A supply chain manager

Tell me about yourself?

By asking this question, the interviewer wants to see if you have the passion, skill set and experience required to be a supply chain manager.

Best way to answer this question is to briefly talk about yourself and your experience such that the key attributes - supply chain knowledge skills, communication skills, managerial skills, and analytical skills are demonstrated.

Example - 'I have ten years of experience in Supply Chain Management, including last four years as a Supply Chain Manager for companies XYZ and ABC (shows that you have relevant experience). I have extensive experience using and implementing different SCM tools and ERP systems including SAP SCM and SYSPRO ERP(shows that you have experience with relavant systems). During my years as a Supply Chain Manager, I have built and maintained relationship with various sourcing companies, manufacturers and distributers - both local as well as international (shows your communication skills). '

What are some of the Supply Chain KPIs you tracked as a Supply Chain Manager?

Following are some of the key supply chain KPIs

Cash-To-Cash Time Cycle, Inventory Days Of Supply, Inventory Turn Over Ratio, Inventory Velocity, Gross Margin Return On Investment (GMROI), Perfect Order Rate, On Time Shipping, Days Of Sales Outstanding

Mention a few of them that you measured as a Supply Chain Manager.

What is Bill Of Lading (BOL)? What information does it contain?

A Bill Of Lading (BOL) is a transportation document that is the contract of carriage containing the terms and conditions between the shipper and carrier.

A Bill Of Lading document contains - Name and address of shipper and receiver, Date of shipment, Number of shipping units, Types of packages, Description of goods, Declared value of goods, Indicator for hazardous goods, Weight of shipment, Frieght classification etc.

What is Advanced Ship Notice (ASN)? What information does it contain?

An Advance Ship Notice (ASN) is the detailed shipment information transmitted by the shipper to the customer or consignee, in advance of the actual shipment. In EDI data standards this information is referred to as an 856 transaction.

The Advance Ship Notice contains items and quantities to be shipped, nature of shipment, carrier, time of shipment, expected time of arrival etc.