How a Photography Enthusiast Became a Supply Chain Expert – An Interview with Kshitij Mehrotra (SP Jain MGB Class of 2021)
While Kshitij Mehrotra (SP Jain MGB, Class of 2021) had a passion for photography and retro Bollywood songs right from his childhood, it was in his early youth that Kshitij developed an interest in the technological disruptions within supply chain management.
Today, Kshitij is working as a Technology Strategy Analyst with Milestone Technologies – a global IT managed services firm that specialises in IT service solutions, project-based services, and workforce solutions. How did Kshitij pursue this interest with SP Jain MGB program, and how did he achieve his goals? Kshitij shares.
Q. When did you decide to pursue a career in Supply Chain Management? What inspired you?
Kshitij: During my corporate life at Capgemini, I was part of various client visits on campus. I was part of the pre-sales team and was fortunate enough to share the space with the senior management and the clients. During their discussions, I couldn’t help but notice that clients were more concerned about business aspects like portfolio rationalisation, technical debt reduction, and Op-Ex cost optimisation than the technical aspects.
This informed me that almost every organisation out there is looking to move their businesses from a traditional business model to an Omni-business model, and this would only be possible if their supply chain became more customer-centric. I wanted to learn more about the futuristic disruptions in the supply chain industry, and that is what encouraged me to choose this field.
Q. Why did you decide to pursue your postgraduate journey at SP Jain?
Kshitij: Once I decided to upskill myself with knowledge of the latest supply chain disruptions, I wanted to pursue an MBA from a globally recognised business school. I came across SP Jain’s tri-city programs while researching top-ranked b-schools, and realised that there was no better way to learn about global supply chain disruptions. What could top the experience of learning it first-hand, from leading industry leaders, at the world’s top business hubs?
I am truly fortunate that I got through the aptitude test and got the opportunity to be interviewed by SP Jain’s prominent faculty. Getting the offer letter was truly thrilling!
Q. How did the 16 months at SP Jain help you?
Kshitij: I believe that to carve out as an efficient business leader, one should practice the mantra of learning, unlearning, and relearning in order to master the relevant skillsets. This was perfectly crafted out during my time at SP Jain MGB course, as the school gave us the opportunities to interact with people across the globe.
The cohort being a balanced mix of different genders, nationalities, educational and professional backgrounds gave me numerous opportunities to think out of the box, understand new outlooks, and shape my thinking. The late-night assignments and discussions gave me the strength to tackle the fast-paced environments in the corporate world.
While dealing with the case studies and the assignments, a mandate that we had developed in the back of our minds was to keep aside our traditional ways of thinking and working and rather listen and try out the collaborative decisions. One of the most important motives which the program has to offer is to make an individual a global business leader instead of just a business leader, and I felt it.
Out of all the pros that the program has to offer, the one that I liked the most was the guidance and learnings that I received by interacting with the faculty and stalwarts from across the globe. During the 16 months I spent at SP Jain, I was able to learn something new every day, and that was a wonderful feeling!
Q. How are you applying your newly gained leadership skills in your current role?
Kshitij: SP Jain is one of the few schools that provide students with the opportunity to take up a 2-month leadership training course. I was one of the fortunate students selected for this opportunity, and this course gave me a chance to learn the skills and traits that make a good leader. The course also allowed me to work and learn with some of the best minds and most important talents globally.
Today, as part of my current role as a Technology Strategy Analyst with Milestone Technologies, I am responsible for explaining the business implications of the new technologies to key stakeholders in the organisation. This responsibility requires an ability to communicate effectively, which is one of the traits elucidated during the program.
Q. What are you most proud of accomplishing while pursuing your postgraduate degree?
Kshitij: During the final term of the program, SP Jain provides its students the opportunity to carry out an Industry Interface Project (IIP) where we are required to solve real-time business challenges in consultation with the industry mentors. Being from the logistics specialisation, it was my dream to understand the working cultures of the top logistics and freight forwarding companies across the globe. The accomplishment that I received during this project was that I got an opportunity to work with UPS – one of the world’s leading logistics providers. For me, this was a dream come true!
Q. You are a part of the 2021 cohort, a class that graduated during a global pandemic. How are you facing the unique challenges that are thrown at you today?
The day I started my journey at SP Jain, I had already imagined myself sitting in the chamber of a top corporate. But once I started the program, I didn’t even realise when time flew by; I was already in my Term 3, which was the time for our internships to start pouring in. We were in Singapore during this time, and could already feel the markets dipping down due to the pandemic in place. Within a month or two, the entire market was gone. We were struggling to find suitable internships.
The SP Jain team supported us through all the ups and downs of the internship hunt. There was tough competition out in the market to get hold of an internship opportunity. SP Jain’s management team, the staff, the corporate relations team, and the Placement Committee – they all tried their best to arrange multiple mock sessions, group discussions, and doubt clearing sessions to get us ready for the competitive markets.
It is only thanks to their brilliant efforts that every student in our cohort bagged an internship offer and graduated on time.
Q. Describe a scene of your vision for the future. Where do you see yourself 5 or 10 years from now?
Kshitij: I am passionate about digital transformations and climbing up the ladder, one step at a time, to become a visionary leader. I want to digitise an organisation from the traditional functionalities to a self-sustained fully transformed enterprise. 10 years from now, I see myself as a decision-maker to carry on with such a large-scale transformation.
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