Episode Summary
“Learning effectively takes time. You might be smart, but other people have been smart longer. So you have to take that all into account and just be humble and get your head down and move forward.”
-Andrew Chen
What do you do when a global pandemic gets in the way of your supply chain internship? Well, if you’re Andrew Chen, you start the National Supply Chain Foundation so students of the supply chain can connect from a social distance. We sat down to chat with Andrew to learn more about the foundation, his new rotational program at Nestle, top trends he’s tracking, and more. Hear from a bright young mind in supply chain with the wisdom and foresight of a seasoned veteran.
Episode Transcript
Intro/Outro (00:03):
Welcome to supply chain. Now the voice of global supply chain supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues. The challenges and opportunities stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now.
Scott Luton (00:32):
Hey, good morning, everybody. Scott Luton with supply chain now welcome to today’s episode. So in this episode, we’re talking with a supply chain leader on the move. He’s going to inspire you. He’s got a bunch of new ideas for industry, a lot of new inventive and creative ideas for industries. So stay tuned for what promises to be an intriguing and informative conversation. Hey, quick programming note. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to venture over to supply chain. Now, wherever you get your podcasts from subscribes, you don’t miss conversations like this. And Hey, we’d love to earn your review to listen to how we’re doing, and you can do that of course, on apple, uh, apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts from that helps us get the word out and reach more folks. Okay. When we welcome in our guests here today, I’ve enjoyed some, uh, a couple of pre-show conversations with Andrew. He is a recent graduate from the prestigious supply chain management program at Michigan state university that the world is familiar with. He has joined the team over at Nestle as a supply chain development program associate and in a very exciting development and where we, how we kind of initially got connected. He founded the national supply chain foundation where he continues to serve as CEO. So with that said, let’s welcome in Andrew Chen, Andrew, how you doing?
Andrew Chen (01:47):
Good. Thank you for having me, Scott. How are you doing?
Scott Luton (01:50):
Doing fantastic. I see you got your Michigan state color zone. I love that go green always. Well, you know, beyond their supply chain prowess, you know, one of the top schools in the globe for supply chain management, they also always feature one heck of a basketball team amongst other things. So did you ever attend many of those basketball games?
Andrew Chen (02:12):
Yeah. You know, you know, running basketball were always in the big 10, big 10 big 10. Uh, the conference has been really tough recently, but you know, we’re always up back football. Hasn’t been doing too good, but we went back. I went to a couple of games, so it was fine. Outstanding.
Scott Luton (02:28):
And, and, you know, it’s neat where most, a lot of the world is kind of starting to get back and enjoying sports again and being able to do it. So in person, of course, we got to get the whole world there, but, um, but we will. Alright, so I wanna, I want to get to know you a little better before we start talking shop, so to speak. So tell us, where did you grow up and, and share a couple anecdotes about your upbringing?
Andrew Chen (02:49):
Yeah, of course. So born and raised Metro Detroit area lived in that city contracting the hell. It was very suburban. So I liked in a sense live in a bubble, but very, you know, grateful that didn’t have to kind of go through many hardships growing up, given that, you know, especially since first generation Asian-American. So that’s kinda where I grew up from always thought I was going to, you know, growing up. I always thought I was going to be in the field of science and in a role of science, but ended up being in business. So that’s where it tucked me think. Well, combination of both, you know, my parents instilling that stereotypical, you know, my saying to me and also Lily loved sharks, you know, when I was little. So, yeah.
Scott Luton (03:33):
So you’ve shared it a lot there. I got to go back a little bit and dive a little deeper. So first off you said you’re a first generation Asian-American, is that right? Yes. So where where’d your folks?
Andrew Chen (03:47):
Yeah, so my parents came migrated from China and my mom’s from Shanghai and my dad’s from SsangYong. So I don’t don’t know the exact dates when they came over, but they were born there and then they had me and my siblings here in America.
Scott Luton (04:03):
How many brothers, sisters do you have?
Andrew Chen (04:05):
I have one brother and one sister older than me and both went to Michigan state. So,
Scott Luton (04:11):
And then you also mentioned that you thought growing up that you’d be pursuing more of a science path, but of course you went business and supply chain management. What do you think?
Andrew Chen (04:21):
So I think like I was saying, the reason why I thought I was going to be in kind of the science fields was, you know, stereotypical Asian American or Asian parents really like, you know, their children to be in the stem field. Um, and I also, you know, growing up really like sharks, uh, some Marine biologists was a dream job of mine, you know, back in the day that was that. And kind of, I think what, what veered me off was, and still wasn’t good at it.
Scott Luton (04:48):
Yeah. I love that honesty. I’m with you, especially chemistry. I was terrible at chemistry. I got out of calculus as a senior in high school. I just, it was, and I started computer science when I, when I started school at university of South Carolina, Andrew. Oh, wow. I was horrible at it. Just, you know, the base, the building blocks, you’ve got to learn and build upon, so you can get into coding C plus plus at the time and others, it just, it was above my pay grade. So, so, but I love that. And of course the graduating from Michigan state, uh, with a supply chain management degree is, is very much so cache. So looking forward to kind of seeing how your career plays out across global supply chain, especially with Nestle, a leading organization. So let’s do this. We already talked about what you graduated and, and when you graduated, you just walked, did y’all have a in-person graduation ceremony.
Andrew Chen (05:41):
Yeah, we actually did. So really grateful that Michigan state was able to kind of come up with a plan to have, you know, in-person graduation. They split us up instead of having one big one for the business school it’s flooded into majors. Um, which honestly was better. Cause it was like an hour long or two hours long. So it really short, um, it was about yeah. Uh, two months ago.
Scott Luton (06:00):
Yeah. Okay. So man, you’re, you’re, you’re freshly graduated from Michigan state. What was your, so when you think through all the different classes you took and your teachers and different experiences that made up your collegiate experience, but what were a couple of your favorites?
Andrew Chen (06:17):
Yeah, so a couple of my favorites would have to be so procurement. I think procurement was, you know, one of, one of the big ones negotiation, um, was another big one. And then last but not least I’d say management strategy. So those three kind of makeup, you know, my one of, I guess the favorite courses, um, at school,
Scott Luton (06:38):
I got to make sure Kelly Barner with buyers meeting point here’s this. So procurement was one of the top three of your experiences and that’s, that’s gonna, that’s gonna make her day for sure. But you also mentioned management strategy. That’s a great one on a curious one as well. What, what aspect of management strategy really? Was it the curriculum? Was it the teacher? Was it, was it kind of how the class was conducted the topic itself? What was it?
Andrew Chen (07:01):
Yeah, I think, well with all three of them, I really think it was the teacher, the professor that made the course enjoyable. So, um, a lot of interactive things to do within the course while we were studying and everything. So that’s kind of what, what the re the, the full reason why those are top three and then within management strategy, I kind of really like how, at a high view, you have to look at things and kind of make sure, you know, things aligned within the business and how that, you know, how competitive we play in the field and like where you play and how to play. So, um, that’s kind of what interests me, um, with the strategy.
Scott Luton (07:36):
Did, y’all talk a change management much in that class,
Andrew Chen (07:39):
A little bit of change management and how to kind of go about that with a lot of communication. And a lot of people don’t like change though,
Scott Luton (07:48):
Right. It’s baked into us as humans. Right. And I love, I’m really looking forward to kind of seeing as, as you, uh, you know, I think you’re in your second week right now, as we record this with Nestle, I’m looking forward to seeing the change you drive in global supply chains. Part of that team, let’s talk about first though, this national supply chain foundation. So tell, give us a little bit of the story of, of what led you to create it and what it is, and, and maybe what
Andrew Chen (08:15):
Yeah, yeah, of course. So, um, the national spot Cain foundation, uh, emerged, you know, last summer when, when COVID was at an all time high. Um, and at that point I, I internship was rescinded. So, and the, the reason why I came up with the NASA splashing foundation was, you know, as a junior, at that time, it was, you know, studying this behemoth of a major with so many different career paths. Um, and, you know, supply chain is so broad that I was kind of, I didn’t, I was, I was in a loft space that I didn’t really know if I w where I wanted to pursue my career path. So that’s kind of where this, this community lies in the sense to help students, um, learn supply chain and network easily, you know, where we’re connecting students through, you know, college students with each other, bringing in professional speakers, or even just simplifying supply chain throughout newsletters. So
Scott Luton (09:07):
If I heard you correctly, so this was summer 2020, right? Yeah. And you were found, so just like you were trying to connect the dots across this massive industry that was in, it makes the make school of business happen. It sounds like there was a lot of other folks that were in school and your age that were also struggling to kind of connect the dots. Yeah,
Andrew Chen (09:26):
Yeah. That’s absolutely correct. It was trying to help other students in the summer poop positioned as me to kind of, um, know what supply chain is. Cause it seems like, you know, while, while I was thinking about this foundation, the three ways to kind of know, or learn supply chain is, you know, one you’re taking university courses, but you know, some universities don’t even have a supply chain program. Um, and you know, you can’t take every single university course out there in supply chain, right? So that was one, two, you do internships to kind of gain experience within a certain field. And that’s in a sense it’s difficult to get internships in general, you know, even without COVID, but then with Cobra, you know, all of them being rescinded, it was just in a tough, tough position to be in. So that was the second. And the third is networking, being in a community to learn about supply chain. So that’s where this kind of foundation lies of kind of your head networking, speaking with other individuals in those different roles and learning from their experiences to gain knowledge within the field. So
Scott Luton (10:21):
It’s wonderful. Let’s see here. So I bet it was a tough day when you learned that your internship had been rescinded, right? Because so many students, including myself, really use that internship to get that practical, rural experience. That’s important to helping you find a job. So I got to commend you, you know, you kind of took those lemons you got from that and kind of took it to make lemonade with, with creating an entity that didn’t just help you, but helped all the others that probably we’re dealing with, you know, there’s being rescinded and just the, the common challenge of kind of getting exposed to different aspects of this, of this massive industry.
Andrew Chen (11:01):
Definitely. And with right now, we’re sitting at around 200, you know, in this community thinking about, so right now it’s really, it’s kind of a, it’s a virtual community, of course. So we’re thinking about transitioning to a, say a group chat or some sort of physical community where we can kind of talk with one another more on a personal level, um, like, you know, supply chain child, and kind of learn about each other’s personalities and everything. But, um, with that value, bringing in, you know, professional speakers, um, to learn more about supply chain and kind of, um, telling them to take initiative, to connect with other costumes, to learn about their internship experiences and whatnot.
Scott Luton (11:36):
Wonderful. So kind of what I’m hearing there is what’s next for the national supply chain foundation, it, while it started at Michigan state university, this is organization that you’re leading and you’ll be leading into this next chapter as you find new ways of, of, of creating that valuable and that value part really that value prop for being a part of it. It sounds, sounds like you’ve got some big ideas to lay out there soon.
Andrew Chen (12:00):
Yeah. Really big ideas. And we’re really, you know, in a stage of kind of figuring out the structure, we’re trying new things. We like to, you know, we’re, we’re a small group of individuals on my team and, you know, we, we want to, we have innovative ideas. We pursue them. We learn if they fail, we learn fast and move forward. Right. So, um, that’s where we take it. And, um, although at this time Michigan state, you know, hopefully we can connect, even though it’s not affiliated with Michigan state and university, but hopefully in the near future, we’ll be able to have communities across different universities. Um, so we can connect ideas and kind of experiences with other college students from different universities and, and top, you know, supply chain school.
Scott Luton (12:41):
I love it. Let’s talk about what’s next for you. Aside from the foundation, is this a supply chain development program at Nestle? So tell us, what does this next chapter for you professionally look like?
Andrew Chen (12:54):
Yeah. So you got it right. I’m a STP for short supply chain development program on that Nestle. And it’s a three rotations, 12 to 18 months I’m within the end-to-end supply chain. So you kind of carved your own career path on, you know, what function you kind of want to be in. And for me, I’m in the technical procurement group, so doing procurement. So they’re really interested in that field and going to be working on kind of capital equipment. So yeah, that’s, that’s the beginning of my career path and it’s really about networking with them, the org to kind of see where you want to go next.
Scott Luton (13:30):
Love it. And so, so it sounds like, uh, it’s gonna be an opportunity for you to get a well rounded introduction to real-world global supply chain. So procurement, a procurement forward position will be at first, what do you think will come after that one?
Andrew Chen (13:46):
Oh, no, it’s up in the air, but I really liked the question excellence, you know, utilizing my IP minor on my information technology minor that I, uh, had at Michigan state university to kind of connect automation, you know, the, the innovative stuff with supply chain to enable it. Um, and also, you know, demand and supply planning is pretty interesting too, for me. So, I mean, there’s a lot that all supply chain, there’s, there’s so many different functions and, you know, you just can’t really pick one until it comes to you and you decide what you want to go away.
Scott Luton (14:14):
I love it. So speak generally with me for a second. Um, and so it sounds, I love this program. Nestle has gotten built, um, Cisco, C I S C O. I worked for the other Cisco, the Cisco food company, but Cisco, the technology company has got a very similar program that I’ve learned about. And it seems like it’s part of a trend, which I love because of the, the different experiences that offers does this type of program. Do you think really resonate with recent college graduates?
Andrew Chen (14:40):
Yeah, I think, well, I don’t know if it’s, it’s starting to become more relevant, you know, rotational program because it, well, the benefit of rotational program is that it, you learn the end end of supply chain and have you experienced different rotations to see what you like and also having more diverse portfolio, a massive supply chain professionals. So you kind of learned that or you gained multiple experience skills with them, you know, supply chain and it’s becoming more prevalent, you know, to university students as they kind of dive into the field. Because of course, like I mentioned before, and I, and as always, it’s, it’s a very, very complex role or field of study. And then within that, I think that the downside or what people kind of, kind of are iffy about joining is that sometimes it can be a long, you know, you’re committed to a long period of rotations or you’re in a location that you don’t prefer, but it’s really about, you know, personal balance of beautiful. Do you want to be in a specific role that you can see you can grow in or a specific location in? Um, I think you can find one that has the best of both worlds, whether that’s Nestle, Cisco, or other rotational programs out there. Love
Scott Luton (15:47):
That. Okay. So I want to, I want you to finish a sentence. So based on all of your experiences and education, now, you’re your early practitionership. Um, I want you to finish this sentence for me. So global supply chain would be better if,
Andrew Chen (16:03):
If it can adapt and be ready for anything
Scott Luton (16:08):
And including pandemics or whatever disruption is thrown away because, you know, Andrew, while we hope all hope and pray, knock on wood that, you know, the next pandemic will be a long time from now, but disruption is continuous. It’s just the kind of the, the type of disruption. And to the extent is that right?
Andrew Chen (16:28):
Yeah, I believe, yeah, that’s absolutely correct. And it’s not even, I mean, we do know pandemics can affect us like this now, but the things that we can’t see that we have to be more aware of and kind of resilient and, you know, a supply chain can adapt to anything, then I’d say we’re safe, but it’s, I think, yeah, it’s, it’s about finding issues that we can’t see.
Scott Luton (16:49):
Yeah. Nice, great point. And learning and, you know, one of the really important things I think we, we as business leaders, we’ve got to be sure not to miss out on and, uh, from this pandemic is, is, uh, uh, take these tough lessons, learned very difficult lessons learned, right. Learn from them and apply true fixes, right? Not band-aids, you know, hoping and praying that, you know, dependent is over when we get back to business as usual there’s, there’s, there’s, there’s no room for that type of thinking. We’ve got to really, to help be prepared for what, as you say is unseen. We’ve got to, we’ve got to really work on instilling and building true resilience. We’ve heard that word a thousand, a hundred thousand times into these global supply chains, right?
Andrew Chen (17:35):
Yeah. Correct. And I think with all that being said, it comes down to data. Um, data is king right now. And with being able to, you know, see that data and react Fastly, um, really quickly to, you know, the changes of, of that data and then, um, create a plan to move forward, um, to adapt to that, I think will, will be great for supply chain, but it’s, it’s difficult. It’s challenging. And I think there just needs a lot of teamwork, um, to be able to pursue
Scott Luton (18:07):
I’m with ya. I that’s one of my favorite aspects of global business, but certainly global supply chain is, is people still make it happen? All the technology in the world. It’s a really impressive, but there’s so much opportunity for people. You know, I was on the livestream earlier, earlier today, uh, and a technologist was sharing about how, you know, let’s leverage technology to take care of the blocking and tackling the mundane activities that no one wants to have these days. Right. And let’s use that to empower and, and free up your people that know the business and can come up with new ways of serving the customer new ways of doing things, you know, uh, and just frees them from the burden of the, you know, gotta make the donuts, gotta make the donuts. That’s really the, the, um, that augmentation aspect of technology is really what excites me a lot.
Andrew Chen (18:58):
Yeah. I agree. A hundred percent about that technology. And I know, you know, with change again, like some people, some supply chain professionals are, are scared of that, you know, automation and bringing that in because, you know, some say it might take away their, their roles or, or sort of say, but I think it’s not really taking away their roles because it’s doing all those mundane tasks that allows them to creatively think and have the more strategic output instead of, you know, waste or not wasting time. But, you know, doing those tactical on day to day duties, right.
Scott Luton (19:29):
Supercomputers or the quantum computers or whatever they are right now do their thing. Right. Yeah. I want to ask you, I’m sure you’re studying global industry now that you’re officially part of it. What’s a couple of business issues that might be on your radar more than others here.
Andrew Chen (19:44):
Maybe not. So to say business issues, but to that, you know, I’ve been tracking are, are on top of mine right now is one recently is actually a new variant of COVID called the Delta barrier. And I think I read it was 60% more infectious. So definitely, you know, curious or to see, you know, how that’s gonna affect, you know, coming into the fall, the more colder season and you know, what universities are gonna do, you know, especially if it becomes another outbreak, but I’m sure hopefully we’ll be able to contain that. And that’s just kind of, you know, where, how the, I guess, a virus can adapt and mutate to a new variant. And I think that kind of translates to the passion as well, where, you know, you have to adapt and be better than your competitors and so to speak. So making that connection there, um, as well. So, um, yeah,
Scott Luton (20:34):
I’m with ya. I’m hoping that, uh, these variants are scary things, you know, especially as you start to kind of catch your breath a bit, because we think we’re past the worst of it, but it’s Delta variant. It’s just been interesting to see. So before I taught Eureka moments, anything, any other business topic that you’re kind of tracking right now.
Andrew Chen (20:53):
And one more thing that I’m tracking that was, you know, all over the place a couple months ago, and a piece to non, non fungible tokens, not really a business issue, but something that’s been popping up in every, every news and blockchain and everything. And I don’t, you know, I’m not an expert in it, but it seems like it’s a, one of a virtual, one of a kind and it really shows, or to me, it really shows a glimpse of what the future can look like, where we’re innovation, innovation can take us and how we can connect that with, you know, business issues, business needs, or even, you know, personal choices.
Scott Luton (21:30):
Yeah. Well said, um, I’m like you, I’m not a cryptocurrency expert, but I’ve been kind of learning and do my own homework because like you said, I, I really think, and there’s many folks that are absolutely committed that that is a snapshot of the future, especially as blockchain continues. And it’s just one, you know, one of the things associated with it oftentimes continues to make new strides in its practicality and, and impact. But cryptocurrency is a fascinating thing. Fascinating thing to understand, just kind of how it’s, you know, how it’s mind and how it’s, how it’s exchanged and, and just how it’s changing commerce and transactions as we know it, you know?
Andrew Chen (22:08):
Yeah, yeah. Very complex in itself. And there’s a lot of, um, nuances within that space still, but being able to learn that and just diving deep and being curious in that field, I’m sure it has a lot of strides to take and take your place. Yes.
Scott Luton (22:23):
Big, I mean, Bitcoin Elon Musk, that’s where he’s missing. It must be the most powerful person in the world. He puts a tweet out there and market shift. It is fascinating.
Andrew Chen (22:33):
I was going to, and all the other different types of currencies out there.
Scott Luton (22:38):
It really is a, it’s a crazy, it is a crazy age we live in here. Okay. So you strike me as someone that can be deeply introspective and reflective is my hunch. We’ll see if I’m right. One of the things we love talking about here are your Rica moments, right? We have, you know, some, some days you have dozens of them, you know, especially here lately, but what’s been one Eureka moment as to that view, maybe one that especially tied to this pandemic age,
Andrew Chen (23:09):
I’d say one that tied maybe to this pandemic or one really recently. And it kind of relates to, you know, even without a pandemic, as a general human and kind of on, as a population in a business in a business field or business mindset is, um, learning effectively takes time. Um, I say, and I want to put that word effectively in there because you know, some people can learn fast and, and that’s great, but if you want really want to understand something, you know, it takes time. And what really showed me where I reflected on that, you know, since being so new to Nestle and put the two weeks of onboarding I’ve discovered so far, is that Nestle in the assault, there’s so many moving parts that I try to be familiar with. And on top of that guy, I learn my procurement role. Right.
Andrew Chen (23:50):
So, um, it’s just, it’s just going to take time and I have to really adapt or embrace this, you know, growth mindset, um, you know, learn, take risks, learn from my failures, learn fast, learn fast and fail forward. Um, but also be humble in a sense. And I think, um, there’s a saying that I really enjoyed that. You know, you may be smart, but other people have been smart longer. So you have to kind of take that all into account and just, um, be humble and kind of get your head down and move forward and kind of learn, um, the day to day activities and just learn about, you know, what’s going on around you, um, and understand, you know, being empathetic towards, you know, everything, especially during a pandemic too. Wow.
Scott Luton (24:34):
Oh man. You’re you are, Y you’ve got an old soul wise beyond your years. I love that other folks have been smarter longer. I’m gonna steal that from you, Andrew. All right. So I’m gonna, I wanna answer it one more question here. So, um, if you want to give a shout out and we don’t have to name last names, but any new colleagues you’ve met as you’ve, you’ve joined the Nestle team that you’ve really enjoyed, you know, rubbing elbows and exchanging perspective with already.
Andrew Chen (25:01):
Yeah. So, well, shout out to my program manager, Steve, you know, who’s been taking care of us SVP. So with my class with STPs, there’s like seven of us. And they’re all from, you know, different universities, a lot of names, but, you know, my whole class SVP is really, was able to kind of, um, pursued this orientation with them, you know, a lot of meetings back and back, back to back with, um, just hearing their insights and experiences about, you know, what they went through and also how they liked, you know, the organization as well. So that was that. And I, I did have a chance to, um, speak with the chief procurement officer at NSP as well, one. Yeah. And he had a lot of great insight, um, and I hope to, you know, make that connection with them moving forward too. Um, so that’s been great.
Scott Luton (25:48):
Awesome. I love that access to leadership and access to the newest team members that, that that’s a great two-way street. Anyone from Michigan. Oh, big blue. And, and would you, would you still work with them and give them a hug or is the rivalry too strong?
Andrew Chen (26:04):
I say, well, if we’re talking about sports, I might, I might not talk about, I might not even look at them, but they always like to say where the little, the little sister or little brother, um, but you know, in a, in a business setting, when you, when collaboration is key, you know, they have their, their insights, you know, diversity of thought, um, being in a, you know, from a different school, different, you know, background. And I think, you know, working with them and, you know, meeting hands together is always key. Um, but you know, sports wise, that’s a difference. That’s a different story where we’re taking them down hallways.
Scott Luton (26:41):
I love that. I love your perspective, you know, our differences do, you know, make us stronger, make us more innovative. And, and it’s also the spice of life and it’s still, it’s still fun to enjoy those on the, on the, on the, um, you know, football field and in the basketball court, fun to enjoy those art travels. Okay. You got a ton of stuff going on. I really, again, admire all that you’ve accomplished, especially during these crazy times, I’m really excited to kind of see what’s next for the national supply chain foundation. And as your, as your career and profession continues to unfold, we’ll have to have you back and get some of your early, early learnings, but how can folks connect with you if they, if they want to compare notes or they want to get involved in the foundation or what have you, how can folks?
Andrew Chen (27:29):
Yeah, definitely. Um, my LinkedIn is always open to, uh, messages. So feel free to message me there. You can find me at Andrew Chen MSU on probably what would pop up there. Or my, my actual abuse name is Andrew dash Lu, L U dash 10 P H E N. So can I proceed there? Feel free to message me just connect. We can have a one-on-one coffee chat, or if you’re interested in the national splashing foundation, so free to message me, and that can kind of direct you that way.
Scott Luton (27:58):
Wonderful. And of course, uh, listeners, we’re going to make it really easy. We’re going to feature those links on the episode page on the show notes so that you can connect with Andrew, Andrew chin. It is a pleasure. It’s great to connect with you prior to today, but I was really interested in kind of hearing your, your thoughts on some of these questions here today. And you’ve exceeded really enjoyed this, this powerful, albeit brief conversation. You got a ton of things going on. You find, are you finding the need to have some clones for tech and all that? Yeah.
Andrew Chen (28:30):
Um, I wish I did have some folks that would, you know, do some, some of the day-to-day stuff, but I think just keeping organized and, um, just doing stuff in a timely manner of being an effective and efficient as how things run. But, you know, there’s a lot of mistakes that are being made, you know, like moving forward, just, just learning. I think life’s just, how about learning, I guess, and with you
Scott Luton (28:52):
Smoking like an old soul, I love that, Andrew. I love that about you. Well, Hey man, we wish you all the best. We’re going to keep our finger on the pulse of the things you’re up to. We’ll have to have you back on, especially as things continue to evolve and unfold. I really appreciate you sharing your time here today on supply chain.
Andrew Chen (29:09):
Yeah. Thank you. And I appreciate you having me on here, Scott. It was great connecting with you again,
Scott Luton (29:14):
Folks, hopefully you’ve enjoyed this conversation as much as I have when you’ve got bright people like this coming into the global supply chain profession, things are going to be good. Uh, and it gives you, it gives all of us a lot more confidence, uh, and, and getting through these challenging times, those that we know, and of course those that we don’t know, um, you know, more disruption and change around the corner. Hey, if you enjoy this conversation, be sure to find spot you now, wherever you get your podcast from subscribe. So you don’t miss a single be sure to connect with Andrew gin and the national supply chain foundation. And if you do anything else very important on behalf of our entire team here at supply chain. Now this is Scott and signing off for now. He’d do good give forward and be the change that seemed to be just like Andrew. And we’ll see you next time right here at supply chain now. Thanks for bye.
Intro/Outro (30:02):
Thanks for being a part of our supply chain. Now, community check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to supply chain. Now anywhere you listen to podcasts and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on supply chain. Now.
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The 3 Ways to Learn Supply Chain with Andrew Chen, founder of the National Supply Chain Foundation
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Andrew Chen is a recent graduate from Michigan State University with a degree in Supply Chain Management and a minor in Information Technology with a strong background in process improvement, problem-solving and communications. He has gained these skills through diverse work experiences from small business, corporate, to nonprofit startup and have a passion to engage in supply chain leadership as a future career path. At MSU, he was involved in many leadership positions on campus and one of them being most recent was joining the Executive Board for the Chinese American Student Coalition. Additionally, Andrew was the Director of Marketing for Students Consulting for Non-Profits, and Merchandising Chair for PGN – a co-ed business fraternity. He is now off to his journey as a Supply Chain Development Program Associate with Nestle! Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.
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