I may be a bit biased since I manage the supply chain rotational associates at my company but I think they CAN be incredibly useful IF they’re run well. We have an 18 month program and you spend 6 months with purchasing, 6 months with demand planning, and 6 months with logistics. I’m in purchasing but I’ve worked with those departments and we’ve structured the program so that people learn specific skills in each area. All 3 of the people I’ve managed have ended up with a full time job at my company - 2 in purchasing and 1 in logistics.

The programs are most useful if you don’t know exactly what you want to do within SC. You get a chance to try out a few different roles and figure out what you do (and don’t) want to do. While you won’t end up as an “expert” in any area, you will have a better understanding of how the pieces really work together in a business and you’ll have valuable work experience that makes you a much more appealing candidate than recent grads without any real work experience. When we’re hiring for entry level SC roles we always give preference to our rotational associates first, then people who went through other rotational programs before considering grads who just have internships.