{"id":1827,"date":"2016-09-27T10:24:45","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T10:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/?p=1827"},"modified":"2020-05-28T18:10:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T18:10:26","slug":"xeusi-li-ms-supply-chain-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/resources\/student-spotlight\/xeusi-li-ms-supply-chain-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Xuesi Li, MS in Supply Chain Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/cdnapisec.kaltura.com\/p\/2353281\/sp\/235328100\/embedIframeJs\/uiconf_id\/41315042\/partner_id\/2353281\"><\/script>\n<div style=\"width: 100%;display: inline-block;position: relative;\"> \n\t<div id=\"dummy\" style=\"margin-top: 56.25%;\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"kaltura_player_1\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;left: 0;right: 0;bottom:0;border:solid thin black;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script>\nvar partnerId = 2353281,\n    uiconfId = 41315042,\n    entryId = '0_ha4slyxs';\nkWidget.embed({\n  \"targetId\": \"kaltura_player_1\",\n  \"wid\": \"_\"+partnerId,\n  \"uiconf_id\": uiconfId,\n  \"flashvars\": {},\n  \"cache_st\": 1590173330,\n  \"entry_id\": entryId\n});\n<\/script><\/p>\n\n\n<p>Xuesi Li loves shoes. She has always believed that a good pair of shoes will take her many great places.<\/p>\n<p>Born and raised in China, Li moved to the United States during her teenage years and attended high school in New York City. After graduating, she attained a bachelor\u2019s degree in Supply Chain Management with a specialization in International Business from Michigan State University.<\/p>\n<p>Li then moved to St. Louis to start her supply chain career as a Research and Development Buyer for Monsanto Company, a multinational agrochemical corporation. The job often required Li to work in the research labs with scientists and travel to a number of farms and seed processing sites across the Midwest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe experience was instrumental, as the scientists were great at challenging my everyday thinking and training me to be a critical thinker,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing the beautiful farms while on the job helped Li appreciate nature, but she soon found herself feeling homesick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWest Michigan is one of the most beautiful places in the United States. The four seasons, the clean water\u2026and it\u2019s the home of the Spartans,\u201d she said. \u201cHence, I made a life-changing decision and took on a unique opportunity at Wolverine Worldwide and moved back to Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Working with a global marketer of branded footwear like Wolverine Worldwide allows Li to exercise her passion for shoes every day. As an indirect procurement specialist, Li works with other cross-functional teams to develop and manage sourcing processes for a number of different categories, such as software as a service (SaaS), marketing, logistics, professional services, temp labor, employee benefits and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorking at Wolverine over the past few years has given me a broader exposure to the integrated supply chain in the footwear industry and has led me to develop a deeper interest within change management,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>After working a few years with Wolverine Worldwide, Li was ready for new challenges in her career. When searching for supply chain education providers, she looked no further than Michigan State University, her alma mater. The University\u2019s reputation as \u201cThe King of Supply Chain Talent\u201d was a key selling point.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have always been proud to be a Spartan and appreciated the education I received from Michigan State, which has shaped me into a strong person and prepared me to handle different challenges in the competitive business world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The high caliber of staff and the globally-recognized strength and diversity of the program\u2019s curriculum was also a deciding factor for Li.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt the combination of these distinctive qualities would provide me with a competitive advantage in an evolving and ambitious market,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Li enrolled in the&nbsp;<a title=\"Master of Science in Supply Chain Management\" href=\"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/programs\/masters-degree\/ms-management-strategy-leadership\/\">Master of Science in Supply Chain Management<\/a>&nbsp;(MSSCM) program in 2015 and is set to graduate in 2017. She\u2019s enrolled through Michigan State\u2019s blended program, which is a mixture of online and on-campus learning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe professors challenge us and guide us to dive deep when solving problems, which really allow us to practice our analytical skills and learn to appreciate the results we achieve from the critical thinking process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The course material is already making an impact in Li\u2019s career, as she has incorporated concepts from her courses into her current role at Wolverine Worldwide. \u201cI applied the \u2018process mapping\u2019 concept I learned from Dr. Whipple\u2019s&nbsp;<a title=\"SCM 870 Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management\" href=\"\/programs\/course\/introduction-to-logistics-and-supply-chain-management\/\">Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management<\/a>&nbsp;class to identify pain-points and bottlenecks in our purchase-to-pay process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Li also expressed her love for being able to work collaboratively with fellow students in and out of the classroom. \u201cEach of the members from my team has his or her own strengths,\u201d she said. \u201cI was also surprised how much I learned about my own strengths and weaknesses through reflections from my teammates while working on group assignments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Li understands the doubts a potential student may have about enrolling in a blended program that combines online and on-campus learning, but she encouraged others to embrace the opportunity it provides. According to Li, Michigan State\u2019s blended Supply Chain Management program was beneficial in many ways, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Flexibility<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 It allows me access to study materials (study guides, audio,&nbsp;and video of the lectures) at any time and from anywhere, which makes it convenient for me to learn on my schedule.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diversity<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 It gives me the opportunity to meet and interact with classmates from other states, which makes discussions in the class more interesting.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Collaboration<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 It allows students and professors to collaborate via different tools outside of the traditional classroom.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Valuable On-Site Sections<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 I enjoy meeting with my classmates and professors in person. It is just the right amount of time to put names to faces and bond with classmates so we feel very connected when working virtually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ultimately, Li\u2019s drive throughout her journey has been her eagerness and passion to stay competitive in the industry and position herself for long-term success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am eager to further my education, enhance my understanding of the supply chain profession, and equip myself with the analytical skills and critical thinking ability that I will need to advance my professional career,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><i>Are you a student or graduate of Michigan State University&#8217;s online master&#8217;s degree or certificate programs? We would love to share your success story in our Student Spotlight series. Contact us at&nbsp;<\/i><a title=\"MSU Testimonials\" href=\"mailto:testimonial@MSUonline.com\"><i>testimonial@msuonline.com<\/i><\/a><i>&nbsp;for additional details. And for more stories like this be sure to check out our&nbsp;<\/i><a title=\"Student Spotlight\" href=\"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/resources\/category\/student-spotlight\/\"><i>Success Stories<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xuesi Li loves shoes. She has always believed that a good pair of shoes will take her many great places. Born and raised in China, Li moved to the United States during her teenage years and attended high school in New York City. After graduating, she attained a bachelor\u2019s degree in Supply Chain Management with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":2648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[15,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-spotlight","category-supply-chain"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/09\/xuesi-li.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8xwI-tt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1827"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8037,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1827\/revisions\/8037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}