{"id":1832,"date":"2017-06-27T12:34:25","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T12:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/?p=1832"},"modified":"2020-05-28T18:06:50","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T18:06:50","slug":"ana-cifuentes-gonzalez-ms-supply-chain-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/resources\/student-spotlight\/ana-cifuentes-gonzalez-ms-supply-chain-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Ana Cifuentes Gonzalez, MS in Supply Chain Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\n<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_asazzq6i';\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>\n<\/p>\n\n\n<p>In Europe \u2013 if you\u2019ll pardon the pun \u2013 Lidl is big. Massive, to be more precise.<\/p>\n<p>The discount supermarket giant operates 10,000 stores across 27 countries, stretching from north of the Arctic Circle in Finland\u2019s Land of the Midnight Sun to Spain\u2019s Canary Islands off the western edge of Africa, where desert winds drive Saharan dust over Atlantic swells.<\/p>\n<p>Headquartered in Germany and with annual revenue reported at $87 billion in 2015, Lidl has been described as a cross between Trader Joe\u2019s and Costco.<\/p>\n<p>Now it is crossing the ocean to compete against those retailers \u2013 as well as the industry\u2019s behemoth, Walmart \u2013 in their own backyard. In 2018, Lidl plans to open stores up and down the East Coast from South Carolina to Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>It falls largely on the shoulders of Michigan State University graduate Ana Cifuentes Gonzalez to ensure Lidl\u2019s transatlantic rollout is kink-free.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m responsible for all the import and export activities of the company, and the global supply chain,\u201d said Gonzalez, who joined the German retailer in fall 2015 as a customs manager and is based in Arlington, Va.<\/p>\n<p>The native of southeastern Spain has undergraduate degrees in business administration and international business. She began her career in the import-export industry about a decade ago, climbing from assistant to management roles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to get more knowledge in the field and advance professionally,\u201d she said of her decision to enroll in Michigan State\u2019s&nbsp;<a title=\"Master of Science in Supply Chain Management\" href=\"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/programs\/masters-degree\/ms-supply-chain-management\/\">Master of Science in Supply Chain Management<\/a>&nbsp;program.<\/p>\n<p>Two factors weighed heavily in her choice: prestige and flexibility.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. News &amp; World Report has ranked Michigan State\u2019s supply chain management programs as the nation\u2019s best, and recruiters told Gonzalez that Michigan State was \u201cthe Harvard of the supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was talking with different people in the field and I realized that, in the industry, this is a very good program that people recognize and that people value,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, at the graduate level, the&nbsp;<a title=\"What is Blended Learning?\" href=\"\/resources\/supply-chain\/what-is-blended-learning\/\">blended program format<\/a>&nbsp;combines 24\/7 access to online courses with four campus visits for three-day weekend sessions, where students collaborate on simulation assignments and interactive case study exercises.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor a working professional, a program like this is probably one of the few ways you could spend this much time on something, with it being flexible,\u201d said Gonzalez, who changed jobs and relocated from Chicago to Washington, D.C., while completing her graduate studies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think you also get the best when you\u2019re [working and studying] at the same time because you can apply what you\u2019re learning to your day-to-day activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A Link to Career Advancement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Even before Gonzalez had her diploma in hand, the MS in Supply Chain Management program was paying dividends for her career.<\/p>\n<p>Lidl \u201capproached me and said, \u2018Hey, we are trying to come into the U.S. and we need somebody who understands the full picture of the supply chain and what it takes to import products to the U.S.,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the fact that I was pursuing my master\u2019s \u2026 definitely helped me to get the job, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In spring 2017, just months after earning her master\u2019s from Michigan State, Gonzalez was promoted to senior purchasing manager\/import and customs at Lidl.<\/p>\n<p>The role encompasses assorted logistical links along the company\u2019s supply chain: securing suppliers; developing distribution networks; managing warehouses; forecasting inventory; and navigating the maze of regulatory and compliance mandates, from city zoning boards to the Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, it means making sure that when a suburban dad walks into a Lidl store in North Carolina\u2019s Research Triangle he can quickly find the rack of pork ribs and bottle of hot pepper sauce he needs for his Fourth of July barbecue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a lot of work \u2026 and that\u2019s why we have to start working so far in advance because there\u2019s a lot of things that need to work and they need to be in place,\u201d Gonzalez said of Lidl\u2019s multiyear planning efforts to establish a foothold stateside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce we open, there\u2019s no room for mistakes,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to be like a clock. Boom! Boom! Boom!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Assembling Industry Expertise<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lidl supermarkets carry everything from peaches to pants and pinot noir to power saws. (Heads up, American shoppers: the company says its often-mangled name is properly pronounced&nbsp;<i>Lee-dell<\/i>, not&nbsp;<i>Lid-ill<\/i>.) Store layout is no-frills, with merchandise from suppliers sold straight from pallets and other shelf-ready packaging to cut down on unpacking and repackaging.<\/p>\n<p>Lidl\u2019s centralized distribution system lowers travel expenses and speeds the supply chain, the company\u2019s website states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe try to work with a very efficient supply chain in order to keep the retail prices as low as possible,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cSo any little mistake throughout the supply chain is going to impact the final price to the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Lidl hired her to assemble a supply chain for its U.S. operations, Gonzalez incorporated lessons from MSU\u2019s Global Supply Chain Management course. She credits the master\u2019s program with strengthening her grasp of the complexity and diversity of the 21<sup>st<\/sup>&nbsp;century supply chain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has given me a lot of knowledge of areas that I was not comfortable with or that I didn\u2019t know that much about before,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, eventually, if I move to a management position where you have to oversee different teams or the whole supply chain at a time, it helps you to be able to identify what needs to happen as a big picture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefinitely, if you are going into supply chain,\u201d Gonzalez said, \u201cMSU is one of the top schools.\u201d<\/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=\"\/resources\/category\/student-spotlight\/\"><i>Success Stories<\/i><\/a><i>.&nbsp;<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Europe \u2013 if you\u2019ll pardon the pun \u2013 Lidl is big. Massive, to be more precise. The discount supermarket giant operates 10,000 stores across 27 countries, stretching from north of the Arctic Circle in Finland\u2019s Land of the Midnight Sun to Spain\u2019s Canary Islands off the western edge of Africa, where desert winds drive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":2647,"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],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-spotlight"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/06\/ana-cifuentes-gonzalez.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8xwI-ty","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832","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=1832"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8033,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions\/8033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}