Improve your career with Supply Chain Management at CLC

One of the big reasons students come to College of Lake County (CLC) is the opportunity to take classes and earn degrees and certificates that can further their existing career. Pablo Londono has developed a great new career path since taking the Introduction to Supply Chain Management (SCM) class.

Londono works for Azko Nobel Aerospace Coatings, a local chemical company that provides coatings for the airplane industry. He was working in quality control but felt stuck and wanted opportunities to grow. He decided to take courses for his own personal development.

Before Intro to SCM, Londono had taken classes at CLC. After coming to the United States from Colombia, he enrolled in 2001. He took English as a Second Language courses to improve his English skills.

Londono said that Intro to SCM provides students with a snapshot of what needs to happen to get customers a product.

"It's everything from the cradle to the grave," he said. "From the point a company gets raw materials to the time a customer has a product, what I learned matches everything I've seen in real life."

The course also touches on planning, forecasting and materials requirement planning, which is basing production and materials needed on how much of the end product customers will need.

At the same time as Intro to SCM, Londono also took some business courses. He personally thinks all business students should take the Intro to SCM course.

"This class can be beneficial to many students," Londono said. "It teaches you how you really manage a company, through the supply chain. I was learning in theory what I'm doing in practice now."

Business and SCM Instructor Pam Janson said, "Everyone can benefit from learning more about how supply chains are managed. The SCM certificates and associate degree start with a great overview course and move onto more specific courses in operations management, procurement, inventory management, warehousing and distribution and logistics and transportation. Start with the Intro to SCM class to get a broad view and continue from there to enhance your understanding and your career."

Londono was promoted to a new position as a procurement specialist. He started implementing class ideas and strategies into his work right away, even while still taking classes due to CLC's flexible scheduling. In doing so, he improved the ways he handled everyday challenges.

"I highly recommend this course to students interested in business because they will become more prepared for any job," he said. "You will understand theories and things you don't learn just by working. The program looks at all perspectives, while companies may have only one."