Shimon Gowda is a seasoned supply chain engineer with a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering (SCM) from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and a track record of working cross-functionally across many supply chain domains.
Below are highlights of the interview:
Describe your background and what did you do before you joined Chainalytics?
As I look back and ponder my journey up until now, I see and realize how every experience has been an invaluable learning and stepping stone. The current situation is also a learning experience and a window of opportunity for what I hope to achieve, contribute, and give back to society and continue inspiring the way I have been inspired.
A career in supply chain management was not by accident for me. Family, as it is rightly said, is an individual’s first school.Many of our career aspirations are strongly influenced by the environment in which we are brought up. My father, a doctor and the son of a farmer, balanced his profession well and took care of our agricultural land perfectly. As a kid, I would keenly observe the processes involved in running our estate. My initial brush with the supply chain process was when I saw how the milk from the cows was stored and diligently transported to the dairy for pasteurization, where it undergoes various processes before it is sent out to stores for sale. I was always inspired and awed by this mechanical yet very efficient chain of supply. This inspired me to develop a penchant for supply chains and the various processes governing them.
Having a bachelor’s and a master’s degree specialized in supply chain exposed me to the essentials of supply chain almost 9 years ago, and I have come to realize that optimization of supply chain is a cyclic process. As the principle of Lean Six Sigma teaches us, “there is always scope for improvement and potential to reduce costs,” and this is what fuels my eternal passion in this field. My educational background and professional exposure have taught me to have a keen eye for optimization of process, labor, infrastructure, and distribution networks, including all nodes of supply and demand, to increase the three “R’s”: Revenue, ROI, and relationship building.
Tell us more about Chainalytics and Supply Chain Unified?
I currently work with an organization that is a world leader in providing end-to-end supply chain solutions, Chainalytics. Chainalytics is known for its data and supply chain intelligence to drive decisions and outcomes for clients. Many of our clients rely on accurate data and models from the Freight Market Intelligence Consortium (FMIC) and Demand Planning Intelligence Consortium (DPIC) to make accurate business decisions. Membership within these communities allows executives to stay up-to-date on industry trends and market intelligence. A unique approach, combining proven methodologies with perpetual learning. Chainalytics’ practitioners draw from both the knowledge behind hundreds of Chainalytics client engagements as well as cutting-edge supply chain practices. By constantly stretching our imagination, we pioneer new approaches that create value for our clients and colleagues.
I also founded “Supply Chain Unified,” which is a networking/mentorship platform for like-minded people and peers who are in the first decade of their career and are exploring what their true “mojo” is. It is a way for me to give back to students or people who are curious to learn about my career journey or are seeking a platform to communicate, network, and brainstorm to stimulate constant learning and growth.
What gets you up in the morning?
What really gets me up in the morning, or my “ikigai,” is realizing and identifying the numerous real-time problems that need to be solved in the world and the kind of positive impact every individual can make. I must admit, the biggest challenge is to constantly be consistent. “Small cumulative disciplined efforts are way more impactful than short outbursts of intense efforts.” The wide possibilities, opportunities, and belief in the goodness of people and the universe are what make me hopeful to get back up in spite of bad days or failures. I believe I am still a work in progress thriving towards the realm of perfection.
Two personal causes for me, which get me excited and I truly believe are impactful, are the “digitalization of supply chain” and the manifold benefits that come along with it, including but not limited to ease and simplification of process and operation, optimized usage of resources, and increased collaboration, thereby contributing to the circular economy. The other is in the Agricultural Supply Chain field. This has been one of the domains that has existed for several years, will continue to be around, and has always required attention. This has also been one of the most neglected domains due to various factors such as lack of profitable margin, multiple middle level entities involved, and lack of education and awareness amongst farmers whose mindset remains to stick with tribal knowledge that they have grown up with. There have been continuous efforts in research and ways to adopt eco-friendly methods of farming, but the issue that really speaks to me is how due to lack of supply chain visibility and technological integration, time and again, it becomes tedious to predict and forecast the demand-supply pattern, leading to erratic price fluctuations, always ending up with the poor farmer bearing the burden of the lack of price hedging.
The solution to this could be improved cold chain infrastructure, data collection and consolidation, providing visibility and allowing for opportunities of collaboration and spreading awareness and educating farmers to adopt modern agricultural techniques and practices, amongst other things. This is a mammoth of a problem to be solved, and there is no simple answer. I want to be able to continue learning and understanding every day just so I can create an impact to whatever minute extent I can.
Kindly describe how you will specifically know what success looks like for you.
Honestly, for me, success is a combination of career advancement, working consistently on what I am truly passionate about, the ability to give back to society and spending adequate time on hobbies and with near and dear ones. Personally, I am still figuring out what the perfect proportion or blend of these above factors would make my success pie-chart. I have no qualms admitting that I am still a work in progress, and I am grateful to some of my mentors, both men and women, who have always graciously advised me from their learning and experience when they were in similar situations and at decision-making crossroads.
What advice would you give to the next generation of female leader?
Always reach out for guidance and mentorship! The clarity or doubt you have about something professionally or personally can only be one chat or email away. “You 100% miss the chances you never take! Take that chance and leave the rest.”
Discipline and focus can be such underrated skills. The earlier you start building it as a habit, the easier it gets for you as you go! because our responsibilities and the factors contributing to our “success pie-chart” will only keep increasing with time. As Ms. Indra Nooyi says, “The biological clock and the career clock are always in conflict with each other” for a woman, and sometimes we may not be able to have it all, and that’s when our “success pie-chart” composition shifts a little bit.
I wish I knew about certain crucial habit building techniques and their significance sooner and had the accessibility to the tools that are now widely available to all and should be given their due credit.
Website: www.chainalytics.com
