects can involve creating v...read more

Level of Detail expressions are used to aggregate data at different levels of granularity within a visualization.

• LOD expressions allow for more granular control over aggregations

• They can be used to aggregate data at different levels of detail within a visualization

• Syntax includes curly braces and the keywords FIXED, INCLUDE, and EXCLUDE

• Examples include calculating sales by region and product category, or finding the average sales per customer

Covariance measures the extent to which two variables change together, while correlation measures the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables.

• Covariance can be positive, negative, or zero, indicating the direction of the relationship between variables.

• Correlation is always between -1 and 1, with 1 indicating a perfect positive linear relationship, -1 indicating a perfect negative linear relationship, and 0 indicating no linear relationship.

• Covari...read more

The Gini coefficient is used in Random Forest to measure the impurity of a node.

• Gini coefficient is a measure of impurity in a node of a decision tree in Random Forest.

• It ranges from 0 (pure node) to 0.5 (impure node).

• Random Forest uses Gini coefficient to decide how to split nodes during the tree building process.

Accounts receivable is the money owed to a company by its customers for goods or services provided on credit.

• Accounts receivable represents the amount of money owed to a company by its customers.

• It is a current asset on the balance sheet.

• Companies typically create invoices for goods or services provided on credit, which then become accounts receivable.

• Accounts receivable is an important part of a company's working capital management.

• Monitoring and collecting accounts receivab...read more

Scenario: A company's website is experiencing slow loading times. Solution?

• Conduct a website performance analysis to identify the root cause of the slow loading times

• Optimize website content, images, and code to improve loading times

• Consider upgrading hosting plan or server to handle increased traffic

• Implement a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute website content across multiple servers

• Utilize caching techniques to reduce server requests and improve loading times

Code to reverse a string

• Create a function that takes a string as input

• Convert the string into an array of characters

• Use a loop to iterate through the array in reverse order and build a new reversed string

• Return the reversed string