Grainger Center Executive Advisory Board Member Opens 2011-2012 Weikel Series

Grainger’s Jim Ryan discusses improving service through a recession

By Doug Stuckey

It’s no secret that the recent economic recession has forced many business leaders to make difficult decisions—layoffs, inventory reduction, and compromised service levels, to name a few—in an effort to keep their companies afloat. Yet, a rare few have figured out how to strategically navigate the turbulence and capitalize and thrive in a depressed market. Jim Ryan, the chairman, president, and CEO of W.W. Grainger, Inc., opened the 2011-2012 M. Keith Weikel Executive Leadership Speaker Series with a discussion about defying the odds and increasing market share during an economic downturn. Jack Nevin, executive director of the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management, moderated the discussion.

Grainger, the largest distributor of industrial supplies, works with over 3,000 suppliers to support a global customer base of two million. In the years prior to the downturn, the company had focused plans to improve customer service through investments in new distribution centers and increased capacity. When the recession began in 2007, many companies cut costs through layoffs and inventory reduction. Despite pressure from shareholders and analysts to follow their corporate counterparts, Jim madethe commitment to stay the course and continued to focus on customer service improvement. Rather than cutting back, Grainger nearly doubled the number of SKUs the company carries and made investments in infrastructure to allow for greater flexibility in the company’s operations. Jim’s goal was to be the single supplier for customers. 

Success in becoming a sole supplier would mean time and cost savings for the consumer and consumer loyalty for the company. Jim also emphasized the importance of maintaining consumer relationships as methods of interaction continue to evolve. Nearly 25 percent of the company’s business comes through the Internet, and maintaining a personal touch through the electronic medium can be difficult. The company has focused increased attention on making sure service and support remains high by developing solutions for consumers. For example, Grainger provides human support access from the website and mobile phone apps to make purchasing easier and more convenient.

 
From L to R: Jack Nevin, Jim Ryan, and Chip Hunter, associate dean for the full-time MBA program.

Throughout the evening, Jim also shared several pieces of advice for students. He encouraged students to find a company with values that align with their own, which Jim attributes as the reason he has been with Grainger for over 25 years. Next, Jim emphasized the importance of learning from mistakes. Jim mentioned that to be competitive, one has to take risks, and the only way one can take risks is if one is willing to make some mistakes. Finally, Jim encouraged students to do something they love. 

“You’re much more likely to be successful if you’re doing something that you like than [if you’re] doing something else,” he advised. “It’s pretty difficult to be an effective leader if you don’t like what you’re doing.” 

Thank You!

The following individuals and corporations contributed to this year's effort to provide a Kelly Ketchum Memorial Alumni Scholarship. This year’s recipient, Stuart Solomon, exemplifies all the qualities that this award recognizes and honors: leadership, enthusiasm for the Center, a positive attitude, maturity, and a passion for supply chain management. Stuart interned last summer at BorgWarner as an advanced launch management intern (see page 13). Receiving the scholarship is a great honor, and alumni and corporate support of this very meaningful endeavor is deeply appreciated.

Kwame Adu-Bonnah Samy Affo Maria Albornoz Bradley Blackman Tim Buhl Jacob Dean Allen Engel Philip Fritz Mingyuan Fu Christopher Gajdostik Terry Goeldner Chris Grancher Sandra and Richard Haddad

Steven Harris Charles Hiller Jeffrey and Maureen Hodgdon Heidi and Peter Hong Matthew Kading Lisabeth Larkin Kemllen Lee Steven Lindsey Pete and Kay Lukszys Andrew McMurdie Steve Medland and Susan Golicic Chrisotpher Murphy

Thomas and Julia Nicholas Asutosh Pathak Nathan Scheidler Jennifer Schultz Amber Sleichter Dale and Peggy Stange Weige Wang Yuxing Wang Kevin Weadick and Brenda Ganser Weadick William Yang Wu and Wei Ge Steven Yazawa

Corporate matching was received from: Chevron Matching Gift Program Cisco Systems, Inc. Emerson Electric Ernst & Young GE Healthcare General Mills Intel Kimberly-Clark Raytheon W.W. Grainger, Inc. Visa

Meet the Class of 2013

Matthew Billings

Matt graduated from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After graduation, he was hired by the Carrier Corporation as a commercial sales engineer. Matt was the single point of contact for over 20 consulting engineering firms in the greater Milwaukee area, assisting in the design of numerous multimillion dollar HVAC construction projects. In 2003, Matt started his own business in Madison, Wisconsin, as a local dealer for Cingular Wireless/AT&T. He grew the business to over $2 million in revenue per year while managing 25 employees at three retail locations, as well as managing day-to-day operations. Matt implemented a custom inventory management system to track all phone activations and corresponding commission details, resulting in greater operational efficiency. Matt hopes to bring his passion for business and his strong interest in supply chain management to a multinational technology corporation. Matt serves locally, both as a volunteer driver for the American Cancer Society Road to Recovery program and through outreach programs at his church.

Brent Boorsma

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a BA in political science, Brent served in the Army National Guard for five years in a variety of roles. In his first assignment as an infantry platoon leader, he commanded a 40-member unit, which included a year-long combat deployment to Iraq and projects aimed at promoting infrastructure reconstruction and economic development. Brent went on to serve as a logistics officer in Melrose, Massachusetts, where he managed the procurement, distribution, and maintenance of equipment, supplies, and facilities throughout their lifecycle for a 500-member organization during a period of deployment and major reconfiguration.
While living in Massachusetts, Brent earned a master of divinity degree from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. At the seminary, he was involved with the Coleman M. Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Workplace. In his most recent military role, Brent served as the state support chaplain for the New Hampshire Army National Guard, where he advised the adjutant general of New Hampshire on religious, moral, and ethical issues affecting military operations. He planned and oversaw programs and services to promote family wellness, as well as led a team in assessing the care given to National Guard soldiers who become injured or ill during deployment. Brent also served as the administrator and lead trustee of a charitable organization that provides financial assistance to military families during emergencies. He chose the Grainger Center because he sees it as the best place to transition his military background as a leader and logistics manager into a supply chain career in the civilian sector. 

Michelle Burns

Michelle joins the Grainger Center after working for four years at Plexus Corp. in Neenah, Wisconsin. As a senior commodity specialist, her primary responsibility was to manage the sourcing and supply of electronic components. This included negotiating supplier prices and purchase agreements, monitoring current and future market conditions for components and their raw materials, identifying parts for reduced lead time programs, collaborating crossfunctionally on implementation, and assisting purchasing teams in mitigating shortage materials for production. During this time Michelle also received her Six Sigma Green Belt certification and managed several lean Six Sigma projects with Plexus global teams.
Michelle’s experience prior to Plexus includes a role in customer logistics at Unilever HPC. In this function she managed the orders and shipments for BJ’s Wholesale, Unilever’s North American sales team, and corporate donations. During the year she was on the account, BJ’s presented Unilever with their Supplier of the Year award. Michelle graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in supply chain management and a specialization in international business. As a Center student, she hopes to further enhance her understanding of business and supply chain management. 

C. Bryant Dudley

Bryant is a first-generation college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from Purdue University. Upon graduation, he accepted a position as shift manager at Steak N’ Shake restaurant in Lafayette, Indiana.
After six months developing in his leadership role, Bryant changed career direction and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he began a career as a transportation sales representative at C.H. Robinson Worldwide. After two years of developing carrier and client relationships, rate negotiating, and cold-calling prospective clients, he was promoted to an account manager position where he was able to establish key relationships with top clientele through the implementation of RFPs and the creation of SOPs. Throughout his tenure, he contributed over $720 thousand in direct profits to the company.
In August 2010, realizing that he could better use his expertise in a smaller 3PL environment, Bryant joined a local brokerage, Flynn Transportation, Inc. As an account manager for the company’s largest account, Technicolor—worth $13 million in annual revenue stream of business—his team was responsible for domestic shipping efficacy of Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, and Paramount Studios DVDs. Bryant was promoted to senior account manager, leading a team of three individuals to handle four combined accounts with annual revenues totaling over $3.3 million. With over four years of transportation and logistics experience from a 3PL perspective, Bryant is working to obtain his MBA in supply chain management to better understand how supply chain affects the bottom line in companies for which he used to consult. 

Justin Eaton

Justin received a BBA in finance and decision and information analysis from Emory University's Goizueta School of Business. After graduation, he joined the management consulting group at Ernst & Young in Chicago where he spent four years as a senior consultant developing finance and supply chain business process improvements for a number of Fortune 100 clients. Throughout his consulting experiences, Justin specialized in helping companies identify areas in the procure-to-pay process cycle to improve organizational effectiveness and increase operational efficiency. In early 2010, Justin co-founded an auxiliary board of the Delta Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing sustainability-focused programs throughout the Great Lakes region. His role on the board has been centered on designing projects to increase the awareness of the green economy among young professionals in the Chicago area. With the deep supply chain knowledge Justin will gain at the Center, he plans to leverage his passion for sustainability to help organizations ‘green’ their supply chains while simultaneously improving bottom-line performance. In his free time, Justin enjoys traveling, swimming, sailing, SCUBA diving, and home-brewing. 

Claire Gray

Claire is interested in sustainable systems and believes the supply chain management specialization at Wisconsin is a perfect marriage between her diverse interests in community development and business efficiency. She has worked since she was 14 and has a dual degree in cultural anthropology and international studies, with a geographical specialization in Latin America, from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Upon graduation in May 2006, Claire worked in the service industry and the non-profit sector. Her academic background in economic development in Latin America, coupled with her diverse work experience, nurtured her interest in supply chain management. She looks forward to applying what she learns in the Wisconsin MBA program to improve business operations and ensure local economic vitality. She is specifically interested in the natural resource, agriculture, and food industries. Claire also enjoys traveling and camping. 

Therese Janecke

Therese graduated from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, with a degree in business administration and was commissioned into the United States Army as a quartermaster officer. Upon completion of training, she was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served as the fuel and ammunition distribution platoon leader for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. During her first deployment to Afghanistan, she established and operated five forward area refueling points and distributed over 3 million gallons of aviation-grade fuel. She continually interacted with members of the Australian, British, Canadian, Dutch, and Romanian military forces to learn about and instruct others on international refueling systems in order to support NATO forces. From there, Therese transitioned to the company executive officer position and held the additional duty of serving as the battalion unit movement officer, where she planned, coordinated, and executed the movement of 200 containers, 50 pieces of rolling stock, and 750 people to and from a national training center rotation. During her second deployment to Afghanistan, Therese was the assistant brigade supply officer; she managed 30 active contracts, including civilian aircraft mechanics, basic life support services, and facilities construction throughout seven operating bases. Therese enjoyed working in the military supply chain field and came to the Center to gain a more complete understanding of supply chain management within the civilian sector.

Jie Lai

Jie earned a bachelor’s degree from Beihang University (Beijing, China) and a master’s degree in transportation engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before entering the Wisconsin MBA program, he worked as a project leader and hardware engineer at Lear Corporation. His excellent performance in these roles earned him the opportunity to develop his expertise at Lear Headquarters (Southfield, Michigan). In this role, he led a cross-functional team of engineers to accomplish the first and largest electronics project of Lear China that eventually came into the market. He conducted strategic coordination with his suppliers and internal project team, which significantly optimized the project cost. During his time in this position, he was responsible for integrating supply and demand management; negotiating among buyers, suppliers, and manufacturers; and ensuring project progress at low cost. He strived to create win-win cases with both customers and suppliers from whom he gained strong support. It was through his work with his customers and suppliers that Jie became interested in gaining a more thorough understanding of the entire supply chain. As a Center student he looks forward to equipping himself with knowledge in business frameworks and sharpening his expertise in business strategy and communication. Jie enjoys golf, football, and swimming in his leisure time.

Jiming Liu

After receiving a master’s degree in circuit and system technology from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Jiming joined Agilent Technology. Eight months later, his business unit was spun off to become an independent company, Verigy. Jiming worked for Verigy as a global material engineer in Shanghai and Singapore for five years. He managed and developed many well-known contract manufacturers and suppliers worldwide and monitored overall quality, driving continuous improvement and supporting cost reduction efforts. By working with teams in Germany and the United States, he ensured production ran smoothly and on time. He also led several product transfers among different contractor manufacturers to achieve the best supply result. With these experiences—which equipped Jiming with a broad knowledge of production and supplier management—he hopes to learn more about supply chain management and become a leader with both strong engineering ideas and business sense in a global supply chain. During his spare time, Jiming enjoys badminton and karaoke with friends.

Evan Meyer

Following his graduation from St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota) with a bachelor’s degree in classics, Evan joined the U.S. Army to pursue his interest in foreign languages as an Arabic cryptologic linguist. Deployed to Tallil, Iraq, Evan improved intelligence reporting processes by breaking down institutional communication barriers and initiating collaboration between the linguists and analysts on his team. The success of this integrative model influenced the decision to cross-train all the unit's linguists in signals intelligence analysis. During his second deployment to Ramadi, Iraq, Evan was promoted to the position of watch chief, in which he was responsible for prioritizing the allocation of analytic and linguistic resources to meet conflicting intelligence demands; providing editorial oversight of all signals intelligence reporting and analysis produced in al-Anbar Province, Iraq; and communicating through the intelligence reporting chain and with complementary intelligence offices. Evan's success in this role contributed to the overall success of the First Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, in its mission to enhance local population security and Iraqi Security Forces effectiveness and professionalism. After five years of service, Evan decided to make the transition to the civilian sector and looks forward to developing his skills and experience in analysis, communications, and leadership at the Center in preparation for a supply chain or operations role in the energy or industrial manufacturing sectors. In his spare time, Evan enjoys travel, gardening, and gourmet cooking.

Hannah Reynolds

Hannah graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008 with a BBA in marketing and international business. She spent the next three years working with the World Council of Credit Unions in support of the development and expansion of the global financial cooperative movement. As a project development program specialist, Hannah researched and identified funding opportunities and managed the process of preparing and submitting technical and financial proposals to international donors. Her team submitted grant proposals totaling $194.9 million, which resulted in contracts valued at $122.6 million for economic development projects in 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, and Kenya. Hannah credits her experience designing value chain finance projects and seeing the positive change they create with spurring her interest in supply chain management. She looks forward to advancing her education and incorporating sustainable business practices into supply chains on an international level.

Donovan Scammell

Donovan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy-physics. While pursuing that degree, he became interested in the restaurant business, and that interest continued after graduation. At Tuscany Mediterranean Grille, Donovan was promoted to bar manager, and later dining room and general manager. While learning the finer points of the business and building a talented staff that bucked the industry trend of high turnover, he developed his own inventory management system to monitor costs, track usage, and maximize discounts in purchasing. He greatly increased sales by working to expand the menu to take advantage of a previously ignored customer base while maintaining the restaurant’s established clientele. Donovan then accepted the position of bar manager at Cloud 9 Grill, helping propel the restaurant to a successful business launch and an award for Best New Restaurant in Madison Magazine. Donovan comes to the Grainger Center ready to switch industries, excited about the mix of disciplines involved in supply chain management. He enjoys the balance of the analytical and the creative and looks forward to the challenge of an ever-changing discipline. In his spare time, Donovan is an avid musician and lover of the arts, and he enjoys traveling.

Douglas Stuckey

Doug graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business from Goshen College in 2006. After graduation, he worked as a marketing analyst for a search engine marketing company in Chicago. After becoming a manager in the product operations department, Doug was responsible for developing and implementing strategies to improve product quality and regain customer trust. Once the strategies were implemented, he created and managed teams focused on quality and performance to ensure ongoing customer satisfaction. Doug has also worked for two entrepreneurial software companies. His roles at these companies included customer relationship management, problemsolving client issues, inventory management, and process improvement. Doug has always enjoyed figuring out the details of strategies and finding the most efficient ways to achieve a company’s goals while maintaining quality standards. This is what brought him to the Center. His interests include alternative energy and product development for companies that are focused on minimizing their impact on the environment. 

Nhien Tran

Nhien earned an undergraduate degree in international trade from Foreign Trade University, Vietnam, in 2004. One year before graduation, she was selected to the Maersk International Shipping Education Program of AP Moller Group, where she gained her first in-depth theoretical knowledge about transportation and logistics in training classes in Copenhagen, Denmark. During the two-year management training program, her various job rotations in customer service and operations presented opportunities to work with Maersk’s largest clients, including Nike, Canon, and IKEA, and at the same time helped her build solid practical experience in the transportation and logistics field. After Maersk, Nhien spent six years in agri-commodities trading, mostly with Phoenix Commodities, a leading rice trading house in Asia. There she took charge of generating revenue of about $30 million while coordinating crossfunctional team members and clients from Vietnam, Thailand, India, Ukraine, Australia, and the United States to oversee purchasing, sales, and operations activities. Nhien wishes to gain a complete understanding of supply chain management and further her previous experiences in transportation, logistics, and international trade in preparation for a successful supply chain career. 

Juan Ureta

Juan earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from James Madison University. He subsequently traveled extensively in Chile, and worked for a Chilean frozen foods manufacturer, where he audited the accounts receivable. Juan went on to earn his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. While in school, he participated in the Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons program, where he provided legal assistance to people serving prison sentences. In addition, Juan completed a semester abroad studying law at the Universidad Diego Portales (Santiago, Chile).
After graduation, Juan entered solo practice as a criminal defense attorney. Just over a year into his private practice, Juan was offered a job with the Racine County District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney. While working at the DA’s office, Juan handled a variety of cases from misdemeanors to felonies to civil cases. Juan oversaw five other assistant DAs assigned to misdemeanor court, and he was the DA’s representative on the Racine County Treatment Court Committee.
While working at the DA’s office, Juan had the opportunity to conduct process analysis of how the office handled its misdemeanor caseload. He was able to identify inefficiencies, and, in collaboration with the non-attorney staff at the DA’s office and the Racine County Clerk of Courts, he developed ideas for creating positive change. The process management experience, combined with previous studies and experiences, led Juan to conclude that a career in business was what he really wanted. Juan looks forward to building a strong foundation in business and supply chain fundamentals while at the Center. In his free time, Juan enjoys biking, running, and, when possible, surfing.

Matthew VandenAvond

Matt joins the Grainger Center with six years of experience as a supply corps officer in the United States Navy. In his latest assignment, Matt examined government purchase requests for a $4 billion contract that provides subsistence and materials to Department of Defense members in Afghanistan. While in this role, Matt earned his Level II Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certification, allowing him to become a contract officer on any government contract. In his previous assignment, he led the activities of a shipboard supply department, directing and evaluating the performance of 36 personnel. In this operational role, Matt also directed the daily food service operations of the ship, which included the procurement, storage, inventory, issue, preparation, and service of provisions which accounted for 1,200 meals daily to a crew of 350 sailors. During his first two years in the Navy, Matt completed training in science and engineering fundamentals to design, operate, and maintain naval nuclear power plants, which allowed him to become a qualified nuclear reactor operator. Matt graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a bachelor’s degree in business finance and a minor in environmental planning and policy. He plans to use his experience in global logistics and operational leadership with his knowledge gained from the Center to become a leader in supply chain management.

The Grainger Center Difference

 

The Grainger Center offers a unique promise of career and leadership development for:

• Individuals who are already working in supply chain management and want the best training and connections possible in order to lead
• Individuals who want to manage the whole business (not just one piece, such as marketing or logistics)
• Individuals looking for a career path where they can leverage both their analytical capabilities and their interest in relationships and systems

This promise is fulfilled through delivering results in four key areas: an integrated learning environment, industry partnerships, personalized attention in a close community, and remarkable placement success.

Integrated Learning Environment

The Center’s curriculum is cross-functional, applied, and collaborative, allowing students to learn about supply chain management in an integrated business framework from renowned faculty with expertise in supply chain management and other crucial business disciplines. Core supply chain courses include:

• Strategic Global Sourcing
• Logistics Management
• Operations Research
• Quality and Productivity
• Marketing Channels
• Enterprise Systems and Supply Chain Management
• Seminar in Supply Chain Management

Electives may be chosen from multiple disciplines, including finance, marketing, management, operations, and engineering.
The Center also offers an extensive applied learning program.

SAP University Alliance: Students learn how technology can enable integrated business processes and strategic thinking. Being a member of the SAP University Alliance enables students to experience firsthand how organizations operate and how enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can help organizations become more efficient, productive, and profitable, giving students a tremendous advantage in the marketplace. Several courses utilize ERP technology in which teams of students run a real SAP system.

Executive speaker series: Business leaders visit campus regularly to share their real-world experience and discuss leading-edge supply chain topics in their industries. Close, meaningful interaction with senior executives in an informal setting makes these events great learning and networking opportunities.

Global experience: Students have opportunities to travel abroad over winter break to meet with companies and learn about their global operations, as well as a country’s business, political, and cultural environment. Recent trips have included Brazil, China, Dubai, India, Vietnam, Turkey, and Argentina.

Case competitions: Students have the opportunity to compete in team case competitions, including the Sam M. Walton College of Business International Graduate Logistics Case Competition and Michigan State University’s Graduate Supply Chain Challenge. These events give students the opportunities to analyze real-world cases and propose solutions to business leaders.

Hands-on seminars: Students gain additional expertise in supply chain management through faculty-led seminars each semester. Recent seminars have included demand planning, Six Sigma certification, and sales and operations planning.

Site visits: Students learn about supply chain practices firsthand by visiting various U.S. locations. Recent trips have included tours of Johnson Controls, Coca-Cola Refreshments, the Port of Milwaukee, and MillerCoors in Milwaukee; Thermo Fisher in Madison; and GE Healthcare in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Industry Partnerships

The Center has deep ties to industry. Its extensive network of corporate partners provides real-world perspective that enhances the curriculum and applied learning program, and provides invaluable career guidance to students.

Close Community

Students experience the best of two worlds: the resources of a large, world-class university and hands-on, personalized attention made possible by the in-depth resources offered by the Center. Each student receives personalized career and academic advising. Students are connected—directly and personally—with an extensive network of industry executives, alumni, corporate partners, and faculty. Students receive personalized guidance from this network throughout their time in the Wisconsin MBA program.
With an entering class each year of between 10 and 20 students, supply chain management MBA students form close ties to each other and to the faculty and alumni dedicated to the supply chain management program. The Center offers generous financial aid packages to qualified students, including fellowships, assistantships, and scholarships.

Placement Success

Supply chain management talent is in high demand, as the Center’s remarkable placement record for summer internships and full-time employment reflects. Our graduates achieve quickly and notably. Average starting salaries are consistently the highest among peer schools, ranging from $80,000 to $110,000. A few facts to consider about the value of the program: Center students are typically awarded merit-based funding during one year of their MBA experience, and they typically double their pre-MBA salary upon graduation. 

Certificate programs in SUSTAINABILITY and ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Wisconsin is committed to integrating cuttingedge and relevant concepts throughout the MBA curriculum. Available to students are a certificate in entrepreneurship delivered via the top-ranked Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship and a certificate in business, environment, and social responsibility offered in conjunction with UW-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. These certificates may be added to the supply chain management degree. 

Reports From the Field: Summer Internships 

Tai Adkins
Raytheon
Forest, Mississippi

As a supply chain leadership development program intern working in the Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) division of Raytheon, Tai had the opportunity to work on a number of projects supporting the $4.8 billion SAS logistics unit. The scopes of her projects spanned several functions, including cost reduction, logistical process improvement, and compliance to corporate-wide green initiatives. For her main project, Tai identified an opportunity for process improvement that benefited multiple Raytheon locations and maximized the utility of packing material. This involved recycling electrostatic discharge (ESD) packing boxes that were delivered to the Forest, Mississippi, facility from a Raytheon facility in Andover, Massachusetts. By developing a network between the two facilities, Tai was able to gain appropriate data that displayed a substantial salvage value of the ESD boxes. She found that such a recycling program would create a $50,000 cost savings for the company. Tai presented her findings to top management and had the opportunity to lead a cross-functional team to successfully implement the recycling program across the SAS business unit.

Matt Bartoe
Pack-Ryt, Inc.
Northlake, Illinois

As a supply chain intern for a newly acquired medium-sized food co-packer, Matt spent his summer in a cross-functional role involving strategic planning, inventory management, procurement, and developing proper reporting procedures. Though his day-to-day responsibilities were managerial and strategic rather than project-based, he completed three major projects: development of a commodity pricing model for the competitive procurement of dried fruits and nuts for USDA contracts, creation of an MRP workbook to validate and reconcile an outdated MRP program, and the construction of a cost-based inventory usage report for monthly contractual true-ups on a $15 million contract. Matt’s work on the inventory usage report earned him and Pack-Ryt, Inc. the accolade of being the only co-packer to properly complete the reporting requirements for a $10 billion U.S.-based food company. Pack-Ryt, Inc. was also able to leverage Matt’s military leadership experience through management meetings during the company’s fluid acquisition process. This resulted in retention of all employees and a quick transition to a positive and open-minded work environment.

Jia Cheng
Logitech
Fremont, California

As s supply chain intern at Logitech, Jia completed two projects in the customer order replenishment department for the Americas region. The objective of her main project was to monitor and diagnose a new collaborative order replenishment process through the creation of a tool that automatically measures important metrics of the process. Previously, customers placed orders as they wished, and orders could not be aligned to their own forecasts. With the new collaborative process, customers place orders based on committed quantities provided by Logitech, and Logitech will pick and ship those amounts when needed. The committed quantities are the amount Logitech promises to provide in the following weeks based on the customers’ forecast sent to Logitech. After deciding the quantitative methodology for the process metrics, Jia developed a VBA-based tool to bring together data from Oracle, a Logitech scheduling tool, and sales operations. The tool performs the calculations of metrics and interprets the metrics in terms of performance by using a dynamic dashboard. The new system records the entire order replenishment process, points out potential problems, and provides a way to monitor and measure customers’ and Logitech’s performance on a weekly basis. The project is crucial to the success of the order replenishment process of Logitech’s Americas region.
Jia’s other project involved estimating the total cost of ownership of current and potential Logi.com order cancellation processes and making recommendations about the most efficient way to handle cancellations as a company. Jia’s cost model and recommendations have been implemented by Logitech.

Craig Cleland
Shure Incorprorated
Niles, Illinois

Craig joined Shure Incorporated’s supply planning group, leading the update of third-party inventory optimization software to reflect anticipated changes in the company’s supply chain footprint. With a new regional distribution center in Germany planned for a December 2011 go-live, Shure looked to use its existing tool, Barloworld Optimiza, to project demand for the European Union. Craig used customer records and historical sales data from SAP along with resupply lead time projections to update the Barloworld application, which generated inventory models as well as dynamic safety stock profiles to best support Shure’s EU customer base at an optimum inventory investment level.
In the process of handling the firm’s material data, Craig recognized a significant number of superseded SKUs being calculated in SAP material requirements planning, so he used Access to create a tool that would quickly isolate these SKUs for their removal from future MRP runs. Craig documented these processes and created written procedures that will be repeatable for the future addition of any new Shure regional distribution center worldwide.

Laura Hausfeld
E.&J. Gallo Winery
Modesto, California

Laura interned in supply chain at E.&J. Gallo, the world’s largest familyowned winery. Her assignment was to analyze Gallo’s current system of finished goods production scheduling and provide recommendations for assigning customized time frames to bottling. This project was part of Gallo’s efforts to develop a Class A supply chain and it aimed to increase planning flexibility and responsiveness to changes in demand. Laura collaborated with people in a variety of functions—including supply chain managers, supply analysts, material planners, wine makers, glass suppliers, and operations mangers—in order to understand both the scheduling process and the potential effects of implementing change. She developed decision-making templates for determining best scheduling time frames for individual bottling lines based on numerous factors, including component lead times, component complexity, product strategy, and alignment with a concurrent cellar operational strategy project. Her final recommendations, which she presented to the vice president of supply chain and the supply management team, were well received and are scheduled to be implemented by early 2012.

George Koikaramparambil
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

George worked as a strategy intern for the eight-month-old Commercial Energy Solutions (CES) business of Johnson Controls’ building efficiency division. The CES organization is dedicated to creating efficient and sustainable environments for corporate and private entities through innovative, guaranteed technologies and services. CES is targeting a niche segment of the market: private, corporate, and commercial customers who constitute less than 20 percent of the market. Potential clients could belong to any industry, but CES management believes that certain industry segments are more likely than others to purchase energy efficiency retrofits. Thus, George’s first assignment involved conducting research on 13 industry sectors—including automotive, financial services, light manufacturing industries, hospitality, life science, oil and gas, real estate investment trusts, retail, information technology, and telecommunications— to find which among these might be the best markets for CES. He researched industry reports, energy usage statistics, property ownership patterns, industry attitude toward energy efficiency, and purchasing behavior, and held discussions with other JCI employees. It was decided that four of the 13 industries would constitute the best target markets for CES. George then led a market research project that involved in-depth analysis of the four focus markets. The research identified a $400 million business opportunity over the next three years. It was also recommended that CES align its sales organization more closely with the four focus industries. By tailoring their product offering, as well as service delivery according to the needs of each focus market vertical, CES is expected to derive a higher volume of business from these markets than it has in the past. The market for energy efficiency retrofits in the corporate and private sectors is largely untapped, and Johnson Controls wants to take the lead in this business. The results of George’s internship project will provide strategic direction to CES and will help in channeling sales and marketing initiatives more effectively.

Mark Lusch
L.L. Bean
Freeport, Maine

As an intern in L.L. Bean’s Global Quality Assurance and Compliance organization, Mark designed a new process and tool to facilitate the start-up of new vendors in the New Vendor Program. To develop the project design, Mark worked with functions across the supply chain as well as those external to the supply chain to identify current best practices in vendor start-up and opportunities for process improvement. Based on these findings, an Excel tool was developed to facilitate and report progress of a vendor through the New Vendor Program, which includes the phases of vendor discovery, qualification, education, and maturation. Mark’s recommendations were well received, and he was involved in the early implementation of the New Vendor Program with a number of new vendors for the fall 2012 season. The implemented project benefits both L.L. Bean and the vendor network by providing a centralized source of information for new vendor start-up, optimization of the controlled investments related to the start-up of new vendors, a consistent experience for each vendor in the start-up process, and a process that is measurable to track performance and to create benchmarks.

Arun Malhotra
Springs Window Fashions
Middleton, Wisconsin

As an intern in purchasing and inventory control at one of the United States’ leading manufacturers of window blinds, Arun’s project focused on creating a global sourcing strategy for the company. Springs had identified India as a secondary supply base and wanted to diversify its primarily China-based sourcing into India, Brazil, and North Africa. Looking into the company’s spend analysis, Arun identified five strategic categories and tried to find suppliers that could provide similar products or raw materials. Of the five categories, three had a good potential supply base and a healthy export market in India, so Arun focused on establishing relationships between Springs’ buyers  and the export officers of the suppliers in India. Many of Arun’s recommendations are being evaluated on a total cost of ownership basis for final selection and awarding of contracts for next year.
Arun also assisted in creating a sourcing strategy plan that includes his recommendations for a dual-source supply management strategy and various options for establishing a supply base in India. Many of the findings from Arun’s project have been included as steps in the action plan for next year. He presented the key aspects of the sourcing strategy to the entire purchasing team and discussed his findings and recommendations with senior management. The plan will be presented to the upper management team at an annual growth planning conference.
Finally, Arun provided cultural training on how to do business in India. This task was challenging. Being from the culture, it was difficult to identify things that are quite natural to him that might be considered strange to an American and vice versa. Arun summarized some important cultural nuances in a report that would help the director prepare for conducting business in India in the future.

Michaela Marquardt
Best Buy
Minneapolis, Minnesota

As a home delivery intern in the Transportation Department at Best Buy, Michaela led several initiatives to improve the performance and relationships with the third-party carriers utilized by Best Buy. First, she developed and implemented a robust rewards and penalties program for the carriers to monetarily incentivize and penalize more than 1,000 drivers to improve customer service and to achieve top customer satisfaction scores. This project allowed Best Buy and the carriers to improve the in-home customer experience and reduce total costs per delivery stop. Michaela also led a project to reduce product damage exposure to Best Buy in its 29 distribution centers. She worked with cross-functional teams of DC employees, third-party carriers, and drivers to evaluate product handling and the delivery process. From the relationships she developed, she was able to create a standard operating procedure to reduce product damage and enforce damage accountability, which reduced customer product refusal rates and costs generated from open-box items. Overall, both projects that Michaela worked on were implemented and should improve the relationships between Best Buy and its third-party carriers as well as the customers Best Buy serves on a daily basis.

Justin Owen
Cisco Systems, Inc.
San Jose, California

Justin interned with Cisco’s Mexico Board Operations team under the Emerging Countries Council. He contributed to a strategic project to develop a standardized process and template to determine operational investment requirements in emerging markets. Justin analyzed existing business cases and worked with various stakeholders to identify process improvement opportunities. Furthermore, he was responsible for collaborating with cross-functional teams in the United States and Mexico to identify constraints delaying operational readiness of a newly formed legal entity in Mexico. In addition to his work with the Mexico Board, Justin partnered with a new product introduction team to increase visibility of bill-of-materials risk. After evaluating the team’s risk assessment process, he recommended the development of a scorecard model to quantify and prioritize risk consistently across the team.

Matt Reuer
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Lake Forest, Illinois

Matt interned with the Sourcing Department of W.W. Grainger, Inc. Grainger Sourcing fulfills customer requests for any products outside of the normal Grainger Industrial Supply offering. Matt led a cross-functional project as a member of the sourcing team to identify the cost savings opportunity of the shared suppliers between the different divisions of W.W. Grainger, Inc. Through a comprehensive spend analysis of 8,500 shared suppliers, he identified $5.2 million gross profit to be acquired by achieving cost parity. He then developed an action plan to achieve and maintain cost parity between all divisions into the future. Matt also identified Grainger Sourcing’s competitive market position by leading a mystery-shopper research project. Matt worked with a key supplier in addition to the sourcing and competitive intelligence department to evaluate five main competitors on the metrics of price, time, and availability. Through this analysis, Matt was able to benchmark Grainger Sourcing in relation to its competitors so that the division would be able to understand both its competitive advantage and areas for improvement.

Kyle Schmitz
Cisco Systems, Inc.
San Jose, California

Kyle joined Cisco’s Global Supplier Management (GSM) group, where he was aligned with the Optics commodity team. He led a project to examine the GSM processes and metrics, created training sessions, and managed a mock audit plan that prepared the Optics team for an ISO audit. Kyle also shaped the team’s collaboration strategy and brought the team’s perspective to Supplier Business Review and Balanced Scorecard process improvements. As the summer progressed, he was integrated into the Optics Strategic Request for Information (RFI), which is used every three years to determine the preferred supplier base. He contributed quickly by leveraging his communication skills and utilizing his background working on the supply side as an application engineer. In addition to the strategic aspects of his internship, Kyle took the initiative to define and create scoring tools used to analyze the large quantities of data submitted in the RFI. During his projects, Kyle still found time to take a leadership role in the winning intern case competition team.

Andrew Schumann
American Eagle Outfitters
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

As an intern in American Eagle’s planning and allocation department, Andrew was responsible for storelevel planning and analysis of the men’s graphic t-shirt and underwear departments. He was also involved with pre-season planning for men’s polos, sweaters, and sweatshirts. On a weekly basis, Andrew developed and maintained store and department sales plans that were used to develop allocation targets and drive replenishment. To deliver plans using current information, Andrew partnered with the buyer and merchandise planner of each department and participated in weekly merchandise strategy meetings. These location-specific plans were used to ensure proper store inventory placement to support company-wide sales goals. He also monitored in-season sales performance to identify stores performing above or below expectations and adjusted sales plans accordingly to prevent ineffective product allocation. Through his analysis, Andrew identified significant plan inconsistencies and prevented the misallocation of men’s graphic t-shirts for the back-to-school collection.

Stuart Solomon
BorgWarner, Inc.
Auburn Hills, Michigan

As an advanced launch management intern at BorgWarner, Stuart had two main responsibilities. First, he assisted the advanced launch managers in all phases of sourcing and launching new-to-the-market products. In this role, he collaborated with sourcing managers to develop and execute sourcing strategies, manage the eRFQ process, track supplier quote information, and communicate all results to the sourcing managers. Second, Stuart executed and managed a monthly forecast that analyzed cost reduction initiatives and price increases by product line. The results were communicated to director-level sourcing executives and ultimately were incorporated into SEC reporting and market guidance.

Yong Zheng
Oclaro
San Jose, California

As a supply chain intern reporting directly to the executive vice president of supply chain operations and quality, Yong worked within Oclaro’s Excella initiative to re-engineer the company’s core sales and operations planning (S&OP) process to increase predictability and responsiveness, and his focus was mainly on supply planning. Yong developed detailed process flows for back-end supply planning, including build, capacity and materials planning, and order scheduling; measured cycle time for key planning activities; and documented strategies for planning parameters. He then identified process challenges and constraints and proposed improvements to increase responsiveness, including simplifying the process to eliminate non-valueadded activities and scaling system capabilities. Yong also provided inputs for a business requirements document and vendor selection for the new planning system. Yong had the opportunity to work for three weeks at Oclaro’s manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China, where he interacted extensively with a global cross-functional team. He observed high-level decision-making and participated in executive S&OP meetings.

Honors, Awards, and Scholarships

Matt Bartoe
Institute for Supply Management/National Association of Purchasing Managers–Madison Chapter Scholarship

Michelle Burns
Grainger Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship

Jia Cheng
Milwaukee Logistics Council Scholarship

Craig Cleland
Milwaukee Logistics Council Scholarship

C. Bryant Dudley
Grainger Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship

Justin Eaton
Grainger Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship

Mark Lusch
Hanel Storage Systems Honor Scholarship,
Material Handling Education Foundation, Inc.

Arun Malhotra
Institute for Supply Management/National Association of Purchasing Managers–Madison Chapter Scholarship
Milwaukee Logistics Council Scholarship

Kyle Schmitz
Institute for Supply Management/National Association of Purchasing Managers–Madison Chapter Scholarship

Stuart Solomon
Kelly Ketchum Memorial Alumni Scholarship Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association Honor Scholarship, Material Handling Education Foundation, Inc.

Executive Advisory Board Meeting

By Doug Stuckey

Integrated learning, placement success, and industry partnerships are three of the Grainger Center core values, and the annual Executive Advisory Board (EAB) meeting provided the perfect forum for these values to come to life. This year’s EAB meeting opened with second-year students presenting their summer internships, highlighting how they applied in-class learning to real-world projects.

Students worked at a wide variety of companies ranging from high tech to food packing to fashion retail with projects focusing on a range of supply chain functions, including new product integration in foreign markets, global sourcing, and supply chain efficiency. Each student shared a brief background about their project, as well as lessons learned, and, after their presentation, they fielded questions from EAB members. It was evident that students gained valuable experience while also making valuable contributions to their internship companies.

Following student presentations, board members discussed current supply chain risks and the initiatives their organizations are implementing to address these uncertainties.

Board members noted several changes in the global environment that are causing supply chain uncertainties. Some companies are experiencing tighter trade regulations in the countries in which they operate, making it more difficult to import and export goods. Recent events, including the earthquake in Japan and the drug wars in Mexico, have also created interruptions to the supply chains. Inflation in places like China has also made production overseas more expensive.

Board members went on to say that even though the recession is technically over, demand volatility is still abundant. Consumers are spending less, but they are expecting more service when they do make purchases. Many companies have switched to a just-in-time inventory model to decrease inventory levels but are now open to more risk with global suppliers and lead times.

Though challenges and uncertainties abound, companies are meeting them head on. Companies are focusing on smaller, more flexible investments as they look to improve their supply chains. Instead of a single-production facility or distribution center, many businesses are focusing on smaller facilities located closer to their markets. They are also utilizing more regional suppliers instead of relying on shipments from overseas. A decentralized supply chain allows companies more flexibility to meet demand without stocking large, expensive amounts of inventory.

Additionally, many companies are working to more closely integrate with their suppliers. Through improved communications and transparency, companies and their suppliers are sharing supply chain best practices and providing better demand data to improve operational efficiency and ensure supplier sustainability. A single supplier going out of business can cause a drastic interruption in a supply chain. Most of the panel participants agreed that a better, more integrated supplier relationship is in everyone’s best interest.

Center students Yong Zheng and Jiming Liu spend time with EAB member Gray Williams. 

The first day of the Executive Advisory Board meeting concluded with dinner at the Nakoma Country Club. Alumnus Kevin Weadick presented Stuart Solomon with the Kelly Ketchum Memorial Alumni Scholarship. Students also had the opportunity to network with EAB members and other Grainger Center alumni over dinner and drinks throughout the evening.

 

Sales and Operations: A Panel Discussion

By Doug Stuckey

In the midst of demand planning, supply planning, and new product innovation sits another function that is crucial to a business strategy: Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). Kevin O’Marah, research fellow at the Stanford University Global Supply Chain Forumand Grainger Center EAB member, spoke to Center students, staff, and alumni about the evolving role of S&OP in businesses today.

S&OP started mainly as demand forecasting and planning. Today, it still consists of demand planning, but has also grown to include sales and marketing inputs, supply planning, what-if analyses for both the demand and supply forecasts, and new product integration. While companies view new product integration as one of the most vital components of growth, it also seems to be the one with which most companies agree they need to do a better job.

Kevin identified several challenges companies face when engaging in S&OP, including goal clarity, corporate strategy alignment, conflicting reward systems, knowing what constitutes a good decision, process ownership, forecast role, and connecting the plans to the execution.

Karl Braitberg, vice president of supply chain operations at Cisco Systems, affirmed some of the difficulties mentioned by Kevin. Karl, also an EAB member, noted that when launching an S&OP process within a company, one challenge individuals often face is trying to establish interest and relevancy for key constituencies and decision makers who can implement changes.

 
EAB member Carolyn Woznicki discusses the S&OP process at Johnson Controls, Inc.

For a global company like Cisco, many different business units are involved in S&OP. In order to achieve buy-in from the sales, engineering, and operations organizations, Karl discussed the importance of the supply chain team communicating S&OP in terms that make sense to each function. S&OP benefits each team and the company as a whole by reducing unnecessary inventory costs as well as reducing stock outs. It’s up to the supply chain team to explain these benefits in terms that are familiar to the sales, engineering, and operations teams.

At the conclusion of Kevin’s and Karl’s remarks, the conversation opened up to a panel of supply chain executives, including Gene Arnold (vice president of sales and operations planning at Kimberly-Clark), Chris Smith (director of supply chain at U.S. Cellular), Kevin Weadick (vice president of product management at Grainger-Acklands), and Carolyn Woznicki (vice president of global procurement at Johnson Controls, Inc.). Comments from the panelists made it clear that S&OP plays a different role in each company. Some panelists’ companies had been working on S&OP for some time, while for others it is in its infancy. For some, S&OP is driven by the sales and marketing teams, and for others it is the responsibility of the supply chain team. Panelists also discussed the importance of making sure executive leadership supports the S&OP process. If the executive leadership is not behind the process, achieving full participation from other business functions is difficult. S&OP ultimately lives or dies at the executive level.

One of the key takeaways for students was the cross-functional nature of S&OP. As Center students enter into supply chain roles within organizations, learning about each of the functions involved in S&OP will be important, as companies increasingly rely on supply chain individuals to understand the priorities of each team involved in S&OP and to develop consensus around the forecast.

Fall Site Visit: InSinkErator 

A Division of Emerson Electric

Center staff and students at InSinkErator in Racine, Wisconsin.

By Craig Cleland

From the Green Bay Packers to a tradition of beer-brewing excellence, from bratwurst to certain oft-named solid dairy products, Wisconsin icons are easily and often identified. The appliance mounted beneath your kitchen sink may not immediately come to mind as a Wisconsin icon, yet the InSinkErator food waste disposer, invented in Racine some 85 years ago, remains completely built in its original hometown. Now the only disposer manufacturer based in the United States, InSinkErator stands as the first name in kitchen disposal appliances.

Grainger Center students had an opportunity in November to observe the disposer manufacturing process firsthand when they traveled to Racine to spend a day at the InSinkErator division of global technology and engineering company Emerson. For those believing the arc of disposer technology may have reached its apogee in recent years, Director of Product and Brand Management Eric Schultz indicated otherwise, pointing out, “We’ve seen significant innovation in the past 40-plus years. Our Evolution series demonstrates better grinding performance with reduced noise, garnering world class customer satisfaction.”

InSinkErator must also satisfy customers’ sense of aesthetics as its product line extends above the countertop to include water filtration units and dispensers for instant hot and chilled water. For these products, the firm offers a variety of hardware designs and finishes at slightly longer lead times compared to their focused offering of eight models of residential disposers under the Evolution and Badger series. Such product focus allows InSinkErator to respond to customer demand with blazing speed.

“When you truly understand demand for your products along with demand variability, you are able to more efficiently manufacture product,” explained Vice President of Supply Chain Eric Smith, who is also a Center alumnus and serves on the Center’s Executive Advisory Board. “And efficiency makes you the money,” Eric acknowledged. Efficiency, along with volatility in both demand and component raw material availability, drives InSinkErator to source disposer materials within a 300-mile radius of Racine.

Regional sourcing practices also mesh well with the marketing of InSinkErator disposers’ ability to provide a convenient and environmentally friendly alternative to transporting food waste to landfills, which generates carbon emissions through trucking as well as the release of unprocessed methane. When food waste is processed using a disposer, wastewater treatment plants are capable of recycling food scraps into fertilizer and capturing the methane byproduct for use in energy generation. A recent study estimates that if 50 percent of homes in Chicago used disposers to process their food waste for one year, the energy and emission savings would be the equivalent of taking 28,000 cars off the city’s highways.

Before students hit the highway back to Madison, the InSinkErator management team shared additional insights on lean manufacturing processes, planning, and organizational tools, as well as S&OP practices. Tom Orlowski, who leads the process, pointed out that effective S&OP planning is rooted in a firm’s culture. “And culture is not a meeting,” Tom stated. “It is establishing trust in your data, creating one version of the truth through executive ownership of the S&OP process, and gaining trust in your plan.”

Trust in product reliability is why owners rarely think about their disposers even though the Racine firm estimates there are 50 million InSinkErator disposers seeing daily use in the United States. It was clear from the visit that InSinkErator will continue to be an iconic Wisconsin product and brand well into the future.

Students Finish Second in Supply Chain Case Competition 

Stuart Solomon, Evan Meyer, Mark Lusch, and Pete Lukszys

On October 27 and 28, Michigan State University hosted the 2011 Graduate Supply Chain Challenge. Three students from the Center travelled to East Lansing to go head to head against teams from six other MBA programs, including Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, and the University of Maryland. The Wisconsin team, consisting of second-year students Stuart Solomon and Mark Lusch and first-year student Evan Meyer, placed second in the competition.

The goal of the competition was to optimize the supply chain for a company that produced a dry product and a liquid product with two distribution centers—one in the U.S. and one in a location (Europe, China, and Latin America) that was left to the team’s determination. Teams were scored on four criteria: supply chain efficiency, inventory turns, stocking rate, and sales.

The first day of the competition consisted of an introduction to the task-at-hand and a practice round of the challenge. The second day consisted of a scored computer simulation which built off the previous day’s trial run and also included new factors the teams could control. The simulation spanned several months of the company’s operations and included interruptions to the supply chain such as late shipments.

As the team reflected on the competition, they noted three main takeaways from the event. First, when creating an operations system, it’s important for a company to develop a system that is flexible and allows it to react to change quickly. It’s also important for the company to stick to that system once it is in place. Additionally, the simulation taught them that it is more important to optimize the company’s operations than to rely on the location of the distribution center for efficiency and profitability. Lastly, the team learned the importance of efficient decision making. In a situation where time was limited, decisions needed to be made quickly. They had to make the best decisions possible using available data within a limited time period.

Plucinski Represents Wisconsin School of Business at University Excellence Meets SAP Event

By Angie Bong

Forty-seven students from 21 universities were invited by SAP University Recruiting to attend the University Excellence Meets SAP, a SAPPHIRE NOW event, from May 16 to 18 in Orlando, Florida. Among them was Wisconsin School of Business senior, Kora Plucinski. Kora, a dual marketing and operations technology management major and supply chain management specialization student, was one of 163 students to apply for the prestigious program. Students were invited to participate based on their resume, academic standing, and work experience.

The three-day agenda included a variety of university-specific workshops, SAP executive and expert presentations, a show floor tour, and plenty of opportunities for networking. The event wrapped up with a special celebratory performance by Sting.

“There were exhibitors from top companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM, and business executives from across the world,” Kora said. “And the event hosts treated the students extremely well, putting on exclusive networking events and taking care of all expenses.”

Kora noted that all the learning opportunities were great, but one of the major program highlights included a team project where she worked with 10 other students to identify qualities of an ideal SAP manager for a new employee. Kora's team developed the GREAT concept, which stands for guidance, recognition and reward, empowerment, accountability, and trust. Kora and her team then had the opportunity to present their work to Angelika Damman, a member of the SAP Corporate Executive Board.

“Working with the other students was very enjoyable,” Kora said. “It was fun to exchange our classroom SAP and supply chain experiences. I would definitely recommend the conference for future Wisconsin students and will treasure the experience I had.”

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Specialization Popular with Students, Employers

In addition to the highly regarded MBA program in supply chain management, the Grainger Center offers a specialization in supply chain management to all undergraduate students enrolled in the Wisconsin School of Business. Students can add this specialization to their current business major. To complete the supply chain management specialization, students take six required courses and one of three electives. There are currently 20 students enrolled in the specialization.

Undergraduates experience the close community, career development opportunities, and industry partnerships similar to those experienced by the Center’s MBA students.

Required Courses

• Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management
• Procurement and Supply Management
• Logistics Management
• Marketing Channels
• Production Planning and Control
• Enterprise Systems and Supply Chain Management

Electives

• Marketing Research
• Retail Management
• Operations Research I 

Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management is the foundational course in the specialization curriculum. The course provides students with an understanding of the link between key business functions and how effective supply chain management can improve performance and provide competitive advantage. The course includes an exciting Web-based simulation project, where student teams compete in managing a high-tech company's supply chain.

Connection, Leadership, Innovation, and Community:

Four Values that Define Wisconsin MBA

The Wisconsin MBA is designed to put professionals out in front in their chosen fields. It is composed of outstanding programs in highly focused career specializations in key areas such as supply chain management. The program is about knowledge creation and providing transforming educational experiences. It offers real focus and real success to students.

The Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management at the Wisconsin School of Business is one of the few endowed, university-based centers specializing in supply chain management in the United States. Its unique curriculum is cross-functional and takes an integrated process view of supply chains, including marketing, sourcing, logistics, operations, and customer service. It is a personalized and industry-focused program supported by companies known for supply chain excellence. Students connect with and learn from real-world supply chain leaders and are part of a strong, close-knit community.

In addition to its MBA program, the Center also offers an undergraduate specialization and assists in the efforts of faculty research in the field.

The Center was established in August 1991, with a generous gift from The Grainger Foundation of Lake Forest, Illinois. The gift was made to recognize the increasing importance of supply chain management and the industry’s growing need for leaders with advanced education in the area. The contribution by The Grainger Foundation allows the Wisconsin School of Business to fulfill a significant need in graduate business education.

During the summer of 1992, the Grainger Center for Distribution Management became operational. The first class of MBA students graduated from the program in the spring of 1994. In July 1999, it was renamed the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management. Since its genesis, the Center has graduated 158 MBA students who have gone on to become business leaders across the industry, in firms large and small. 

Faculty

• Kersi Antia, Assistant Professor, Marketing
• Verda Blythe, Faculty Associate, Marketing
• Gregory DeCroix, Wisconsin Naming Partnership Professor of Operations
• Jan B. Heide, Professor and Irwin Maier Chair in Marketing
• Noah Lim, Senior Lecturer, Marketing
• Peter B. Lukszys, Senior Lecturer, Marketing
• John M. McKeller, Senior Lecturer, Marketing
• James G. Morris, Dean's Professor of Operations and Information Management
• John R. Nevin, Grainger Professor, Marketing
• David A. Schweidel, Assistant Professor, Marketing

Executive Advisory Board

The Executive Advisory Board is comprised of senior executives at leading firms that are renowned for supply chain management excellence. Board members provide strategic and curricular guidance, participate in applied learning programs, and provide placement opportunities for students.

• Karl Braitberg, Vice President, Demand Management & Planning & Customer Value Team Operations, Cisco Systems, Inc.
• John Kenny, President, FreeFlow
• Claudia Knowlton-Chike, General Manager, Global Logistics GE Healthcare
• Steve Loehr, Vice President, Operations and Strategy IBM Value Services
• Kevin O'Marah, Group Vice President, Supply Chain Research Gartner/AMR Research
• Thomas F. Pyle, Jr., Chairman, The Pyle Group
• Stu Reed, Senior Vice President and President, Home Services Sears Holdings Corporation
• Jim Ryan, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer W.W. Grainger, Inc.
• Jim Shuman, Senior Vice President, Procurement and Strategic Sourcing Genzyme Corporation
• Eric Smith, Vice President, Supply Chain-InSinkErator Division Emerson Electric Corporation
• Gray Williams, Executive Vice President, Operations Oclaro, Inc.
• Carolyn A. Woznicki, Vice President, Global Procurement Johnson Controls, Inc.

Staff

John R. "Jack" Nevin

Jack is executive director of the Grainger Center. He chaired the marketing department from 1988 to 1992 and from 2008 to 2010, and served as associate dean of masters programs from 1999 to 2002. Jack earned a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Illinois. His research is primarily concentrated in three managerialoriented areas of marketing: marketing channels, supply chain management, and marketing strategy. His research has appeared in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and many other journals. Jack’s teaching responsibilities include traditional full-time MBA classes on marketing channels and supply chain management. He also actively participates in executive development programs and has served as a research consultant or expert witness for a number of organizations. He has been heavily involved with the American Marketing Association and the International Society of Franchising in a professional service capacity.

Verda A. Blythe

Verda is the director of the Grainger Center. She is responsible for marketing the Center to prospective students and employers, and providing academic and career guidance to undergraduate and MBA students. She works closely with the Center’s faculty and Executive Advisory Board on program strategy and leads outreach activities with alumni, employers, and professional associations. Verda teaches three courses: Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management and Business and Society: History, Politics, Globalization in the undergraduate curriculum, and Ethical Leadership in the MBA curriculum. Verda brings 13 years of supply chain industry experience to her position, having worked in various functions including procurement/sourcing, production, and logistics. After earning a BBA degree in logistics from Iowa State University, she worked for Ruan Transportation Management Systems in quality, planning, and customer development. In 2002, she graduated with an MS degree in supply chain management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a Grainger Center alumna. Upon graduation, she joined the IBM Corporation, where she worked in the integrated supply chain, including global procurement and the systems and software group, both domestically and abroad.

Angela L. Bong

Angie is the assistant director of the Grainger Center. Managing the daily operations of the Center, she works with current and prospective students, alumni, employers, faculty, the Center’s executive advisory board, industry professionals, and colleagues within the School of Business. Angie leads the marketing and communications activities for the Center and assists in the coordination of the applied learning curriculum. Angie also assists with admissions and recruiting, student services, and programming; oversees the BBA specilization program; coordinates alumni development activities; and supervises project assistants. Angie began working at the Grainger Center in September 2011. She earned her BA in journalism from Butler University in 2005 and her MA from The University of Iowa in Student Development in Postsecondary Education in 2007. Prior to joining the Center staff, she served as the Coordinator for Student Leadership and Organizations at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Angie also serves on the executive board for the Wisconsin College Personnel Association.

Peter B. Lukszys

Pete is director of applied projects in the Grainger Center and is the SAP University Alliance faculty liaison. He teaches MBA, undergraduate, and executive education courses at Wisconsin. Pete developed two courses in Enterprise Systems and Logistics Management, which he teaches as part of the Center curriculum. In 2009, he was instrumental in implementing SAP enterprise software at the Wisconsin School of Business for educational use. His areas of expertise are global logistics, enterprise resource planning system implementation, and inventory management. Prior to his move to academia in 2004, Pete held the industry positions of senior director supply chain management, director of global logistics and distribution, SAP project leader, and production supervisor at EMD Chemicals, the North American affiliate of MERCK, KGaA, and Abbott Laboratories. In his role as SAP project leader, he led a team of over 100 employees in a successful business transformation where 10 SAP modules were implemented at six U.S. sites. At Abbott Laboratories, he completed a two-year management development program and held positions in inventory planning, manufacturing management, and financial analysis. Pete is APICS certified in production and inventory control. He received an MBA in supply chain management and a BS in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Student & Alumni News

 

1. Alumni and summer interns met in Palo Alto, California, for dinner and networking over the summer.
2. Ming Yuan Fu (MBA 2003) welcomed son Tao Tao last fall.
3. Ashley Durham Gesicki (MBA 2005) and her husband James announce the birth of Anna Ariadne Gesicki.
4. Samy Affo (MBA 2010) and his wife welcomed daughter Sophia Nana, born on June 13, 2011.
5. Arun Malhotra (MBA 2012) and his wife welcomed daughter Diya, born on July 17, 2011.
6. Matt Billings (MBA 2013) and his wife Julie welcomed daughter Audrey in December.

Tim Buhl (MBA 2003) is chief financial officer for Pack Ryt in Northlake, Illinois.

Kerri Yarbrough (MBA 2007) has been promoted to U.S. Navy Naval Supply Systems Command in Philadelphia, working aviation systems support.

Shane Strohl (MBA 2008) has been promoted to the U.S. Navy Logistics Forces Western Pacific in Singapore.

Congratulations to the December 2011 Supply Chain Management Specialization graduates!

 

Ben Fisher
Ryan VanCampenhout
Michael Putterman
Andrew Borree
Betty Sheu (not pictured)
Andrew Quella (not pictured)

Outside the Classroom...

   

1. Claire Gray, Matt Reuer, Therese Janecke, Evan Meyer, Matt Bartoe, Michelle Burns, Doug Stuckey, Andrew Schumann, and Justin Eaton don festive apparel at the Graduate Business Association end-of-the-semester celebration.
2. Mark Lusch, Evan Meyer, Justin Eaton, George Koikaramparambil, and Michaela Marquardt show their school spirit at a Graduate Business Association tailgate.
3. Holiday cheer from Center staff Angie Bong, Jack Nevin, Pete Lukszys, and Verda Blythe.
4. Students and staff enjoyed a Betty Lou Cruise on Madison's beautiful Lake Mendota to kick off the semester.
5. Nhien Tran, Michelle Burns, and Therese Janecke baking holiday goodies to share with fellow students, faculty, and staff.
6. Justin Eaton and Matt Billings participating in the Graduate Business Association Golf Outing in September.

975 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706-1323
608.262.1941
www.graingercenter.com

Executive Director . . . . . .  . . . . John R. "Jack" Nevin
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verda A. Blythe
Director of Applied Projects. . . . Peter B. Lukszys
Assistant Director . . . . . . . . . . . Angela L. Bong

Supply Chain Update is produced with funds made
available by the Grainger Center for Supply Chain
Management Opportunity Fund.

Learn More

• Profiles of our students and alumni
• Details about our unique curriculum
• Statistics on placement of our graduates
• Information on our corporate partners
• Supply chain missions of four companies: high tech, biotech, consumer products, and wind energy

www.graingercenter.com

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