A company forwarded me a job posting for an entry level position in supply chain & they especially wanted a SCM major with some of these skill sets (Special Product Procurement Specialist):
1. Collaborate with engineers, manufacturing team members, designers, suppliers, tool builders, and associates to complete Engineering Change Orders. (Our students learn this in EDMM 1420: Engineering Graphics)
2. Must be familiar in the use of common quality system processes such as sample submission, capability studies, etc. (Our students learn this in EDMM 3280: Quality Assurance & Control)
3. Basic understanding of manufacturing processes used for metal fabrication, concrete, wood, and plastics is preferred. (Our students learn this in EDMM 1500/1501: Processes & Materials in Mfg Laboratory)
4. Must possess the ability to read & interpret blueprints. (Our students learn this EDMM 1420: Engineering Graphics)
5. Must be able to add, subtract, multiply, & divide in common units of measure & have a working knowledge of data collection, data analysis, and evaluation. (Our students learn this in CIS 2640: Big data/predictive analytics)
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I recently had an HR manager tell me she had two entry SCM jobs but she was hoping for a CIS type for one & an engineer for the other. I asked her what about a SCM major that has super strong data analytics skills & takes engineering classes. She then asked: Does that even exist? I said YES. Reminder: many WMU ISM students are Business Analytics minors & all are req’d to take engineering classes.
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WMU ISM Engineering Courses
The engineering courses are a key distinction in the ISM program. In practice, supply management professionals interact with technical people in many ways and having a basic understanding of engineering makes ISM graduates much more effective on the job. In purchasing, supply management professionals must coordinate new product development efforts with engineering personnel from their own company as well as the supplying company. In production management, supply management professionals have to understand the manufacturing processes that they are managing and need to be able to relate to product design and production engineers. Understanding engineering drawings and manufacturing processes are critical skills that graduates of other programs have to develop on the job, while WMU ISM students have these skills before graduation.
EDMM 1420 Engineering Graphics: Essentials of engineering graphics including technical sketching, CAD applications, applied geometry, orthographic projection, section, dimensioning, tolerancing, threads and fasteners, weldments, detail and assembly drawing, charting and basic elements of descriptive geometry.
EDMM 1500 Introduction to Manufacturing: Analysis and application of a broad range of modern manufacturing techniques utilized in industry. Exploration of production methods as influenced by historical impact, materials, processes, productivity, ethics, and social/environmental concerns. The global challenges to product design, performance, quality, and economic considerations will be investigated.
EDMM 1501 Processes and Materials in Manufacturing Laboratory: The purpose of this laboratory course is to use introductory processes and materials found in manufacturing. Major topics include manufacturing principles and organization, principle processes used to make metal, plastic and ceramic parts, design considerations for computer integrated manufacturing, simultaneous engineering.
EDMM 3280 Quality Assurance and Control: Techniques of controlling quality in manufacturing systems. Topics include organization of quality, methods of measurement, and basic statistical tools.
EDMM 4870 Manufacturing Productivity Techniques: The application of modern systems for engineering design and the re-engineering of manufacturing and service operations from the initial product design to delivery of the final product. Emphasis will be on manufacturing systems, principles, practices and procedures to enhance productivity, quality, and customer service in a global business environment.
EDMM 4880/MKTG 4880 Applied Process Reengineering: Application of analytical and process measurement techniques to process design decisions. Benefits of process standardization and improvement.
EDMM 5120 Management of Service Operations: An analysis of service industries, exploring differences in planning and controlling operations. Emphasis will be on service system design, service quality, and comparing customer expectations with their perceptions.
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Please reach out for more information. Thank you. Sime
Dr. Sime (Sheema) Curkovic, Ph.D., Professor, Operations/Supply Chain
Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business
E-Mail: sime.curkovic@wmich.edu
“WMU Integrated Supply Management (ISM)…Nation’s best undergraduate SCM program (Gartner); 2nd in SCM technology (SoftwareAdvice); 2nd in top global SCM talent (SCM World)”