Category: Customer Content

This is why a predictive big data analytics class should be a required class for every major... Note, we knew all this at WMU way before Berkley and MIT and we also did something about it way before them.  Yes, we did this before Berkley and MIT.  https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-berkeley-its-big-data-on-campus-1541066401?emailToken=8643daf9ec2e86b33102a27604b64ce762w30y7HQaTkKHCgbFxtN64RShXsPgaLTugBhhRUshrl+eqQiKJqxyELUO9XgDJakvdWukP9NNf5yLDQ2td5wQ%3D%3D&reflink=article_email_share UC Berkeley’s Fastest-Growing Class Is Data Science 101www.wsj.comThe university has created a division to study the science of mining the tidal wave...

The article below says..."...it’s clear that supply chain professionals are poised to become the most powerful executives in the world..."Note, this article was written before covid.  Multiply the above statement by a factor of at least two.  I think you might have picked a great major and/or career path.  http://fortune.com/2018/12/11/ceo-supply-chain/ Tomorrow's CEOs Will Come from an Unlikely Place: The Supply Chain | Fortunefortune.comWe live in a world in which customers...

Note, I wrote this about Bitcoin over 6 years ago.  I was kind of right and kind of wrong.  Note, I also never bought Tesla stock.  Come on man, a one car company with one factory that uses batteries when gas is only $2-3/gallon? Well, Tesla stock today is at $719 per share and one year ago it was $150 per share (it was $43 in Summer 2019).  People that...

https://treeofideas.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/articles-the-core-competencies-of-the-corporation.pdf This article is older, but it is the most reprinted article in the history of the Harvard Business Review (HBR).  It keeps getting reprinted because it is a classic and its premise is still very relevant.  HBR is a journal with articles written for higher level managers.  I would highly recommend becoming regular readers of 3 journals that your boss’ boss will read.  One, HBR – general strategic management...

It might be better to watch my lecture video first before reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EePQkl7Lwws&t=180s I think getting an internship at Coyote Logistics (CL) would be an excellent opportunity for ISM students in general.  Just keep in mind that non asset based 3PLs such as CL, CH Robinson, TQL, etc., recruit across all majors, especially general management, general marketing, and sales marketing.  I would prefer that students work for companies that pay...

When you ask a current or potential supplier to submit an RFQ (Request for Quotation), you are asking them to bid on some business.  You are basically saying to a supplier – I have some business for you, and I am requesting that you give me a quote on that business.  As a buyer, you have every legal right to say you want a “cost breakdown” of the price they...

I had a student email me with this work situation.  How would you handle this situation? Our current supplier is a small subsidiary of a parent company that is considered very high risk by our credit and finance group. They do not want us to do business with this supplier because based on their financials the parent company could easily go bankrupt. The problem is this supplier is very cheap...

Global Negotiation: The fastest growing class in supply chain programs.The Institute of Supply Management identifies negotiation as the most important skill of SCM professionals and yet the weakest in terms of delivery. However, not at WMU. In fact, our supply chain majors (a Top 10 program) take the class with Sales majors (another Top 10 program)! Do you see the synergy? Our case-based negotiation course is taught in conjunction with...

I make students do this every semester... I would like you to tell me about yourself that sells me on you.  Instead of a sales organization (see attached template, contact me for a copy), convince me that a potential employer (or professor) would be interested in you. It is the kind of thing you would do if you walked into a room at the career fair.  I will watch it...

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. Larger companies have been able to...