Episode Transcript
00:00 Sarah Maupin: So I came into college, I was a Physical Therapy major to start out, realized I hated science, so I went into business. And I just fell in love with supply chain, I really liked the problem solving, the every day thing. You kinda also get to touch like marketing and honestly, all the other businesses.
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00:20 Brian Fugate: We're here with Sarah Maupin at Kimberly-Clark Rogers Arkansas office. Sarah, you're a Supply Chain major in the Walton College, graduating May 2020 in the summer. You're a supply chain co-op here at Kimberly-Clark.
00:53 Sarah Maupin: Yup.
00:53 Brian Fugate: So tell us a little bit about what you're doing this summer.
00:56 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so I am processing orders for Walmart every day, so we're constantly driving efficiencies in our order management to ship in full and on time. And I also work on projects, we work with Walmart if we have low compliance issues, I'm working to improve that, and any special projects that they need me on.
01:22 Brian Fugate: That's really neat. So in terms of your supply chain background and your courses and learning and all of that, what are some of the things that you might be applying this summer?
01:32 Sarah Maupin: Yes, so intro to supply chain has definitely helped me a lot with the acronym side, so OTIF and right first time, stuff like that I learned from intro. But also ERP fundamentals, we use SAP every day, so that has helped a lot. And also I had an internship last summer with JB Hunt, and getting to know the transportation side definitely helped me in this role.
01:58 Brian Fugate: Yeah, so it's kinda coming together here in practice, and so that's pretty neat. So what are some of the... Can you tell us about your co-op? So this is technically a co-op, not an internship. Was there onboarding involved?
02:13 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so this is a six-month internship, so I work full-time in the summer and then 20 hours a week in school year, and so onboarding we went to Wisconsin for a week-long SAP training, got to know the company a little bit more at our supply chain headquarters there.
02:31 Brian Fugate: Was it exciting to go to Wisconsin?
02:33 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, it was awesome. Actually, one of our co-workers that works in the Walmart team up there actually took us out on a boat for the night, we got to see one of the cool lakes there, so it was awesome.
02:44 Brian Fugate: Tell us a little bit about maybe what's going well these Summers, maybe some of the projects that you're working on, what you're learning.
02:51 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so I had never been in the retail vendor side of supply chain, so I'm getting to see the other side, so I've seen transportation and now I'm seeing how we get products to the shelf every day. So that's been really cool to see. There's definitely always challenges, but it's been really cool.
03:09 Brian Fugate: So talking to you before this, I could tell that you really had a lot of fun and visiting you here at the office. What makes it fun to be here? You're in this co-op.
03:19 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so my team is awesome, everyone's pretty young and everyone's always willing to help. I mean, we have a ping-pong table. [laughter] We have full kitchen, it's awesome. I mean, the people though are the best part of it, they're always so helpful and just so fun. I can go have a conversation with anyone about anything.
03:42 Brian Fugate: Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, and so makes it a lot easier to kinda get the things that you wanna get done. And speaking of that...
03:47 Sarah Maupin: Oh, yeah, for sure.
03:48 Brian Fugate: What were some of the things coming into this that you really thought you wanted to accomplish?
03:53 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so I really just wanted to accomplish seeing a new side of supply chain, I really just didn't know what kind of supply chain I wanted to get into, but I'm really enjoying order management and seeing that side of things in problem solving, all of that.
04:09 Brian Fugate: So you mentioned order management, order fulfillment, what exactly does that encapsulate?
04:14 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so we're problem-solving every day with the customers, making sure that we're meeting their fill rate requirements, making sure we have our products on their shelf.
04:23 Brian Fugate: Okay, okay, and I imagine those are different every day with different customers.
04:28 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, every day, every day is different.
04:28 Brian Fugate: And then so, which makes it fun.
04:29 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so in this office we just do Walmart.
04:31 Brian Fugate: Okay, okay.
04:32 Sarah Maupin: But I mean, Walmart's huge, so we have a lot to deal with every day.
04:36 Brian Fugate: So taking a step back, thinking about, so you got this really great co-op here at a great company, how did that come about?
04:47 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so I went to the supply chain networking breakfast that we have on campus.
04:52 Brian Fugate: Good for you.
04:52 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, I got involved in that from Arkansas Supply Chain Association, and I just went, gave my resume to now my boss, we talked, I saw them at the career fair, talked again, and then they set me up for an interview.
05:09 Brian Fugate: Yeah, I'm sure you were pretty attracted to them in terms of a co-op like this, 'cause you've been very involved in lots of different activities, multiple previous internships, I know. So with the clubs though, I know you're involved in ASCA, the Arkansas Supply Chain Association. How are you involved in that?
05:29 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so I'm the Vice President of Communications for External Affairs. So basically I just run the LinkedIn and if a company will reach out to us on LinkedIn I'll talk to them, really whatever. We do some student spotlight. So this summer I've been reaching out students, getting them to send internship stuff.
05:50 Brian Fugate: Yeah, yeah, I've seen those. Those are really good, so really neat. We appreciate that and it's a fun skill to learn I think, or carry through your career.
05:58 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, I definitely learned a lot about LinkedIn, they all call me the LinkedIn superstar here.
06:00 Brian Fugate: Okay, yes, outstanding. So why did you choose supply chain?
06:00 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so I came into college, I was a Physical Therapy major to start out, I realized I hated science, so I went into business and I just fell in love with supply chain, I really liked the problem solving, the every day thing. You kinda also get to touch like marketing and honestly, all the other businesses, and so it's been really interesting.
06:00 Brian Fugate: Yeah, I think that's a common passion for people in supply chain, is bringing those together and cutting across those functions and companies. So I know you mentioned it earlier, but we like to ask, so what were some of your favorite courses that you had?
06:00 Sarah Maupin: Yeah. Intro to Supply Chain with Stephanie Thomas, definitely one of my top favorites.
06:00 Brian Fugate: She's good, yeah.
06:00 Sarah Maupin: I also loved Inventory Forecasting with Cary Milton. I use a lot of what I learned in class in his... In my job today.
07:08 Brian Fugate: Yeah.
07:08 Sarah Maupin: So that's helped a lot.
07:09 Brian Fugate: Yeah, he would have a lot of experience in this particular space, so I'm sure that was really helpful.
07:15 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, so very interesting for sure.
07:16 Brian Fugate: Yeah, so then, taking even a... Looking back given where you are now, if you were speaking to some freshmen and sophomores what advice would you give them?
07:27 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, I would definitely tell them to get involved with everything on campus. When I first came in as a freshman, I was like, "It's such a big school, I don't know how to get involved." And then, since I got into supply chain, and it's such just a close-knit department, I realized I needed to get involved, and getting involved has led me into so many avenues and new opportunities. So it's been awesome. So I would tell them, "Get involved, learn your faculty."
07:55 Brian Fugate: I wanted to thank you for taking the time to let us come visit you in what looks like a really fun office and work environment to come.
08:03 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, thank you for coming.
08:03 Brian Fugate: I know you've got another four months or so.
08:06 Sarah Maupin: Yeah. Yeah.
08:07 Brian Fugate: And so when you get back, I would love to hear more about your experience, so thank you.
08:12 Sarah Maupin: Yeah, yeah.
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