Career Opportunities, Facts & Tips
Dear John,
I was surprised recently when a great candidate turned down a generous job offer from one of my clients who really wanted to hire her. After some prodding, she disclosed to me that she did not think the employer sincerely supported diversity in the workplace. When I asked her to help me understand her perspective, her response, in summary, was, "They were all very nice to me and the job sounded exciting, but I would be the only woman there besides the receptionist and the president's assistant. I don't want to be the token in a group of white males-it's the year 2011, I should not have to be a pioneer for women because women now make up almost half of the workforce. If the company supported an inclusive workforce, there would be people of color and women in professional positions already there." About a month later she accepted a job in the supply chain consulting practice of a Big 4 firm. Ouch.
During the last twenty years of my career I have worked in seven different industries, but the Supply Chain Consulting/Material Handling Systems industry is pathetically behind the times compared to any industry I have ever seen. Once again, I was shocked to see the attendees at the recent Promat, MHEDA, and WERC shows were consistently 90-95% white males, although white males only comprise about 39% of the U.S. workforce today. While in graduate school in the early 1990's, I was told that one of the biggest challenges for employers-aside from insurance costs increasing at 10% a year-was "Workforce 2000", a term for the rapidly changing demographics of the U.S. workforce. Research showed that employers who employed individuals who were diverse in their age, race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, etc. were more likely to attract top talent, less likely to experience EEOC claims, and more likely to have creative teams. From what I see, our industry's workforce does not reflect the diversity of the U.S. workforce in 1990, let alone 2011.
I have been told some large corporations, such as Proctor & Gamble, sometimes ask prospective vendors, such as law firms, to submit a report concerning the diversity of their workforces as part of the vetting process. How would your company look if it had to publicize a diversity report to a prospective client? Here is an interesting diversity initiative: a chemical corporation mandated that there be at least one diverse candidate interviewed whenever possible for every professional job opening. They created this initiative because they were losing the talent wars for top scientists and engineers.
Hopefully you will keep this industry-wide challenge in mind as you contemplate new hires, internships, and diversity career fairs as the economy recovers. I'll put my money where my mouth is on this topic by doing what I can to positively impact diversity within our industry. You may know I offer a $1,000 referral fee to anyone who refers a candidate to my firm whom I place; if you refer a woman or person of color who accepts employment with one of my clients, I'm upping the incentive to $1,250.
Best wishes,
John Cressey
Executive Recruiter
Career Opportunities - June/July 2011
CONSULTING & PROJECT MANAGMENT
- Distribution Center Consultant (2)
- two prestigious consulting firms. Full-time opportunity for Industrial Engineer or Logistics Engineer with extensive data analysis experience. Pay to the 80's, maybe 90's. Maybe 35% travel. First position is a home office situation anywhere in the U.S., second client's opportunity is based in Chicago. WMS experience welcome, but not required.
- Internal Distribution Consultant/ Sr. Project Manager.
- Client is a large, well-known food and beverage company with retail operations throughout the world. Corporate relocation, stock, bonus, free caffeine. Salary to maybe 100k. Must have data analysis and DC project management experience. Candidates with consulting backgrounds and engineering degrees (not required) preferred. Maybe 20% travel. West Coast.
- Senior WMS Implementation Manager.
- Client is well-known food and beverage company with retail operations throughout the world. Corporate relocation, stock, free caffeine. Salary to maybe 80's. Must have SOP development and training experience. Client may also have a need for a WMS analyst soon. West Coast.
- Product Manager
- hot picking technology manufacturer. Hardware and software product marketing experience preferred. Position will play a role in sales support/presentations. Full relocation, base probably to over 100k. East Coast.
- TMS Product Manager.
- (Search pending, we've got an appointment to speak with this well-known software client next week.)
ENGINEERING
- Conveyor Systems Engineers (3)
- Must have at least 5 years of AutoCAD experience laying out DC greenfield sites and retrofits. Some project management experience would be a plus. KS, WA, OH
- Sr. Manager of Operations Engineering (6 new openings!).
- Client is a well-known retailer experiencing rapid growth. Provide leadership and manage industrial and mechanical engineers. Candidates must have expertise in MHE systems and at least 15 years of experience. Provide oversight for capital planning and distribution systems design. Candidates from integrators or systems manufacturers preferred. Total package could exceed 200k-that is not a typo! Awesome corporate relo package. PA, AZ, IN, WA, TN.
- Sr. Controls Engineer.
- Experience with Allen-Bradley, C+, and MHE systems. Total package could be in the 150k range. Relocation provided. WA.
- Industrial Engineers (7 new openings!).
- Minimum of 7 years project management and engineering experience in corporations or consulting firms, IE degree required. Typical projects could include spearheading a redesign effort for the inbound receiving dock, evaluating the ergonomic needs and issues for shipping clerk workstations, or conducting a capacity planning and analysis study for peak season. Up to 30% travel, corporate relocation package, stock, salary dependent upon experience. PA, WA, IN, AZ, KS, NV, GA.
- Regional Start Up Project Manager (5 new openings!)
- This is a leadership role with a highly successful corporation. Responsible for guiding and developing a team of Program Managers who lead, large and complex distribution projects. Ideal candidates will have experience managing a regional team that has successfully managed capital projects up to $75M with aggressive schedules. Will lead project engineers and coordinate multi-discipline project managers. Very big bucks and corporate relocation package. (I wish I was smart enough to be an engineer!) AZ, TN, IN, WA, PA.
- Sr. Distribution Center Operations Engineers (4).
- Corporate client. Provide technical leadership for large-scale industrial engineering projects using Excel, AutoCAD, and MS Project. Work with complex MHE and packaging lines and process design based on lean manufacturing. NV, AZ, WA, KS.
SALES
- VP of Sales and Marketing--North America, International MHE Systems manufacturer.
- Base pay over 200k. Must have steady record of leading sales growth of complex MHE systems. Company paid relocation to East Coast.
- VP of Sales, boutique consulting firm in the distribution industry.
- Must have experience selling DC consulting services; candidates from big 4 firms preferred. High base pay. Midwest.
- Regional Field Sales Account Executives (2)
- very hot new MHE systems technology manufacturer. New openings, must have WMS, WCS, or MHE systems sales experience selling multi-million dollar deals to Fortune 500 and a steady resume. Base to 125k or so, some sales people there have regularly made over half a million dollars in year! Includes company stock options. Northern West Coast & Texas regions.
- Account Director.
- Client is a larger, well-known supply chain consulting firm. Candidates must have experience selling supply chain consulting services to the Fortune 500. Base to mid-100s, plus very generous commission plan. Candidates with sales experience in the pharmaceutical/medical sales field preferred. Maybe 40-50% travel. Home office, anywhere in U.S.
- MHE Systems Sales Business Development Executive.
- Client is a well-established Integrator with many corporate clients. Pay very negotiable. Candidates must have a steady record of business development success and be living in the greater NY/NJ/PA region.
Refer a Friend
Do you know anyone who might be interested in hearing about these full-time career opportunities? If you know of someone who is interested and qualified, please have them send their resume and salary history in confidence to us at resumes@supplychainconsultingsearch.com.
Please note: All of these positions require candidates who currently have the lawful right to work in the U.S. Unfortunately, we do not have opportunities for recent college graduates. We are committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity and diversity-we only work with hiring managers who share our commitment.
Hiring?
If you are currently hiring professionals in these occupations, please call us or send an email to: john@supplychainconsultingsearch.com.
About Us
SUPPLY CHAIN CONSULTING SEARCH provides reputable consulting firms, integrators,
and manufacturers with full-time employees at no cost to the candidates. All of our opportunities require at
least three years of supply chain experience. We specialize in placing experienced professionals with expertise
in the following occupations:
- Consultants (MHE/WMS/LMS/TMS/Optimization/DC Plan-Design-Build)
- Field Sales Rain Makers
- Conveyor Systems Engineers
- MHE Controls Engineers
- Field Installation Supervisors & Technicians
Career Tip
Think thrice, not twice, before signing a non-compete agreement. While many of these contracts are overly-broad and may not be enforceable, some judges are loath to nullify a contract. Even if you have been advised by an employment attorney that the non-compete is not enforceable in the state(s) at issue, your prospective employer may still refuse to consider your candidacy past the first interview stage because they want to avoid any litigation, or a new hire potentially engulfed in litigation. This recently happened to a great candidate of mine, much to his dismay. He is still in a job he would love to have left by now.
While you should certainly respect any employer's proprietary information, including customer lists, whenever switching employers, many executives and HR professionals would strongly encourage you to seek the counsel of an employment law attorney before agreeing to sign a non-compete. If you sign a non-compete, you might find yourself locked out of your dream job down the road.
Supply Chain Factoid Pop Quiz
According to a 2010 study of the $82 billion global material handling products industry conducted by the Freedonia Group (www.freedoniagroup.com),
"Global demand for material handling products will rise ____ percent annually through 2014. The US will be among the fastest growing markets, along with India and China." [Quoted with permission]
- 2.5
- 3.0
- 4.9
- 6.5
Answer: D
Quote of the Month
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
- Albert Schweitzer
Contact US
#C4-254, 6929 North Hayden Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85250
513.703.1854
On The Web: www.supplychainconsultingsearch.com