FALL 2015 | VOLUME 1, EDITION 2

Supply Chain Innovation

THE BULLWHIP

A n executive. A factory floor manager. A truck driver. They're seemingly unrelated careers,

but they all share something in common. They're in the field of operations, and operations

is the backbone of every business.

What is Operations?

Operations is the field of changing inputs into outputs. It's a broad definition, but a field as broad as

operations requires such ambiguity. A historic example of operations is Henry Ford and his creation of

the assembly line1. This process revolutionized the realm of operations and allowed businesses to

streamline their manufacturing processes. Today, for companies like Amazon who handle a massive

volume of packages every day, efficiency must be one of the firm's top priorities. Because of this

evolving need for efficiency, companies are always looking to trim fat from their operations, and

programs like Six Sigma, a statistical approach to streamlining processes, have been developed2.

That's the definition of operations in the traditional sense, but operations is everywhere in the business

world. One example of non-traditional operations is sourcing, the act of obtaining product for a busi-

ness. Think about a catering company who needs to buy food. Getting food to create dishes involves

operations. Transporting these goods, through ways such as plane, train, or ship, is operations.

Finally, the process of hiring workers to carry out these tasks is also operations. These fields may not

involve cardboard boxes or factory conveyor belts, but they do deal with the operations of the

business, which is what a business needs to function.

Career Opportunities

U.S. News and Reports puts three careers directly related to operations in the top ten of their list of

"Best Business Jobs.”

1. "Just in Time." Shmula. Shmula LLC, 23 Mar. 2007. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://www.shmula.com/fords-contribution-to-just-in-time/371/>. 2. "What Is Six Sigma?" ISixSigma. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://www.isixsigma.com/new-to-six-sigma/getting-started/what-six-sigma/>. 3. "Operations Research Analyst." US News Money. U.S. News & World Report LP, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/operations-research-analyst>. 4. "Logistician." US News Money. U.S. News & World Report LP, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/logistician>. 5. "Business Operations Manager." US News Money. U.S. News & World Report LP, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/business-operations-manager>.

Operations Research Analyst3 Logistician4 Business Operations Manager5 Position

#4 #6 #10 Rank

The people who break down

existing systems and look for

opportunities to improve the

efficiency of the business.

The workers responsible for

behind-the-scenes planning of

transporting materials. Heavily

involved with supply chains.

The point person in any

business, managers oversee the

operations of any business,

including hiring and contracting.

Description

$74,630 $73,400 $96,430 Salary

27% 21.9% 12.9% Growth Rate

Above Average Above Average Above Average Upward Mobility

Average Low Above Average Stress Level

Bachelor’s Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees & Experience Qualifications

1 | THE BULLWHIP | FALL 2015

THE BULLWHIP

“Education is

learning what

you didn’t

even know

you didn’t

know.”

- Daniel J. Boorstin

In This Issue

Golden Corral Guest

Speaker: Risk Man-

agement Discussion

Supplier Working

Relations - Why Are

They Important?

Supply Chain Case

Competition

Second Edition— A Word from the Editors Dear Reader,

Our Vision & You Thank you for supporting The Bullwhip! Our hope is that reading about the exciting

things Operators—that is operations students—have done or learned will inspire you

to join The Bullwhip team and contribute what makes you, your club, and uni-

versity special. Our earnest desire is that this newsletter would create some-

thing rare—a bullwhip effect of students having an increasingly greater impact on their

peers, schools, and workplaces, supported by the best wisdom and knowledge other

students and schools around the world have to offer.

Contribute to the Spring Edition by January 15th

Space in the spring edition of The Bullwhip has already begun to fill up! Reach out to

us by January 15th if you are interested in contributing or have an idea for an

article. Our contact information can be found on page 6. We look forward to

hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Elliot Orenstein Jacob Baldwin

Editor-in-Chief UNC Operations Club President

Abdulaziz Shemna | Geoffrey Bell | Grady Hale | Maria Blanchard | Ryan Wydra

The Bullwhip Executive Team

A global newsletter collaboration of undergraduate operations students Volume 1 | Edition 2

THE BULLWHIP | FALL 2015 | 2

This year, the Wharton Supply

Chain Organization was fortunate

to host Mr. Telly Smith, Vice

President of Purchasing and

Distribution at Golden Corral. Mr.

Smith flew in from North Carolina

to share his experiences.

Risk Management & Analytics

Mr. Smith worked his way up from

washing dishes at Golden Corral

to directing large-scale purchasing

for the entire franchise. Due to his

diverse background, Mr. Smith

focused his presentation on a

holistic approach to supply chain

management and specifically risk

management. He explained that

due to the large role the Golden

Corral franchise plays in the beef

and corn market, he staggered

purchases to avoid increasing

prices.

risk, though: if the price of beef

rises even higher, then he will have

to pay an even higher premium to

meet demand.

Student Experience

Mr. Smith involved students in a

very direct manner through his

case study. Mr. Smith’s passion for

supply chain management and his

interactive teaching style

undoubtedly excited students’

interests in supply chain and

helped us gain insights into how

classroom knowledge can translate

into solving practical problems.

Last year in 2014, Golden Corral

revenues were $1.735 billion,

generated from both franchise

and company-owned stores.

Given the incredible volume of

the operation, controlling food

costs is of the utmost priority.

Through an interactive case

study involving beef and corn

pricing, Mr. Smith explained how

to balance risk today with risk

tomorrow. Mr. Smith must decide

how much corn and beef to buy

ahead of time and how much to

purchase during the year. If he

thinks the price of beef is

unusually low, he will likely

purchase most of Golden

Corral’s beef for the year now to

lock in that low price. However, if

he thinks the price of beef now is

high, he may wait to purchase

beef. Waiting to purchase is a

Golden Corral first opened in 1973 in Fayetteville, NC and is now America’s #1 buffet

Golden Corral Guest Speaker: Risk Management Discussion Pavan Patel, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business

3 | THE BULLWHIP | FALL 2015

Supply Chain

Case Competition

Katie Fineout, Univ. of

Minnesota, Carlson

School of Management

The National

Undergraduate Supply

Chain Case

Competition was a

competition created by

Dr. Steven Huchendorf

(University of

Minnesota, Carlson

School of Management)

in the spring of 2012.

The third annual

competition in spring of

2015 had fourteen

participating colleges

and universities

competing for $10,000

in cash prizes.

Local Minnesota

corporations such as

3M, Land O’Lakes,

Cargill, C.H. Robinson,

and Target, among

several others,

contributed as sponsors

and partners to ensure

a successful weekend

filled with intense

competition, supply

chain comradeship, and

professional networking

with top-performing

students. According to

Dr. Steven Huchendorf,

the competition

provides a “unique

learning experience

designed to educate,

(continued on page 5)

As any supply chain management

professional would tell you, main-

taining supplier relations is a key

driver in increasing the company’s

success. If a company has a posi-

tive working relationship with their

partners, it is easier to work to-

gether and solve problems more

efficiently, which provides benefits

to both companies in the long run.

Dr. John Henke, president of

Planning Perspectives Inc., real-

ized the importance of these busi-

ness relationships and decided to

capitalize on the idea of measur-

ing different aspects of supplier

relations in the automotive indus-

try. Dr. Henke’s management con-

sulting firm specializes in buyer-

supplier working relations. They

produce a major annual study

called the Annual North American

THE BULLWHIP | FALL 2015 | 4

Supplier Working Relations – Why Are They Important?Monica Topolovec, Univ. of Michigan-Dearborn

Automotive OEM-Tier 1 Supplier

Working Relations Index® Study,

also known as the WRI®. This

study measures the working rela-

tions that exist between the six

major North American OEMs and

their Tier 1 suppliers, serving as

a benchmark for supplier working

relations in the automotive indus-

try. The five measured compo-

nents of the WRI®, measured on

a scale of 0-500, include supplier

-company relationship, company

communication, company help,

company hindrance, and supplier

profit opportunity.

Supplier-Company

Relationship

The goal for a company and a

supplier is to strive for a partner-

(continued on page 5)

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2013-annual-oem-supplier-study-shows-automakers-lack-of-focus-has-stalled-improvements-in-supplier-relations-207165371.html

ship, rather than an adversarial rela-

tionship. This means that the two com-

panies hold a high level of trust be-

tween each other and have a positive

overall working relationship.

Company Communication

The aspect of company communication

builds on the idea of mutual trust and

understanding between the two com-

panies. Open and honest communica-

tion ensures transparency so that the

manufacturer and supplier can under-

stand each other’s issues and process-

es right away.

Company Help

Company help means that the manu-

facturer gives to suppliers and works

with them to reduce costs and improve

the quality of products, rather than de-

manding improvements without provid-

ing support. The more help that the

manufacturer provides in achieving the

goals set out for suppliers, the more

likely it is for the supplier to be able to

meet those requirements.

Company Hindrance

The WRI® measures company hin-

drance. Companies should strive to

give their suppliers flexibility in meeting

objectives, as well as allow suppliers to

be involved in the product development

process. For example, late and exces-

sive design changes and specification

changes may hinder the supplier’s abil-

ity to effectively execute goals put forth

by the manufacturer.

5 | THE BULLWHIP | FALL 2015

Supplier Profit Opportunity

Supplier profit relations means that

when asking for price reductions and

wage cuts, the manufacturer takes

into consideration supplier profit mar-

gins and ensures that the supplier will

still be able to make a good return.

This also means that the manufactur-

er shares savings, covers any sunk

costs, and also rewards high perform-

ing suppliers with new/continued busi-

ness.

The 2015 Annual Automotive Industry

Study shows the supplier working re-

lations for the top six OEM’s in North

America and their direct cause-effect

relation with OEM’s operating profits.

Toyota and Honda scored the highest

on the WRI®, with an average im-

provement of 8.7% over last year’s

score. According to the study, if Ford,

General Motors, FCS US and Nissan

had improved as much as Toyota and

Honda in supplier relations, they

would have earned $2 billion more in

operating profit last year!1

Dr. John Henke’s WRI® is an im-

portant indicator to show companies

where they stand on each of the five

components of supplier relations;

knowing the results of this test is im-

portant, but knowing how to interpret

the results and how to improve suppli-

er working relations is key for im-

proved productivity, higher revenues,

and an overall more positive outlook

for the company.

excite, and promote the

supply chain and

operations field of

study.”

This year’s competition

focused on a case study

with 3M, which

examined 3M Footprint

Optimization, Supply

Chain Innovation for

North America and

Beyond. Christian Kerr,

awarded the

Outstanding Presenter

of the competition, said

the challenge was a

“classic case of

strategic positioning and

understanding how to

handle negative

implications of

aggressive expansion.”

Samson Seiffert,

another member of the

Minnesota team, was

able to touch on some

of the strategies his

team used; “We

focused on

implementing a hub

strategy, which allowed

3M to analyze their

current manufacturing

sites and consolidate

plants with like-

processes, close plants

with negative growth,

and create a new plant

that leveraged

sustainable technology.

If implemented, our

recommendations

would have led to a total

cost savings of $24

million and increased

efficiencies across the

(continued on page 6)

1. http://www.ppi1.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015-WRI-Press-Release-May-19.pdf

North American supply

chain.”

The case produced some

outstanding overall

recommendations and the

winning teams of the

competition were as

follows:

1. UNC-Chapel Hill, Kenan-

Flagler Business School

2. University of Minnesota,

Carlson School of

Management

3. Iowa State University,

College of Business

4. Texas Christian

University, Neeley School of

Business

If you are interested in

competing in the next case

competition, contact the

University of Minnesota

Supply Chain Operations

Club (supplych@umn.edu).

About UNC Operations Club The Undergraduate Operations Club at Kenan-Flagler Business School is a

student-led organization that serves the needs of undergraduate students

interested in the operations discipline or operations-related careers.

Our goal is to educate students on operations careers, provide connections to

potential employers and faculty resources, and foster an environment of

intellectual curiosity and practical guidance to better prepare them for their careers

and lives beyond college.

The operations concepts and knowledge students gain in the classroom are

complemented by the club with hands-on, real-life experience through facility

tours, guest speakers, recruiting events, interactive activities, case competitions,

and meet-and-greets with Operations Department faculty and alumni in the field.

A Special Thanks UNC Operations Club and The Bullwhip could not exist without the faithful support

of its members, sponsoring professors, and partners. We’d like to thank the

following for their support of the club and the second edition of The Bullwhip:

Brianna Norris Professor Anne Marucheck Jen DeLong

Professor Lauren Lu Gustavo Armada Danielle Rubin

In Next Edition:

ZF Friedrichschaften

Case Study

An article from your

club or university!

Contact us by

January 15th

THE BULLWHIP | FALL 2015 | 6