WHILE working as a senior operations executive, Mr Stephen John, 35, developed an interest in supply chain and logistics management, and harnessed it into his professional speciality.
At that time, he was handling the information technology assets and services procurement cycle, which entailed new product sourcing, supplier management and logistics.
Though already equipped with a degree in computer applications from Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, India, and a Master of Business Administration from Anna University in Chennai, India, Mr John felt a postgraduate degree would help him fully understand the complexity of the supply chain and logistics management process.
In 2014, he enrolled for the Master of Science in Supply Chain and Logistics Management - a three-party collaboration with WMG of The University of Warwick, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and the Singapore Institute of Management Global Education (SIM GE).
This full-time one-year programme is developed, fully taught and awarded by The University of Warwick, United Kingdom.
Multi-faceted group
Born and raised in India and having worked in Dubai before moving to Singapore in 2008, Mr John hails from a diversified background.
At SIM GE, he met many like-minded people.
He says: "The cultural mix was very good. I had classmates from India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mauritius, New Zealand and Germany.
"They also varied in terms of age group, academic background and work experience. This heterogeneous element helped to bring out different viewpoints and perspectives, encouraging vibrancy."
As class chairman for his batch, Mr John enjoyed working closely with his cohort and coordinating all activities in the programme.
Lecturers for the course flew in from United Kingdom to deliver each module.
"Many lecturers are from world-class organisations such as Jaguar Land Rover, KPMG and Boeing. The real-life perspectives they brought to the classroom were drawn from their decades of work experience and this was truly remarkable," he notes.
For his dissertation, Mr John was attached to SIMTech. Under the mentorship of his research supervisor, he developed a close-loop tracking methodology for marketing activities in an adult-training organisation.
The dissertation aimed to contribute towards the adult-training industry and the less-explored educational supply chain.
Real-life application
After graduation, Mr John landed a job at Sri Vinayaka Exports (SVEX) as a supply manager.
He took up the offer as the job scope at the import, export and distribution firm was wide, and provided valuable exposure to the food and beverage (F&B) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors as the company has its own brand of F&B and FMCG products.
Mr John currently handles sourcing and sales, working closely with a large group of people from direct producers to government agencies and major retailers.
"I see the concepts taught in the programme taking shape in real life, and apply what I learnt effectively," says Mr John.
"Within a short span of time, I was able to establish new sourcing channels from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as develop new customer accounts."
SIM GE has two intakes yearly for the Master of Science in Supply Chain and Logistics Management full-time programme - April and October. Part-time intakes are in January, March, May, July, September and November
Visit www.simge.edu.sg for more information on SIM GE's postgraduate degrees.
Download PDF version of the Postgraduate Studies I supplement
