Category: Free Content

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Do you know what your brand is? Become the Nike swoosh of your life! Most students & even managers put little effort into developing & promoting their brand. How about a personal SWOT analysis? For details on how to build your brand (with a workbook)

How Does Your Personality Type Affect Your Income: https://lnkd.in/g7z_ZNV3. Do you know what your brand is? Become the Nike swoosh of your life! Most students & even managers put little effort into developing & promoting their brand. How about a personal SWOT analysis? For details on how to build your brand (with a workbook): https://lnkd.in/dSAA6wF Here is a website that is similar to MBTI and it is free: https://lnkd.in/ey4TEUY Also, here is another...
Sime Curkovic Free Content

FREE resources for Info on Suppliers, Customers, & Prospects. A former student working in B2B industrial sales, suggested the following list of free websites as a resource for research on competitors, customer supply chains, & prospect contact info.

FREE resources for Info on Suppliers, Customers, & Prospects. A former student working in B2B industrial sales, suggested the following list of free websites as a resource for research on competitors, customer supply chains, & prospect contact info. Many of these links may already be in your resource list, but if not, they can be helpful:https://lnkd.in/gV786uxYhttps://www.datanyze.com/https://lnkd.in/gqEUT3BBhttps://lnkd.in/gV2KB5dahttps://www.apollo.io/https://lnkd.in/gqR4ZPst Students, you can use this stuff for class. More stuff:Students: 3 supply chain orgs...
Sime Curkovic Free Content

Industry Certifications & Associations for Various Business Majors… Data shows that people earn more & have more job security if they become engaged members of their professional discipline. One way to do that is to join industry specific associations related to your majors. Further, these associations often have certifications with them that externally validate you as a subject matter expert ($$$).

Students: Data shows that people earn more and have more job security if they become engaged members of their professional discipline. One way to do that is to join industry specific associations related to your majors.  Further, these associations often have certifications with them that externally validate you as a subject matter expert ($$$).  I would give serious consideration to these moving forward in your careers.  In fact, for some of these, you can...
Sime Curkovic Free Content

I have asked a lot of SCM managers how they “prepare” to negotiate price increase requests from their suppliers. In particular, I was curious about how and where they get their data from (i.e., CME, COMEX, etc.). Many said their suppliers provide that information. I am not convinced that using data from your suppliers is a form of “Preparation” for the negotiation process.

Surprised by price increases? 70% of current contracts have price increase provisions?! We look at raw material market data from multiple sources, visualize & analyze historical pricing scenarios, & simulate planned purchases & what-if scenarios against forward price curves.  At the WMU ISM supply chain management program we teach our students to track commodity forward price curves. Here’s a quick video (see below) of Net Alpha’s cloud based materialx Decision...
Sime Curkovic Free Content

For students, the prospects are great, but do not be a victim of technology!

Do not be a victim of technology! Recessions tend to be very bad for college grads. However...The number of job openings fell for the 3rd straight month to 10.698M in June which is the lowest since 10.629M in August 2021 (off the record high of 11.855 million in March). That means there are only (sarcasm) around 11,000,000 unfilled jobs. That’s a recession?! College grads, worry not (for now, not even close). For...
Sime Curkovic Free Content

Student spotlight: Pursuing a career in supply chain management is a slam dunk for Megan Wagner.

Pursuing a career in supply chain management is a slam dunk for Megan Wagner. https://lnkd.in/eSEZ6Zvn. My student athletes are the busiest people I know. They are always in class, they work hard, they are humble, they are grateful, they are courteous, etc. WMU student athletes are one of the best experiences of my career. They actually inspire me._When the NCAA added a year of eligibility for athletes during the COVID pandemic, junior Bronco...
Sime Curkovic Free Content

From me: Everything has a supply chain? It’s a new world & that is all I am going to say… KALAMAZOO, Mich.—It’s no secret recreational cannabis sales in Michigan are continuing to climb.

From me: Everything has a supply chain? It's a new world & that is all I am going to say...KALAMAZOO, Mich.—It’s no secret recreational cannabis sales in Michigan are continuing to climb. With that growth, skilled marketers in the industry are now in high demand, and Western Michigan University students will soon be prepared to meet the need. The Haworth College of Business is offering a new cannabis marketing course starting in...

Feedback from former students in actual consulting jobs after graduation…

Hopefully, we are training our supply chain students to become consultants…to their own organization. We try to develop strategic skill sets (rather than tactical) combined w/ softer skills (i.e., problem solving, leadership, negotiation, project mgmt, etc.). Skills we try to hammer home: 1) Gather & organize information about the problem to be solved or the procedure to be improved. 2) Interview personnel & conduct onsite observations to determine the methods,...

Net Alpha Announces materialx Decision Support – A Cloud-Based Service for Supply Chain Orgs that Enables Better Raw Material Purchase Decisions

Surprised by price increases? It looks at raw material market data from multiple sources, visualizes & analyzes historical pricing scenarios, & simulates planned purchases & what-if scenarios against forward price curves.  At the WMU ISM supply chain management program we teach our students to track commodity forward price curves. Here’s a quick video (see below) of Net Alpha’s cloud based materialx Decision Support service that is being made available to...

Material on Supplier Cost Breakdowns and How To Negotiate Price Increases:

As a buyer, you have every legal right to say you want a “cost breakdown” of the price they gave you. Let’s say you have a supplier and you are starting to get the vibe that you are overpaying. What can you do? You could ask them for a cost break down. https://lnkd.in/gC2THQWB Material on Supplier Cost Breakdowns and How To Negotiate Price Increases:https://lnkd.in/gp5naJxEhttps://lnkd.in/gGRaKtVKhttps://lnkd.in/gMuhMNf6https://lnkd.in/gQZ7HfWbhttps://lnkd.in/gvCpr6T5https://lnkd.in/gPVMbWd6https://lnkd.in/g6qdMvcShttps://lnkd.in/gwFjDfx7https://lnkd.in/g494sxYrhttps://lnkd.in/g6Uxkuby When you ask a current or potential supplier to...