Good afternoon….
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the Awards Selection Committee of SIPMM for selecting me as the Top Graduand for Advanced Diploma in Purchasing and Materials Management, Year 2006.
I graduated 15 years ago with the Bachelor of Economics (Accounting). Having a basic undergraduate degree then, allowed me to flap my wings and expand my horizon into the labor force, as an Accountant and Financial Analyst. I was employed by GLC and MNC in property management, investment banking and transportation industries. Over the years, with increasing responsibilities, it was time to update and upgrade myself.
When I was searching for a “next step” into my career, I found Supply Chain to be extremely satisfying as I was in the heartbeat of the Company, being a central contact point, providing services to internal and external customers. Simplifying processes in Supply Chain and implementing ERP were my primary and core functions then. I knew that I needed to substantiate my newly found daily bread with a strong and solid foundation.
I attended a 3-day seminar at SIPMM as an appetizer into Supply Chain and truly found the course interesting and worthwhile. After some research among the Institutes providing courses in this area, I selected SIPMM based on its professionalism and teaching methods that the lecturers use. More importantly, I was looking for a “hands-on” course, not a purely academic course that I would not apply to my daily duties and responsibilities. This balanced my tasks as a Manager in Procurement and Supply Chain Department within the Company and my attachment to Supply Chain grew favorably as the months went by.
The ADPMM truly benefited and complemented my role in Procurement as the topics and assignments covered are currents facts and challenges faced in the changing world of Supply Chain. Wide reading is required to further enhance the mastery of Procurement and Logistics topics. The solid foundation and fundamental principles provided by the lecturers in each subject matter allowed me to further expand my horizons beyond the inward thinking that Supply Chain only belongs to cost centre of a Company. I was able to turn around the department to a revenue centre and bring Procurement into the next level of core cross-functional department within the Company.
It has been a rewarding journey to once again be a mature-aged entry student. Moving on 15 years later, I am now a mother of two young boys, a wife to a supportive husband and an employee to a US MNC. Juggling the hours to studies wore off thin as assignments needed to be handed in and examinations were round the corner. There are many more hats to wear as I grow older. Nevertheless, time management and self-discipline are the vital essence to a good balance. With the assistance and support of the lecturers and administrative staff of SIPMM, this challenging passage was worth every bit of its journey for me, as a student, still young at heart. Thank you.