If you're a graduate looking to get into supply chain and need to get a feel for the kind of questions employers might ask at interview, then make sure you research these graduate supply chain interview questions below. These questions and answers are taken from real graduate interviews, and compiled to give you an idea of what to expect and how to prepare your answers.
Example Supply Chain Interview Questions:
What is Supply Chain?
Perhaps a really simple question, right? Think, if you were asked right now, could you give a detailed, competent answer to it? This question, especially within roles like supply chain seem so obvious that interviewees don’t think to prepare though the role itself is in fact quite confusing and not so straight forward. Think: the oversight and management of the flow of goods and services from one stage to another, be it supplier to manufacturer, manufacturer to wholesaler, retailer to consumer. Each process requires different skills to ensure a swift, efficient flow.
How would you deal with a situation if you ran out of stock?
A methodical, strategic plan for a question like this would be required as running out of stock could cause quite detrimental delays to service/production.
- Detecting the stock situation – discussing the procedures used to identify the shortage.
- Check if there are any outstanding orders or deliveries.
- Rectify the situation - how are you going to source the stock/cover any shortages in a quick time?
- One of the most important points: How to prevent the issue happening again. Dealing with the issue quickly is all well and good, but being able to deal with it and then prevent it from happening again is an attribute which companies would look out for in applicants applying to a supply chain role.
What specific skills do you have to be a successful supply chain coordinator?
A strong customer service background as well as being able to negotiate well are extremely important skills for a supply chain coordinator. Strong levels of analysis and problem solving are also key in order to efficiently understand and alterations which may arise during your work. Giving relevant and recent examples of when you have demonstrated the use of these skills is key, using the STAR technique as a guideline.