Episode Transcript
00:00 Amanda Grace Nunis: So, I'm an international student from Malaysia. I actually came here three years ago by myself, kind of scary but we made it.
[chuckle]
00:12 Brian Fugate: Sure, yeah. Yeah, that's fantastic.
00:14 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah. So, I'm actually quarter Portuguese, quarter Dutch and half Chinese. I'm trilingual. I speak Malay, English and Chinese.
[music]
00:39 Brian Fugate: We're here with Amanda Grace Nunis. Did I say that right, Nunis?
00:43 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yes.
00:44 Brian Fugate: Outside of the Field Agent offices in a beautiful sunny day but also a windy day. As you can see, my hair's blowing away.
[laughter]
00:51 Brian Fugate: Amanda Grace Nunis is a Sam M. Walton College of Business Supply Chain Management student graduating next year, in 2020. Amanda Grace Nunis is also currently an intern at Field Agent as a reporting and insights intern. Correct?
01:12 Amanda Grace Nunis: Correct.
01:12 Brian Fugate: Amanda, could you tell us a little bit about Field Agent?
01:18 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah. So, the company is a data collection company that crowdsources customer through mobile audits and we just help retailers, CPG or like restaurants out there collect data through the agents that we send into Walmart or the big... Whoever is collecting data. We do Little Caesars too sometimes, Target, Kroger and we... So, that's where the reporting comes in. We do formats of the Excel and then turned it into reports on PowerPoint, and we send it back to them.
02:02 Brian Fugate: Okay. And so, that's like an agent will have an app on their phone...
02:07 Amanda Grace Nunis: Right, yes, yes.
02:08 Brian Fugate: And they're walking around the stores checking inventory levels and the way that it's displayed. Is that...
02:13 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah. So, we do a lot... We have a few that are, some are buy-and-try where they wanna know how this product is doing since it's new or sometimes they are checking like inventory levels or if they're placed at the right shelf at the right cost just because Walmart and... Especially Walmart since they are our biggest client, they don't know how products are being displayed and everything, so they want to collect data from it, knowing how sales are going with that where it's placed. And what I'm doing here is just editing, formatting Excel sheets and turning them into report on PowerPoint, and sending it back to clients. So, we collect data through agents that we send through an app. We have jobs built in there where agents can click on it and go crowdsource for the retails and CPG that we're working with.
03:18 Brian Fugate: Fantastic. So, how are you using supply chain management in your job here?
03:23 Amanda Grace Nunis: So, right here, supply chain comes in through the customer relationship and as well as retail or with the suppliers. So, we're the middle person contacting both sides and satisfying both sides of the chain.
03:40 Brian Fugate: Okay.
03:42 Amanda Grace Nunis: So, we want to make sure information from retailers are coming in right and we're sending out the right information for consumers to help the clients. And so, it's a lot of communication and that's where supply chain comes in.
03:55 Brian Fugate: Fantastic. So, you're the middle liaison between the buyer and the supplier.
04:00 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yes.
04:00 Brian Fugate: So, that's fantastic. So, could you tell me a little bit about what's going well this summer?
04:04 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah. So, what's going well here is just I really like the community and how I'm able to learn a lot from everyone. And so, going well would be just the skills and techniques, and form, and how I'm using that to apply in my everyday life, as well as bringing back to college for my senior year. So, yeah, I would say that's going well for me.
04:32 Brian Fugate: That's great. What about some challenges. You're bound to be experiencing some things that you're learning from?
04:36 Amanda Grace Nunis: Oh, yeah. Challenges would be... For now, there are some things we learn and then we have to repeat it constantly before we learn something else so we can grasp it. So, that repetitive phase is a bit, a little challenging in the sense where I want to learn more but I got to nail this down. So, it's very humbling. Yeah, that's the challenge.
05:06 Brian Fugate: So, getting the fundamentals before you can move to the next step, and that's fantastic. And then, at some point, you get those fundamentals and you'll just take off and really, really have a lot of fun, and make a big impact.
05:16 Amanda Grace Nunis: Right. Yeah, yeah.
05:17 Brian Fugate: So, that sounds great. So, can you tell me, looking back and if you were talking to your former self a year ago or you're talking to some sophomores or maybe juniors in supply chain management, what kind of advice would you give them?
05:32 Amanda Grace Nunis: Honestly, before I chose supply chain, I was actually looking into accounting and finance, and all those big money ones but, really, follow your passion and what you want to do 'cause work is going to be literally your future and it's gonna be an everyday thing. So, don't pick a major based off like the money you earn but based of what you would get out from it and you enjoy doing.
06:00 Brian Fugate: That's great to hear 'cause we want people to follow their passions and do what they love. And if you do what you love, you're gonna have all the opportunities you want. So, that's fantastic to hear.
06:00 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah. Yes, yes.
06:00 Brian Fugate: So maybe Looking back at your program here, what was your favorite course in the college? And you've got more to go, but so far...
06:23 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah, so far I would say "Intro to supply chain" was what made me change [chuckle] my mind, to go towards supply chain. I really like how there are so many different flows of chain like there's information services going, or going both ways cash flow and then communication flow, and the communication part is the biggest for me just because I like the relation behind it, rather than just sitting at a computer and staring at it, and just going through math and accounts and stuff like that. So... Yeah, I like human interaction. And this was really cool.
07:04 Brian Fugate: That's cool. So yeah, supply chain is all about flows in a sense flows and people are a part of that, that flow... And so that's really great to hear. So Amanda, could you tell us a little bit about why supply chain management is interesting to you?
07:17 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah! So, supply chain was interesting to me, really not so much about money, but it's a lot about the relation behind it, how we should put our shoes in consumer's, and as well the retailers and try to figure out how to get a good base between the both, and it's just the relationship part about it that really intrigues me to it. So...
07:45 Brian Fugate: That's so true. Starting with the consumer and putting your shoes in the consumer.
07:48 Amanda Grace Nunis: Right.
07:49 Brian Fugate: That's just great to hear that our students are learning that and seeing that.
07:53 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah.
07:53 Brian Fugate: So that's fantastic and what a great fit with Field Agent.
07:56 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yes.
07:57 Brian Fugate: So, maybe tell me a little bit... Is there anything really... What's cool about coming to Field Agent every day this summer? And what's fun?
08:04 Amanda Grace Nunis: Honestly the people here, just makes it so fun to come. I'm not even complaining to wake up at 8 o'clock in the morning and it's just like a good vibe where if you have something or if you come up with a problem or... They'll help you find solutions and they'll learn, we learn from each other, we're willing to help we're willing to teach and grow together, and just that community that you find, it's, in a workplace, it's what, it's the biggest thing that would really help you go to work. [chuckle]
08:40 Brian Fugate: That's so fun.
08:41 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah.
08:41 Brian Fugate: Could you, last question?
08:44 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah!
08:44 Brian Fugate: Amanda could you tell us a little bit about yourself.
08:48 Amanda Grace Nunis: Okay! So I'm an international student from Malaysia. I actually came here three years ago by myself, kind of scary.
09:00 Brian Fugate: Sure.
09:00 Amanda Grace Nunis: But we made it.
09:01 Brian Fugate: Yeah... Yeah... That's fantastic!
09:03 Amanda Grace Nunis: Yeah. So, I'm actually quarter Portuguese, quarter Dutch and half Chinese.
09:09 Brian Fugate: Wow.
09:10 Amanda Grace Nunis: I'm trilingual, I speak Malay, English and Chinese, so yeah.
09:15 Brian Fugate: Oh! That's fantastic! You think you might ever use that in your career?
09:18 Amanda Grace Nunis: Probably down the road I would. Yeah.
09:20 Brian Fugate: Yeah and I think you will too. And the global supply chain, you're gonna have more opportunities than you're gonna be able to, take advantage of. So thank you Amanda for your time.
09:28 Amanda Grace Nunis: No problem, Thank you.
