2021 – Page 5 – Sime Curkovic Ph.D.

Do you understand exchange rates & how it impacts Supply Chain Management? Many struggle with this. Let’s practice –

Do you understand exchange rates & how it impacts Supply Chain Management? Many struggle with this. Let's practice - https://lnkd.in/eHNiCXrm Let’s say you just graduated from a SCM program. You have accepted a job offer from Boeing as a Buyer in Seattle. You will help Boeing identify suppliers to help meet its material needs. You must immediately find a supplier which can supply Boeing with electrical wiring harnesses. You find a supplier in Japan by...

When is the right time for grad school? The average age is 33.

When is the right time for grad school? The average age is 33. https://lnkd.in/eTk-PXPvI find this stat to not be too meaningful. For anyone <33, you will likely be the first centurion generation. That means you will live to 100 & have a 60+ year work career. Just remember, the older you get, the lesser the chances of starting &/or finishing grad school. Most of our students start their careers in a job rotation for...

My first SCM job was very tactical & has been replaced by technology & automation.

Will technology replace supply chain jobs?https://lnkd.in/eu7ANq6No, not if you develop your soft skills & learn how to use the technology to do your job better, faster, & cheaper (with a focus on strategic issues). My first SCM job was very tactical & has been replaced by technology & automation. Over half of our SCM students also minor in Business Analytics (e.g., big data/analytics, database management, data mining, project management, SQL,...

I would say very very little coding. Our Business Anaytics minor does require a Python class, but I would not call it a coding class, far from it.

Will I have to learn & do a lot of coding in Supply Chain Mgmt? Answer: No, but…https://lnkd.in/eQgH3YY2I would say very very little coding. Our Business Anaytics minor does require a Python class, but I would not call it a coding class, far from it. This describes our Python class (CIS 2650): CIS 2650 is not just a “Python” class, but instead a Python class for analytics (big difference). In a traditional Python class, people teach Python straight for the whole semester...

Business Analytics (this can be a deal breaker in your professional lives).

Business Analytics (this can be a deal breaker in your professional lives). https://lnkd.in/eqiqSMRbThese skills are very important $$ – half of our Supply Chain majors are BA minors, why?)…The following CIS courses in our program develop Business Analytic skills: CIS 1020 (Business Computing), CIS 2640 (Business Analysis & Reporting), CIS 2650 (Programming for Data Analytics), CIS 3640 (Business Analytics), & CIS 4640 (Business Data Mining). A thought on the BA minor...

CIS 2640 – Applied Analytics Foundations (see description in comments & below)

Predictive Data Analytics (Excel on steroids): I get this kind of feedback all the time…https://lnkd.in/dQABdsXcCIS 2640 - Applied Analytics Foundations (see description in comments & below) I get these kinds of emails regularly… Hello Sime, I just wanted to let you know I just got hired at a company called XXXX…Just wanted to make sure you keep encouraging students to take CIS 2640, if it wasn’t for that class I...

This is what happens when Supply Chain professionals get good at Data Analytics:

This is what happens when Supply Chain professionals get good at Data Analytics: https://lnkd.in/eu7ANq6"Gamifying Travel at Intuit" (a WMU SCM grads journey to quick success) Supply chain professionals, expert at improving processes & reducing costs, fill roles in a variety of areas leading & supporting initiatives that help the bottom line. As an analyst at business & financial software giant Intuit, Nathan Henckel, WMU supply chain grad, teamed up with three...

What is MRO? A great career path! Do not be afraid of Indirect, MRO, & the Service Sector (i.e., healthcare).

What is MRO? A great career path! There were 3,501 MRO Buyer jobs on LinkedIn not filled, most have <5 applicants: https://lnkd.in/eZNtazqy, 9 got filled since I posted this, only 3,492 jobs left.Do not be afraid of Indirect, MRO, & the Service Sector (i.e., healthcare).https://lnkd.in/ecdDMYQMaintenance, repair, & operating items refers to all those things that orgs need to keep their factories running, but they are not direct costs – they are a...

Do new college grads really need to participate in a 401K Retirement Savings Plan? Yes!

Do new college grads really need to participate in a 401K Retirement Savings Plan? Yes! I spend around 15-30 minutes on this in class because my students need it. When they get their job offers, I ask them to look over this part (they usually need help). Please watch this if you want career mobility & financial independence in your 40s & beyond. In order to achieve this, you will need to...

Exploding job offers & do you want a full time job to begin in a job rotation?

Exploding job offers & do you want a full time job to begin in a job rotation? https://lnkd.in/ervskG5Many of my students have come back to school from their summer internships. Many of them received full time offers from their internship and most have accepted (5-10 months ahead of graduation!). Some of them even got a little signing bonus for pocket change. Note, most companies will only give them 1-2 weeks to decide (way before...