Business Development Analyst Jowey Lim shares her insights into how the Masters of Supply Chain management has helped deliver real value to her family business.
Jowey Lim's family business, Tohtonku, Malaysia's leading personal-care products company, has expanded throughout Asia since its establishment in 1964, bringing them into close competition with other established international brands such as L'Oreal, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. To further catapult the business as a global leader, Lim needed to expand her skills and decided to enrol in the Master of Supply Chain Management at the University of Melbourne.
Formerly working as a research manager and education coordinator at Monash University, Lim was a self-proclaimed newbie to supply chain management. However, only nine months later, she has been able to apply global best practice within her role as a business development analyst at Tohtonku.
I have been able to deliver real value to my family business through Uni field projects.
"We did case studies for MNCs like Walmart, Zara, Barrilla and Woolies, and had experts come in to share their real life supply chain experiences and discuss emerging issues in the field," she explains.
Lim's classmate Srini Ramayanam wants to be a Supply Chain Manager at a top 10 organisation in Australia. Over the past 13 years, Ramayanam's career has spanned senior roles that directly or indirectly support the supply chain loop. Ramayanam worked as a Design Engineer R&D, Engineer for Product development of automotive parts and he is currently a Manufacturing Team Lead at Morgan Advanced Materials.
"I'm really enjoying how practical the course is. It's all about practical learning and application," Ramayanam says.
I've gained a thorough understanding of sustainability practices and the importance of innovation. I'm also interested in the importance of people and the role they play in taking an organisation to the next level.
Ramayanam would like to use his skills to take Morgan Advanced Materials to the next level and leave his mark, not only on the company, but also on the practice of supply chain management.
He says his only regret is not joining the University of Melbourne much earlier. "I wish I could have joined at least seven years ago, which would have helped me reach great heights."
But, Lim says there is a downside to studying in "the most liveable, friendly and multi-cultural city in the world".
"There is so much good food; the temptation to eat out is often hard to resist which makes it really difficult to save any money."
Lim and Ramayanam and four other classmates from the Master of Supply Chain Management recently attended the 3rd Annual PASA (Procurement and Supply Australasia) Premier ConfeX in Melbourne.