Author: Sime Curkovic

Spending on diverse suppliers averages 3.6% of total spend (96.4% is with non-diverse suppliers – we will discuss this in class eventually) – finding and using a minority owned supplier might be a part of your future job. Your employer might expect you to have around 5-10% of your total spend with diversity suppliers, and it will not be easy. Why? There are not many and they tend to be small (and smaller suppliers tend to struggle with being price competitive).

Spending on diverse suppliers averages 3.6% of total spend (96.4% is with non-diverse suppliers - we will discuss this in class eventually) - finding and using a minority owned supplier might be a part of your future job.  Your employer might expect you to have around 5-10% of your total spend with diversity suppliers, and it will not be easy.  Why?  There are not many and they tend to be...

Feedback from Broncos who have GREAT gov jobs (no one spends more money and buys more stuff than the government – that’s SCM – buying stuff and spending money, but doing so well). MSU and WMU have a career fair for just these kinds of jobs. Note, there might currently be a hiring freeze on these jobs (we have new leadership in Washington and Elon is leading that charge). …and if you think government jobs do not pay well, here is a state of Michigan procurement job that pays $93,681.00 – $134,751.00

Feedback from Broncos who have GREAT gov jobs (no one spends more money and buys more stuff than the government - that's SCM - buying stuff and spending money, but doing so well).  MSU and WMU have a career fair for just these kinds of jobs.  Note, there might currently be a hiring freeze on these jobs (we have new leadership in Washington and Elon is leading that charge). ...and if you...

Feedback from Alumni, Delaying graduation, Emails (I was not expecting this one), Drugs & if you have a criminal record…

Feedback from Alumni, Delaying graduation, Emails (I was not expecting this one), Drugs & if you have a criminal record...  Students: Recent feedback from managers (WMU grads) about WMU students…    "Overall WMU students perform significantly better than other schools in Michigan." ..."Customer service skills – I don’t think that this is touched on much in the program (at least when I was a student), but it is a large part of...

Typically, buying organizations will use several rounds of the competitive bidding process to pick a low cost supplier. Buying organizations will send out RFQs to get bids from suppliers. RFQ stands for a Request for Quotation. In other words, please give us a quote for this business. Unfortunately, several iterations of the competitive bidding process can be very resource intensive, especially for smaller companies.

Here are the video lectures to accompany the next few emails (tons of exam questions from these, treat these like a podcast, you can speed it up also) - note, when you watch/listen to these, make sure to rewind it to the beginning:  Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrBN_T9ogao&t=424s Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay2orDXjP8o&t=8s Part 3 -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5SD4ugLMks&t=107s My notes:Typically, buying organizations will use several rounds of the competitive bidding process to pick a...

People that read a lot make way more money (2.3 times more?!!!!)

Here is an astounding fact - readers make more money - a lot more! It's true. According to a number of studies*, business people who read at least 7 business books a year earn over 2.3 times more than people who read only 1 book per year. Why exactly do readers earn so much more money? Answer:  Because they become better problem-solvers.  One of the core reasons is that they have...

Clarification on “3PL versus 4PL” & “asset based” vs. “non-asset based” (huge job market, they will be at all career fairs). Please make sure you understand this before the career fairs as I do not want you to waste your time with companies that might not be a good fit (i.e., sales).

Clarification on "3PL versus 4PL" & "asset based" vs. "non-asset based" (huge job market, they will be at all career fairs). Please make sure you understand this before the career fairs as I do not want you to waste your time with companies that might not be a good fit (i.e., sales).There will be tons of these companies at:Sales, Marketing and Food Marketing Career NightThe event is on Tuesday, Feb. 4, from...

What does a Supply Chain Manager do (and how much do they make – salary data)? The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs and many people in those jobs do not even realize it.

What does a Supply Chain Manager do (and how much do they make - salary data)?  The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs and many people in those jobs do not even realize it. Students:  Remember, if you save your employer $1, then that is the same as giving/adding $1 in pre-tax profit to your employer's bottom line (it is a 1:1 ratio).  Yes, you can help...

Rounding up GPAs, post script on your phones for email replies, resume keywords, & email signatures. How about replying to this email with your version of an email signature (which can be automated)? Students (how about creating a professional email signature to impress employers?):

Rounding up GPAs, post script on your phones for email replies, resume keywords, & email signatures. How about replying to this email with your version of an email signature (which can be automated)? Students (how about creating a professional email signature to impress employers?): Resume advice, Do NOT round up your GPAs  Students should not change their official GPA for their resume. Instead, I recommend they calculate their GPA using the courses required...

What do SCM/business internships pay (and they all pay, never work for free)? The going rate is $20-30 per hour. For goodness sake, ALDI is paying people in the front of the store $17/hr and people in the back/warehouses $23/hr.

What do SCM/business internships pay (and they all pay, never work for free)?  The going rate is $20-30 per hour.  For goodness sake, ALDI is paying people in the front of the store $17/hr and people in the back/warehouses $23/hr.  Hello All: I just wanted to clarify that all SCM/business internships are paid internships and they tend to pay very well.  The companies at the career fairs pay and they pay very...

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing. See below for material from GM WMU SCM alumni that gives away their interview secrets on how they evaluate you.  Several of the companies that recruit from HCOB use this STAR technique.  They have literally given you their score sheet.  Use it to your advantage.  It...