Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA)
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The Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA) is a 
student-run organization dedicated to furthering student knowledge of supply chain management and enhancing the career development of our members. SCMA activities include guest lectures from industry representatives, factory tours, and networking opportunities with the Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR).
The Supply Chain Career Fair is the premier recruiting event for supply chain practitioners and has grown rapidly in the recent years. The Business Building Atrium was filled with companies for two days for the annual fall career fair held on September 23-24, 2008. Over 70 companies from multiple industries participated in the event, which was open to graduate students and undergraduate students as well. Hiring managers from the top supply chain companies in virtually every sector held on-campus interviews, and many of them invited students to their facilities for on-site interviews. Also the Supply Chain "Coffee House" was held the evening of the 22nd where students had a chance to attend multiple 20-minute info sessions held by select companies attending the career fair – this provided a much more informal way for students to learn about and approach the companies.
The association supports field trips to observe operations of companies based throughout Pennsylvania. The facility tours allow students to observe the manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution of products across various types of supply chains. These experiences serve to support the academic concepts covered in class. The SCMA sponsored trip to the regional distribution centers for Borders and Reckitt Benckiser near Harrisburg, PA were key field trip experiences for Smeal MBA students during the past year. 
The facility tour allowed students to better understand the intricacies of operating a distribution center and also gave them the chance to network with senior managers at the facility. The immense collaboration between the logistics service provider (Ryder Logistics) and Reckitt Benckiser was clear from the interactions that the students had with the on-site managers from both of these companies at the distribution center. In recent years, the SCMA members have toured several facilities including Walmart, Harley Davidson, and Hershey’s.
SCMA members have also had many opportunities to interact with C- level business executives from the industry in small group interactions. This interaction provides a top down view of the various business challenges faced by senior management. The SCMA members recently met senior business leaders from Sears Holdings, Johnson & Johnson, Caterpillar Inc. and Verizon Services.
Business case discussions create some of the most challenging environments for students to apply their knowledge to solve real business problems. Mars Inc. hosted an interactive case study based on the real-world experiences of a sugar buyer. SCMA members were tasked to make five buying decisions, spread out over a six month time frame during the supply crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina. In another case study, Bikebandit.com presented an opportunity to discuss some of the supply chain problems such as - how can time to shipment and time in transit be minimized, should Bikebandit.com open another location, should Bikebandit.com buy one of its suppliers? If so, which one? SCMA members were able to gain comprehensive understanding of the business model of this privately-owned firm and provide recommendations to its owner. Both cases provided an in-depth look into the various challenges in managing a modern supply chain.
Officer Bios
Justin Sorkin, President
Justin is from West Chester, Pennsylvania and prior to Smeal he held leadership positions within Dell’s Supply Chain Organization. His most recent role was as Operations Center and Customer Experience Manager at Dell’s manufacturing facility in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Justin’s supply chain interests are in distribution and continuous improvement.
Justin earned degrees in Supply Chain Management and Economics from Penn State University. At Smeal, he plans on focusing on Supply Chain Management and Corporate Finance. In his free time Justin enjoys playing guitar, working out and spending time with his family and friends.
Justin Lorino, VP of Corporate Relations
Prior to attending Smeal, Justin graduated from Binghamton University with a bachelor's degree in psychology. After graduating, he was commissioned through Officer Candidate Course and completed an overseas deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom as the Communications Platoon Commander for Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Fwd). He then served as the Staff Communications Officer for Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. His responsibilities included planning and supervising the training requirements for multiple commands in preparation for their deployments to support ongoing combat operations.
At Smeal, Justin is focusing on Supply Chain Management and Strategic Leadership and will continue to support national security and defense projects in his post-MBA career.
Stephanie Bond, VP of Finance
Stephanie is the VP of Finance for the Supply Chain Management Association. Having lived in several states over the years, Stephanie hails most recently from Senatobia, Mississippi. Prior to joining the Smeal community, she was finishing her undergraduate studies at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Stephanie’s focus was International Business with special emphasis on Transportation and Logistics. In addition, Stephanie completed an in depth research study of RFID technology implications on a supply chain.
While at Smeal, Stephanie plans to continue her emphasis on Supply Chain Management with an additional focus on Corporate Finance. Her hobbies include traveling, playing golf and cheering on the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Sandeep Mahajan, VP of Student Affairs
Sandeep hails from the beautiful city of Chandigarh in the north of India and has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Panjab University, Chandigarh. Prior to joining Smeal, Sandeep had a total work experience of nine years in the chemical & petroleum sector in India in various supply chain positions such as procurement, inventory management, operations, warehousing and logistics. His last assignment was as Assistant Manager (Supply and distribution) with the Marketing Division of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, India’s leading petroleum refining and distribution company, where he worked for more than seven years.
At Smeal, Sandeep plans to focus on supply chain management and corporate financial analysis and planning. He is also a graduate assistant with the Institute for Study of Business Markets (ISBM), a premier B2B marketing research institute based out of Smeal. Sandeep believes that an efficiently managed supply chain is critical to the success of any business function be it finance or marketing and is particularly interested in the value addition that supply chain management provides to corporate finance and marketing. Sandeep also nurtures the ambition to make SCMA the most popular student –run organization at Smeal.
Sandeep is here with his wife, Anuradha and three year old son, Aryan. He is very passionate about cricket and hopes to infuse some of this enthusiasm into his peers at Smeal.
szm5182@psu.edu
