Gyan Vihar University Alumni Vivek Sharan Singh Success Story

Suresh Gyan Vihar University truly feels proud to have our wonderful and outstanding students who are reaching the pinnacle in their careers and making a great positive impact. In conversation with Mr. Vivek Sharan Singh, who is currently working as Supply Chain Director for West Asia with IMERYS, we learned about his present responsibilities, his career spanning a decade, and much more. Let’s take you through the excerpts from our interaction with him.

I: Let us know a little about your present role and responsibilities.

V: IMERYS is a leading French multinational company with a turnover of € 3.7 billion, 16,400 employees, and presence in 40 countries. I am currently taking care of the logistics, warehouse, and customer care for the entire West Asia region. Over 26+ managers are reporting directly to me.

I: How did the PGDBM program at Suresh Gyan Vihar University help you develop for your future professional roles?

V: I received my degree from SGVU - in 2009, PGDBM with 74.42 % marks. We had the top faculty training us on key topics and subjects. We regularly went for industry visits and our professors always kept us on our toes with important projects/assignments. Not just this Suresh Gyan Vihar University also took care of developing our insights about real-world business scenarios through guest lecturers. When we went into the real world, we were already prepared for what the business expectations will be and we were equipped with the right knowledge.

I: What are the most crucial learning (s) you had in your career?

V: To understand the working of the corporate world. Time management is another crucial component as you might get 10 assignments and you need to prioritize the most important work. I believe in three pillars and my life revolves around them, those being Safety, Sustainability, and Integrity which are essential for long-term growth. It is important that whatever decisions we take, are safe, sustainable to the people/places, and based on integrity without which real growth can’t be made.

I: How is the business of the supply chain and what are the challenges and opportunities in it?

V: Supply chain is part of fulfilling the demand that’s been generated. It includes various parts right from raw materials, packaging, warehousing, logistics and all this has to be done at the given cost till the assignment reaches the customer’s doorstep. You have to be working at different time zones with different teams sitting at geographically separate locations and so one has to be practically available 24/7 and 365 days a year. The job requires passion and if one has what it takes to be heading the IMERYS business, then surely you will be appreciated and promoted.

I: How is IMERYS adopting the latest tech and tools in the supply chain industry?

V: Since the pandemic, we have switched to Google Suite, with a percentage of around 94.95% of our members already using it. We are now able to update Google sheets simultaneously as others access them. The leadership site audits are being done through drones and major inventory stock audits are carried out like this without a physical visit.

I: Before joining IMERYS, what was your learning experience n deliverables in your previous organizations?

V: I started my career with Golcha Group, Jaipur they are also a mineral-based giant that has operations in India and Thailand. As it was my first organization, there I got the actual taste of working in a corporate. My key deliverable was in the field of sales and marketing and managing the entire South and West India. Within 3 years, I got promoted twice and successfully created new distributors, customers and enhanced sales of the company.

After that, I joined Akzo Nobel - which is one of the world’s largest coating and chemical companies. There my career started as Assistant manager SCM and ended after a span of 6.5 yrs. And again got multiple promotions and received a handful of awards as outstanding performer and employee of the month and many more. There I learned logistics, 3PL, contract negotiations, and how to capture and articulate high-level management data.

After that again I joined Golcha as Supply chain and CS - Head at Mumbai. There my main role was to handle pan India supply chain cost P&L and lead the department and optimize cost and increase customer service. I handled key accounts of HUL, J&J, Asian paints, and with various new costs saving project implementation, created a good amount of cost-saving for the company. My stint at Golcha Mumbai was for 2.4 years.

I: What advice would you give to your juniors at SGVU?

V: When we are studying, we may not be clear about what we like to do. Despite that, it is important to find your passion, what you love and enjoy doing. Don’t follow anyone else’s advice and in the end, it is you who has to get the results and do the job. Even if this takes some time, don’t worry, find what you truly enjoy and dedicate your time/life to that. I truly loved the marketing and supply chain industry and hence I am here.

I: Lastly to whom you give maximum credit for your success?

V: The credit for my success goes to the smartest and loving lady on the earth - that is my Mother. In many instances when I was down with confidence she has backed me up and insisted to fight back and today what I am is by the grace of God and my parents' blessings.