Year: 2022

On the news this morning. America has one of the highest inflation rates in the world right now?! https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_supplychain-inflation-economy-activity-6943554843491921920-JBZC?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web Don’t we have arguably the most productive work force in the world & the largest economy that is driven by technology & innovation? I get it, we have supply chains driven by corporate and consumer greed, but there has to be more at play here. I am going to chew on this for...

Supply chains top CFO business risk concerns: "#1 - raw material costs" https://lnkd.in/gK2nRVUs It seems like Strategic Cost Management (i.e., Price Analysis) has become a lost art, kind of like NOT using your car signal when changing lanes or turning (which causes 1M U.S. accidents/year!). Pre-covid: According to a Deloitte 2019 Global Survey of over 1,200 execs directly involved in cost mgmt, cost reduction remained an essential business practice all around the world, with...

Top 10 Wealthiest Countries. A majority of the world’s wealth is concentrated in just a few countries. In fact, 1/3 of household wealth is held by Americans (4% of global population) & around 25% of total global economic activity & output (GDP) is America. How is that possible? Well, like other parts of the world, we work VERY hard & have a VERY productive workforce (and stuff like supply chain management)....

Detroit Ranked No. 1 (globally?!) Emerging Startup Ecosystem &… https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_this-just-in-detroit-ranked-no-1-emerging-activity-6944469036776771584-3ZWV?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web Ford’s $2 billion investment will bring 3,200 jobs to Michigan - https://lnkd.in/g3fQNrFZ & MI to compete as U.S. mfg capitol w/ new center. Backed by the World Economic Forum, it is the first of its kind in America.https://lnkd.in/gfUa9JMc Detroit’s top ranking marks a 13-spot jump from the previous year, solidifying the city’s growth in early-stage funding and investor activity, number of scale-ups...

“…most companies’ planning processes are functional, slow and labour-intensive, and that Excel is still the most widely used planning tool.” https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_the-digital-planning-gap-between-vision-and-activity-6944643984287825920-AG4q?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web That is VERY consistent w/ the feedback I get from former students. Predictive Data Analytics (Excel on steroids): I get this kind of feedback all the time…https://lnkd.in/dQABdsXc Do you know how to use Power BI or Tableau? Which does your company use? Is it mainstream? Visualization is huge. https://lnkd.in/gceUgQw3Do not be...

There appears to be an appetite for posted salaries! A legal showdown in Colorado provides context as to just how committed corporate America has become to maintaining salary secrecy (big surprise). A number of other states, such as California, Connecticut, Nevada, Maryland, & Rhode Island, similarly require disclosure of salary information to job applicants, but Washington takes it a step further by requiring the salary information to be publicly disclosed...

"Start-up investors are warning of dark days ahead as boom times are unambiguously over." I have so many former students that are with start-ups, some of which are in their very early stages (i.e., no customers, negative cash flow, etc.), & then they read headlines like this. https://lnkd.in/gd6mF5eWI told them that if they had the courage to take this chance, then they have the courage to get through the negativity of...

Parents: 93% of 2020-21 WMU graduates are employed or continuing education. https://lnkd.in/gPxaBnys Washington Monthly has named WMU the best public university in MI for graduate success based on 10 years of earnings following enrollment. WMU ranks No. 1 in graduate earnings & No. 2 in graduation rates. https://lnkd.in/gtH6efZX.WMU spends a lot of time & resources building relationships with employers & it shows. Employers love WMU grads because they get a world class education & work hard...

2022 salaries are up across the board. On avg, supply chain & logistics pros are making $126,215/yr, an increase from $112,779 in 2021, but on par w/ 2020’s avg of $126,475. The median salary in 2022 is now $108K. 20% earn $150K - $249,999/yr, while 16% earn $120K -$149,999. 12% earn between $90K-$99,999, & 10% earn $100K-$119,999. At the higher end of the scale, 9% earn more than $250K/yr. For...