Alumni Success Story - Hemanth Holla, ZLOGb 2020 and Senior Manager - Product Innovation (Supply Chain) at Tredence Inc.

Alumni Success Story: Hemanth Holla, ZLOGb 2020 and Senior Manager - Product Innovation (Supply Chain) at Tredence Inc.

Looking at your resume, we can see that you have a wide consulting experience in the technology field.  As an expert on the subject, what is the impact of Data Science and AI in the Supply Chain Management?

Answer: Data science and AI are pushing the boundaries of problem solving in supply chain. Predicting supply chain events is now more accurate & effective than ever. AI driven prescriptive & simulation engines help recommend the best actions to supply chain events. So, in addition to better managing planned events, AI/Data sciences are also enabling effective handling of unplanned disruptions leading to more resilient supply chains.

In 2020, when the pandemic erupted, disruption accelerated digital supply chain transformation at many global enterprises. From your perspective, what is the key to success in the speed of business today? Is continuing education an essential requirement to do so?

Answer: In my opinion, implementing longer-term strategies to improve resilience of supply chain coupled with innovative capabilities to effectively manage short term uncertainties is the key to success in business today. As the businesses are constantly evolving, so are the associated supply chain challenges and complexities. Hence, continuous education to learn the latest problem-solving techniques & strategies becomes imperative.

After successfully achieve the MITx MicroMaster credential - five rigorous online courses in supply chain management and a proctored comprehensive exam – you decide to take it to the next level and enroll in the ZLOGb, the blended format of the Master of Engineering in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, at ZLC. Why did you decide to do this program and why in Zaragoza?

Answer: Before applying to the program, I had good exposure to tactical and operational aspects of supply chain planning & execution. I was interested in developing more qualitative & quantitative understanding about the supply chain concepts and strategies as well as gain insights into the latest in this field. The MIT-SCALE curriculum was checking all the right boxes on what I wanted to learn. The MIT-ZLOG Master’s would provide me an opportunity to interact with best-in-class faculty and highly passionate peers in the field of supply chain.

While the program was the main reason for me to choose Zaragoza, I was pleasantly surprised with all that Zaragoza had to offer outside the program in terms of sightseeing, tourism, access to world class logistics hub, budget friendly living and above all very warm people.

The program requires to go to MIT for January and continue studies in Zaragoza through May. How do you remember that starting point at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology?

Answer: I was really looking forward to the starting point since I was returning to academics after 15 years of corporate work experience. I was excited to be starting the program at MIT along with a very diverse set of peers and supply chain enthusiasts from across the globe. The term at MIT stood true to my expectation with lots of fast paced learning and excellent networking opportunities

During the spring term in Zaragoza, students have the opportunity of integrating and applying the knowledge acquired along the program into a master thesis project. In a nutshell, what was your research about?

Answer: The thesis project was to review the distribution network of a leading electronics appliance manufacturer in Egypt. The company needed to revisit its distribution network to handle its sales growth and growing impact of logistics costs on overall cost of operations. Utilizing the concepts of supply chain network optimization, the project provided insights and recommendations on ‘optimal locations’ and ‘inventory flow’ in order to meet the projected demand while keeping the overall costs to a minimum.

What would you recommend to other MITx MicroMaster students who are currently considering to submit their application to ZLOGb?

Answer: My experience with ZLOG has been very positive. I had access to world-class faculty who were accomplished subject matter experts in supply chain. The other key aspect for me was the small & selective cohort with a diverse background, which enabled developing a good rapport with most of your class and learning from each other. If advancing in field of supply chain is your goal, I would definitely recommend ZLOGb and you will love the overall experience at both Boston (MIT) and Zaragoza (ZLC).