Johnson engineered job switch

by Paul V. Arnold

One of the most interesting pieces of datum found in the National Association of Purchasing Management’s recent demographic study of its members was this:

An increasing amount of supply chain professionals in industry today come from an engineering or technical background.

While the percentage of NAPM members who graduated college with a purchasing or business major declined a combined 0.6 percent from 1998 to 2000, the percentage of members who majored in engineering or another technically oriented field rose 1.4 percent for the same time period. Of its 46,000 members, more than 4,500 (9.8 percent) hold engineering or technical majors. (Click here to read more about the NAPM study.)

Tom Johnson is an example of the shift that is taking place in the supply chain profession.

He received an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, then went to work as a production supervisor and capital project manager for a pair of smaller-sized manufacturing companies in Wisconsin. He held those job titles as recently as March 2001.

Today, however, Johnson is focused on procurement as General Electric Medical Systems’ e-sourcing champion for its sites in the United States and Mexico. From Medical Systems’ headquarters in Waukesha, Wis., he rattles off the components of his "wonderfully stressful job."

1) Promote the benefits of General Electric’s burgeoning electronic sourcing initiatives – specifically, online bidding and paperless sourcing – to buyers, sourcing leaders and suppliers;

2) Steer those parties to the most updated and pertinent e-sourcing information, resources and best practices;

3) Spur those parties to utilize e-sourcing tools and help GE achieve its Internet-related goals and objectives;

4) Provide e-sourcing training to new employees.

What triggered the career switch?

"In the early 1990s, I don’t think American businesses had come close to embracing the concepts of just-in-time and lean manufacturing. I began learning about those things in my first few years out of college," says Johnson, 30. "In the production environment, I got interested in the flow of materials through the plant. It opened my eyes to the entire supply chain."

Working on capital projects with purchasing personnel and suppliers piqued his interest. The biggest step, though, came when he went back to school to pursue a master’s degree in business administration. He received his MBA last year.

Johnson believes engineering and business education complement one another.

"Technical education teaches you to think creatively," he says. "The business end is kind of the governor to your creativity. There’s nothing wrong with a creative idea, but you must ask yourself, ‘What impact will it have on business? Will it generate a profit for shareholders?’ A technical degree and business degree balance things out."

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