IAP Experience: Koo Jin Sheng Jackson

21 Feb 15

Koo Jin Sheng Jackson
PSCM-­20140107
IAP Session

It was exciting to receive the news from MISI that I was fortunate to be selected to join the IAP program which will be held during January 2015. It will be my first time visiting the United States, my first experience with snow and also the chance to study in a top ranked university. The other challenging part to attend this program is to apply a long leave with the company within short notice as well as to manage the logistics and visa.

We are staying in Boston Cambridge Residence Inn during the program. It was a nice place with comfortable environment. The staffs are approachable. I enjoyed sitting at the area near the fireplace that keeps the surrounding warm.

The weather in Boston is colder than what I had expected. It was -20 degree Celsius during the first week of the stay. It is a must to wear sufficient clothes before you leave the hotel to keep your body warm. It took a week for me to adapt to the weather. On the other hand, I enjoyed a lot the time when it starts snowing in Boston.

My favorite section for the IAP program would be The Fresh Connection. It is a simulation about of a fruit juice business which requires alignment and cooperation among different functions of the value chain (Sales, Operations, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management). It was a great experience working with Yaniv (SCM), Julio (GCLOG) and Milton (MISI) on this simulation. We spent significant hours in understanding the simulation as well as to optimize the settings, and we are proud to see improvements in the ROI of the business.

The APICS case study is another great experience during IAP. The case study is about Humanitarian Logistics, focusing on emergency responses during the event of natural disasters. This topic is new to me, but I managed to learn a lot from my teammates Julio (GCLOG), Bian (ZLOG) and Ramon (SCM) who has experiences and knowledge in this area. At the same time, I have a better understanding on different working cultures the United States, Europe and Asia through our work sessions.

Overall, I think the IAP experience is great and memorable. The experience in MIT supported my personal and career growth. I felt motivated to drive my potential to greater heights. I would definitely want to visit Boston and MIT again for the nice weather and environment, and of course, another bowl of clam chowder!

Koo Jin Sheng Jackson

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