Particularly in mid-size and smaller organizations, you might have an acquaintance or friend who out of the blue is assigned by their management to handle the supply chain. They might know you have experience in the supply chain and ask for your advise. While, probably, this is happening due to many supply chain educational opportunities available to young adults, it still not uncommon.
One you are the experienced one, this becomes a challenge as you have so much information floating in your mind, you many not know where to begin. But as always, listening to the rookie’s understanding of the situation is a great place to start.
I found after that the following was useful to the new comer to the field. Ask him to determine what metrics are being used to judge the operation. You can mention beyond cost, our metrics of service performance and throughput measures. By saying this you are helping the rookie focus about what is currently important in the operation.
Being experience, you are likely to know of appropriate professional organizations and educational institutions in the area. This can be a source of information for the new comer.
Lastly you will probably know reputable and professional run vendors in the field. There are still hundreds of vendors out there ranging from warehouse operators to carriers to 3PL’s. Just giving that person a place to start is just so worthwhile.