I have been interviewing some VERY impressive candidates for internship positions from Pomona college (which was ranked #1 by Forbes for America’s top colleges in 2015). I enjoyed the interviews and learned a lot from them. This is one of the advantages of my profession – continuous learning is a part of the package!
One of the interns saw the supply chain and consulting in an interesting light. He said, “It is the practical application of liberal arts” as it requires a broad knowledge and experience base. I think he might have hit the nail on the head. I just got back from speaking to a group of supply chain professionals in Ventura, and as we discussed supply chain topics, it became clear that it is a vast topic. When you think of the supply chain as ranging from your customers’ customers to your suppliers’ suppliers with manufacturing systems in-between, connected by technology, transportation and distribution systems, the subject matter is broad by any stretch of the imagination.
One tip to implement this week:
Since supply chain has broad appeal, we should be touting the critical importance of the supply chain in our daily conversations. We must pay attention to emerging supply chain trends – if you are interested in hearing more about these, we have an amazing executive panel lined up to talk at our executive panel and networking symposium (webinar archived on our website).
It can be as simple as describing your company’s supply chain within your company. Just to accomplish this task, you might have to find out more about your suppliers, customers, transportation partners etc. Wouldn’t it create engaging conversations if people felt connected in the critical link of the broader supply chain?