Giorgina Ninassi: College of Engineering, Expected Date of Graduation- ’29
Why did you pursue supply chain engineering technology as a minor?
I plan to minor in supply chain because the topics in the course curriculum would deepen my understanding of finance and business management. Exploring the global supply chain truly impacts corporations. Instead of just focusing on the theory of operational systems, I aim to additionally explore its execution process as well. Supply chains are ever changing and operate across many different continents and cultures, making them deeply tied to geopolitics, social environments, sustainability, and labor standards, thus making these supply chains not just a small part of a company but rather a massively relevant system that is impactful across all industries and sectors.
Supply is a direct driver for organizational profitability and competitive advantage, with key decisions that influence sourcing, inventory, and transportation, which all combine to determine the cash flow and margins for each company. Exploring global supply chains allows me better understand the impact of these key operational decisions and the trade-offs they will be making, with the ultimate goal of long-term growth rather than short term gratification. Ultimately, I chose supply chain as a minor because expertise in global logistics goes further than just examining theories, but instead how leaders execute and apply these ideas in a real sense. I aim to understand how each aspect of a business intersects, from the finances to the operations, as they are all interconnected and pivotal to their ultimate success.
Why do you think that knowledge of supply chains is important for leaders in organizations today?
The knowledge of international supply chains is crucial for engineers and other leaders because understanding supply chains will help them create solutions with a deeper understanding of real-world organizational constraints, thus allowing them to make more cost-effective and efficient decisions. Having a better grasp of the impacts of a supply chain decision will further allow leaders to design products that are easier to engineer, produce, source, and transport, and they can then create better designs while at the same time taking into consideration material availability and bottlenecks.
Global supply chains are also prone to disruptions from geopolitical issues or labor issues, and good leaders are able to design systems that select suppliers and materials that are risk averse, via multiple sourcing and/or doing it inhouse to reduce an over-dependency on one single vendor, a process that leaders in multinational automobile organizations didn’t understand related to semiconductor during the pandemic. Engineers need to understand first-hand the environmental and society impact of their designs and production. In doing so, managers will seek to develop more sustainable and holistic solutions to global sourcing. For example, by integrating their knowledge of supply chain systems into their work, they can better optimize processes to reduce non-clean energy use.
What are some of your favorite memories as a student in your Introduction to Supply Chain class?
Some of my favorite memories as a student in this class was from working with my group exploring deeper into the business of Toyota Motor Co. Through this global supply chain project, I was able to explore directly how theory of supply chain translates into their post-pandemic decisions, which allowed us to emphasize the importance of an efficient supply chain network on the recent success of a company during our presentation. By understanding the nuanced systems Toyota have long-since implemented and instilled into the philosophy of the company (like Just-in-Time production and continuous improvement), they were better able to establish a large-scale company while not losing their longtime core cultural values, even amidst some supply chain issues during the pandemic.
Through Toyota’s global logistic principles, they are able to reduce the costs of their inventory, minimize delays, and ensure that their company provides consistent quality. They’ve only been able to achieve this though from constant communication and coordination across different real-time systems, which have resulted in a flexible and resilient supply chain. By creating strong relationships with their suppliers and building a partnership based on trust and transparency to ensure when problems do arise, they have been able to determine the best means of solving issues in the most efficient way possible.
What is your advice for future students?
My advice to future students would be to approach assignments and topics with a willingness to connect the theory we learn in class to real world situations. Try to go further into depth than just memorizing specific definitions but instead try to understand why things work the way they do and the ultimate impact they have on businesses. I would also encourage them to try and understand the way supply chains, operations, and engineering all overlap with finance and technology, because they’re deeply interconnected. By better comprehending how the different areas can impact and influence each other, students can make more strategic decisions that align with their key initiatives.
What are your future goals and endeavors?
My future goals and endeavors are to work at a place that connects both business and technology. I hope to do work focused on optimizing the organizational operation systems, improve their efficiency, and focus on transferring to more sustainable and holistic systems, as working on projects that involve innovation and process improvement are areas I think are crucial for the efficiency of an organization’s success when tackling global and domestic challenges. The strength of an organization largely comes from how effectively they can design and adapt their processes when challenges occur, thus working on initiatives that encourage businesses to rethink how they source and manage their global resources and materials.
