Whitman Wednesday: young alumni
Jonathan Munoz graduated 2015 and now lives in Las Vegas with his fiance and their dogs. Â We caught up with him for the weekly SCM update.
What attracted you to SCM?
It was a natural attraction for me. It was the idea of using common sense ideas of efficiency to better the world around you, but with the authority and power of statistical analysis as the foundation for the my ideas of efficiency.
What stands out from your time at Whitman?
The most impact-full moments at Whitman were:
              1. Having the constant support and encouragement from all the SCM professors, obviously you from the start with CORE
               2. Being required to read the book "The Goal", by Eli Goldratt - Which reenforced my dream of simple ideas supported by quantitative analysis
              3. Joining the APICS chapter to get the peer support to drive me to CPIM certification
             4. Getting into Prof. LaPoint's Lean Six-Sigma (LSS) class - Which gave me field experience inthe application of LSS principles at GE Sensing and it got me qualified black belt Certification in LSS.W
What big-picture SCM topics are you most interested in?Â
            1. Intertwining Accounting principals with efficiency principles of inventory management, purchasing, and negotiations
           2. Collaborative Lean Manufacturing techniques between the vertical supply chain suppliers, manufactures, distributors, etc.
           3. Omni-channel - The eventual solution for all transportation and order processing in the most organized and efficient manner
If you could volunteer your SCM skills to a big-world problem, what would you tackle?
Iâd like to develop a national redistribution of excess products for the basic human necessities in the first world (soap, toilet paper, etc.) to the homeless and impoverished.
If you could give advice to your former student self or current students, what would you share?
Get ahead by earning certifications. Realize it doesn't matter where you come from, but how you apply yourself at the next level.
I'd just like to add that it's the little things that get you into the higher end pay scales. Students should focus on getting into an honor society, any of them, even if it's a pay for membership one. They should also get all the certifications they can while in school (Excel, Word, CPIM, etc.) Digital networking and phone calls to potential jobs is important, but nothing beats a handshake and smile. Students should realize that everything is a negotiation in life...everything....so take a class and get some knowledge base. I recommend Prof. Penfield's class. Eat at Picasso's Pastries!