Category: Customer Content

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One of the most reprinted articles in the history of the Harvard Business Review (HBR). The HBR “Core Competence” Article…

 One of the most reprinted articles in the history of the Harvard Business Review (HBR). Students:The HBR "Core Competence" Article:You will notice there is a clean/clear copy attached and another copy with my notes on it. Shouldn't we all read one of the most read papers in business journal history?You could start with this lecture video first or save it for the end of this email (your call - start from the...

How do companies outsource strategically? Some companies (both large and small) are going beyond just outsourcing commodities to also outsourcing core/strategic parts. It makes sense for smaller firms with scarce resources to outsource commodities. A commodity by definition is something that several suppliers exist for and as a result of competition, someone else can do it better, faster, and cheaper.

Here are the same video lectures from the last email (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:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrBN_T9ogao&t=424shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay2orDXjP8o&t=8shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5SD4ugLMks&t=107sThese are basically my notes and transcripts from my lecture.  I would recommend reading forthcoming material slowly and/or multiple times.  It needs to resonate and register with you.___How do...

What is MRO? It is a type of indirect cost.

What is MRO? It is a type of indirect cost. Students:  I would watch this first, beginning at the 12:15 mark...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n879P75eSUs&t=841s Per this lecture – Manufacturing companies that design and build stuff have three types of costs:  Direct Material, Direct Labor, and all other costs are Overhead.  Note, some of that OH spend is called “MRO” (stuff they need to run their factories).  More on MRO later.   When a MFG company sells something for $1, $.50-$.80 of...

Feedback from former student on consulting jobs after graduation…just in case you see some at the career fairs. There will be several at the MSU career fairs. Consulting is simply “problem-solving” for a client/customer. Does consulting appeal to you? “You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of the problems you solve” – Elon Musk

Feedback from former student on consulting jobs after graduation...just in case you see some at the career fairs.  There will be several at the MSU career fairs. Consulting is simply "problem-solving" for a client/customer.  Does consulting appeal to you?“You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of the problems you solve” - ElonMusk I just got the 2024 data results (problem-solving will not go away):https://naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/what-are-employers-looking-for-when-reviewing-college-students-resumes? Students: Here is my perspective on...

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...