Video Transcript

Jacob, Host at Logistics Degree:
Question: What are the personality traits that make someone well-suited to studying and working in supply chain management?

Corben, Supply Chain Manager:
Answer: Yes, you’ve got to be detail oriented and that’s a phrase that gets tossed around a lot in the job application world. But it’s really true in supply chain. If you don’t keep track of the details, then you should be in a different field because it’s really, really important. Also, at the crux of supply chain management and inventory planning and all of that is problem solving. So if you like getting in there and making things better and more efficient, you’re great for it. If you like to just come by and say, you know, I don’t want to ruffle feathers, I don’t want to offend, and I think we’re pretty good as we are, and that’s fine. It’s not really a good fit because a big influence in this industry is that we always make things better, we continuously improve, and that’s good. But it means you have to point out weaknesses sometimes and sometimes people don’t like to hear that. So we’ve got to be able to communicate directly while still not being a jerk. And if you can find that balance and you’ll really do well here.

Alexander, Supply Chain & Procurement:
Answer: On a more professional level going into a supply chain position, I would say it’s good to have a mindset of how can I make this more cost effective? How can I get it faster to the customer? How can I find patterns and/or risks in this product or manufacturing to make it better and to make it easier for our company to produce. But for the most part, I would say efficiently minded, wanting to find efficiency in different processes and products in their everyday stuff, and maybe even somebody who’s a little bit analytically minded too. So somebody who doesn’t mind looking at data, who doesn’t mind looking at the patterns that they have, who doesn’t mind looking at the mistakes and saying, how can we fix these mistakes rather than just leaving them? Because the mistakes grow exponentially throughout the years if you keep making those mistakes. And I would even say somebody who doesn’t mind, somebody who’s able to confront in a positive manner other colleagues or stand up for themselves and in their team as well, to kind of avoid those extra voices.

Haley, Logistics Project Manager:
Answer: I would say the first biggest one is being curious and having a curiosity mindset because it happens in logistics and in this field in general is there’s a lot of things you might not know and a lot of processes you might not be familiar with. So it’s really important to be able to ask not only what is this process, but what can I do to make it better? Why do things work this way? Why aren’t they working this way? What can I do to make things more quick? Maybe we could try this. Maybe we could try that. So kind of wrapping that all up, just being very curious and always trying to see to make things better. So that’s one. And then I would say the second biggest one is being diligent. And it kind of goes back to what I was just saying. You might not know exactly what a process is, especially when you’re first starting in a role or how to make it better at first. But by being diligent and being able to work through challenges even when things are difficult is a really important trait to have because it helps you to make that system better and to be successful in.

Nathan, Logistician:
Answer: I think it’s super helpful for supply chain management professionals to be constantly learning and to have a figure it out attitude and mentality. Much of supply chain operations is about clearing out bottlenecks, and there’s a solid chance you won’t know how to do that when you’re in the moment, even if you’ve been working in the field for many years. And so learning and adapting quickly is super essential.

William, Director of Operations:
Answer: Being able to multitask is probably the number one trait you should have. Number two would probably be analysis, being able to analyze anything from inventory to incoming shipments and obviously financials.