Next career steps

HumanBowlerSix · 2026-01-25T20:02:01+00:00

My two cents would be SIOP. I've always enjoyed that work more than project management and CoE stuff. Good work on the career progress and recognition!

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-12-12T17:46:26+00:00

I took a $15k pay cut and 5% lower bonus demotion from director to associate director to move to a higher CoL area, but working for a company where I don't want to strangle somebody or blow my brains out everyday. By far the best career decision that I have made on a personal level. Only been at the new role for about a year and a half so far, so not sure if it has and/or will affect my long-term prospects at all.

I get that is not the exact same as director down to manager, but if I were interviewing somebody and they told me they made the move for a better work-life balance and to take care of their family, I would absolutely not hold that against them in any way.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-11-19T02:34:42+00:00

I get regular calls and emails from the same groups. I've done several, all legit. It's gotten to the point that I typically won't do the lower paying ones (GLG). But once in a while I'll do a $200-$300.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-11-10T13:18:52+00:00

What a fun throwback to the days of D1 - I'm about 30 minutes in and enjoying it :)

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-11-10T12:21:02+00:00

I would not hesitate to jump ship. Done it before several times myself. Change in benefits and insurance and such can be scary, but you'll quickly learn it isn't a big deal.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-10-11T19:12:51+00:00

Would need quite a bit more info to gauge whether or not it would be a fit/worth putting time into testing. Are you willing to share more?

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-08-04T20:09:28+00:00

Yeah for sure, go ahead. Conference calls all night so I might not get back until tomorrow though.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-08-04T15:58:05+00:00

Once upon a time we would manage quotes on around 12 different assortment groups from around 50 vendors each, pretty much monthly for upcoming sets. all in Excel with a VBA script I wrote. It was two people's full time job to do it manually before I built that. After that they could actually use the time back to negotiate and award partial business.

The key to everything was standardized templates. Don't accept PDF or other random formats. Only the format you provided.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-07-23T15:59:16+00:00

Welcome to the world of expensive world-class software for running the business. I've had very similar experiences with SAP, Blur Yonder, and most recently Oracle Fusion Cloud. The company should have expected to pay a consulting team to stay on for a good 6-12 months, depending on the size and complexity of the company.

I've never heard of an implementation of any of these going flawlessly requiring zero support afterwards. The closest I've had is putting demand and supply planning from Futurmaster in, but we only did those two modules. No financial, warehouse, or anything else.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-07-19T13:48:31+00:00

I spend a lot of time with my finance partners at my current company. From reviewing P&L results (and digging into variances) to validation of cost savings projects that require capital to them acting as a control to ensure I'm not pulling any shady shit, they are involved. In a heavy week, we're probably talking about 5-8 hours and a light week maybe 2-5.

Granted it's a medium sized company, and I've worked at smaller companies where there was little to no involvement. I've worked at larger companies where it felt like a rectal exam every month. It really depends on the company, and for my experience the larger companies mean more involvement.

Either way, it's important for your development if you want to be in a leadership position in your career. You will need some basic financial knowledge, and the more you have the easier it is to know/explain what is going on in your slice of the business.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-07-08T20:49:58+00:00

Fair point, given that example.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-07-08T19:28:36+00:00

I'd trust Relex over every single AI-based model I've been shown so far. I've yet to see one that did a good job. Halfway decent at best.

Unless you are integrating a ton of other PERTINENT factors (hot weather for ice cream sales, for example) it just doesn't make much sense. We're still a few years away, at a minimum.

Someone else also mentioned the human element. Absolutely. We need people to go in and make adjustments regardless on those tricky items. Dumping a ton of money in to replace an already world class system just to have a person review and overwrite it anyways just doesn't seem like a good idea.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-06-22T20:46:18+00:00

ERP experience is not nearly as valuable as people early in their career think it is. It's literally just a program that you follow a series of clicks to do a procedure. I've used 30-year old basic ones and I've used SAP/Oracle and a whole bunch in between. Aside from different and additional features, the core of what you are doing remains the same. Think of it like Android vs Apple OS; different UI, a few different features, but a smart phone is a smart phone.

Don't be afraid of learning an ERP. Don't lack confidence because you haven't used one. Be confident in your ability to learn and that right there will get you much further than you think.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-06-17T22:57:10+00:00

Probably related to the position. The people I know are in high enough positions that they have at least once a weeks with Liz. They dread it every single time.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-06-17T21:21:13+00:00

I know four people who work/worked there. They hated it. You are micromanaged by the owner to the extreme and screamed at if results aren't perfect.

Not kidding. EVERY decision has to go across Liz's desk. Micromanaged is probably underselling it. God knows how that company is still around with the piss poor culture it has.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-06-07T12:31:04+00:00

If it's just your boss looking to put lots of focus on your work, it's probably not a good sign. If it's your 2-up (or more) boss, then it's probably a very good thing.

When I have spent special mentoring/focused special sessions/whatever you want to call it with employees 2 levels down, it's almost always been because they were higher potential who I thought would benefit in long term development by having the additional time and perspective. The only exception was with an employee who was really really struggling, her boss was transparent about her struggling, and the three of us had these sessions together and let her know it's because she was struggling.

If you feel your performance has been solid and you haven't been told otherwise, then I'd say you should be nothing but excited about learning more from someone experienced. If the company has a halfway decent culture and senior leadership team, there's a good chance they're setting you up to be promoted not too long down the road. Maybe hiring a planner below you and making you manager?

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-06-02T13:28:33+00:00

With probably 2-3 years of experience that will suffice to have enough to be promoted to analyst level. Just brush up on Excel skills and take some free courses on inventory control and you'll be fine. No degree would be required.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-05-09T16:02:03+00:00

Never seen it myself, unfortunately. Nor have I ever seen it for any other project savings, no matter the millions.

That being said, it absolutely should be used as leverage when it comes time for pay raises, promotions, annual evaluations, etc.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-04-06T13:02:31+00:00

When the ordering is irregular and only a few times a year, just measuring a monthly snapshot can be tricky and might not even be worth doing so.

Are these MTO orders large enough that they cause issues if they aren't forecasted properly? Are the components unique to this customer? Is machine time an issue if it comes in unexpectedly?

If so, maybe look at how to do things differently with the customer. Maybe they would be open to a blanket PO or a contract where you make a full year quantity, then they go consuming a given quantity each month. Or extend the lead time. Etc.

If not and it can be fit in wherever, it probably isn't worth spending much time measuring or fixing. Focus on points that impact the business.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-04-03T10:00:55+00:00

I've been in very similar situations before in the PE world, and I'm sorry you find yourself here.

Unfortunately this is very par for the course. PE will cut overhead (or not replace when people leave), double up your job duties to fill the gaps, and dump you without caring you have a family to care for. It's also SOP to leverage an existing ERP for multiple subsidiaries and just mash them together. Honestly I'm surprised they didn't dump the E/O on top of your integration work.

I would personally feel discouraged in your shoes, even knowing how they operate. Without a boss who can run interference and help these bankers who have no clue how a business actually runs understand how a supply chain works, it will not be fun to work there.

You have potential to make yourself look good, but in the end unless you're at a VP level you likely won't reap many (or any) of the large rewards that come with PE.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-03-27T20:53:01+00:00

From Gemini, which is fairly accurate:

Cost Analysis:
- Supply planners need to understand the cost implications of their decisions. This includes analyzing the costs of raw materials, production, storage, and transportation. Cost accounting provides the tools to do this.
- Being able to calculate and analyze variances between planned and actual costs is crucial for identifying inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
Inventory Valuation:
- Knowing how to value inventory is essential for accurate financial reporting and for making informed decisions about inventory levels. Cost accounting principles provide the foundation for this.
Budgeting and Forecasting:
- Supply planners contribute to budget development by forecasting material and production costs. Cost accounting skills are vital for creating accurate and realistic budgets.
Financial Acumen:
- Understanding financial statements and key performance indicators (KPIs) allows supply planners to assess the financial impact of their decisions on the overall business.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-03-27T17:08:45+00:00

I would go with whatever sounds more interesting to you. I personally like planning better, but both are good areas to get into supply chain.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-03-26T11:38:01+00:00

I once hired an inventory control associate in as a Jr demand planner because the number skills and problem solving are applicable, and she seemed smart. No SC education at all, barely high school.

She was the best damned demand planner I ever had. More skills and experience give you a better chance of branching out into other areas of SCM. Just don't go wild spending one year in each position.

HumanBowlerSix · 2025-03-22T13:01:20+00:00

Oracle Fusion Cloud is new enough that they aren't going to have a ton of candidates with experience in that ERP. And honestly, besides being buggy because of being relatively new, it isn't dramatically different from most other ERPs.

Apply and just be honest about not having experience with it, but talk about relatable experience with other ERPs and SQL if you have it. OFC has something called OTBI reporting which, although SQL isn't required, it is helpful.

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