Anhad Malhotra, MSCM '20
Anhad Malhotra had only spent two years in the workforce when he decided he wanted to pursue a Master of Supply Chain Management degree. Before coming to Ross, Anhad was working with a small startup to manage an entire product — IZOD Jeans distributed throughout U.S. Costco stores — from end to end. Wanting to further his skills in both data analytics and supply chain, he searched for a program that could offer him both. Despite receiving offers from other schools, Anhad believed the professors and curriculum at Ross aligned best with his career goals. And of the application process, Anhad says: “When I was applying to Ross I found that the quality of an individual’s work is given more focus than their years of experience.”
When he arrived at Ross, Anhad was immediately thrown into the Business Fundamentals Bootcamp, a course to familiarize students with their roles in supply chain management. The course also served as an opportunity for Anhad to get to know his fellow MSCM peers and experience life at U-M. “When I first came to Ann Arbor, it was the summer and it was amazing. I walked 75 miles the first week,” he said. “Coming from a larger city, to be able to walk around and sight-see without having to use a car to get places was fantastic.”
He was initially worried the program would be hectic — the program’s 10-month duration seemed like it would be short compared to undergrad. Did he have time to get to know people? Would classes feel overwhelming? Anhad quickly realized this would not be the case. Connecting with experienced students, and students right out of undergrad, Anhad gained diverse perspectives into the industry. Dynamic conversations not only brought students closer academically but allowed them to bond outside of the classroom. “I didn’t feel the brunt of it being a one-year program. I was worried I’d feel out of place initially, but I did not feel that at all.” To Anhad, U-M felt like a big family.
Anhad says his courses felt highly relevant to the opportunities and challenges he had experienced in the field. “One thing that stands out from a curriculum perspective is that it’s tailored to what is happening in the industry,” Anhad remarked. And professors like Roman Kapuscinski and Hyun-Soo Ahn allowed him to branch out and dive deeper into the topics that really interested him, like data analytics and machine learning.
For Anhad, Ross opened up a world of new experiences. In his Supply Chain Consulting Studio course, Anhad had the ability to travel to Argentina, where he and a team created an inventory model, a new warehouse system, and a storage design system for Tecpetrol, an oil and gas company. During his time with the Data Analytics Consulting Club, Anhad led a team of five MBAs to work alongside E&J Gallo, one of the largest exporters of wine in the Napa Valley. One of the only issues Anhad felt that he faced during his time at Ross, beyond juggling his workload, was finding the time to attend clubs and activities. “It’s a good challenge to have — there are so many things to do; you have to give it a lot of thought about what you want. You really can do anything.”
To ensure he could communicate his skillset as best as possible to recruiters in the U.S., Anhad prepared himself long before he arrived at Ross. He wanted to make sure his resume was polished as it could be before he dove into an entirely different recruitment process. As an international student, he believes building a strong resume is essential before entering the program. By doing so, Anhad was able to finish recruitment strong, receiving an early offer with Western Digital, a company that designs data storage devices in the Bay Area. Combining his personal research and CDO resources, Anhad says, is what brought him success in landing a job. “I got lots of responses; the university plays a prominent role when searching for jobs. Michigan Ross has a large weight around the world.”
Understanding the vast opportunities Ross brought for him, Anhad stressed how important programs like MSCM could be for prospective students. “From the start, I was driven toward this field. But even if you don’t have any supply chain background, you can still apply.” Regardless of whether someone has work experience in supply chain management, or is coming straight out of undergrad, he ensures the program has a lot to offer for anyone. “The program provides you enough knowledge and opportunities to branch out. The brand itself helps you to network with everyone and anyone.”