Favorite Parts of Working in the Logistics Industry as an Operations Growth and Strategy Manager
Makai, an Operations Growth & Strategy Manager, enjoys the "behind the scenes" view of systems and processes, particularly within return logistics, finding it "really cool and exciting" to understand and improve how consumer returns work. Their engineering background and ability to identify and solve inefficiencies are key to their role, allowing them to "make things better and make things faster."
Operations Management, Supply Chain, Process Improvement, Data Analysis, Problem-Solving
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Makai Cartman
Operations Growth & Strategy Manager
Happy Returns by PayPal
MIT 2015
UCLA Anderson MBA
Engineering - Mechanical
Technology, Transit, Transportation, Warehousing & Storage
Operations and Project Management
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Working with numbers and systems to understand how things flow together.
2. Seeing the behind-the-scenes operations of reverse logistics, from consumer returns to retailer processing.
3. Influencing and improving operational efficiency by identifying and addressing inefficiencies to make processes better and faster.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in the operations industry?
I think having an engineering background, working with numbers and systems, and seeing how things flow together has been really cool. It’s fascinating to see behind the scenes of how something works.
Specifically, right now in operations, I’m working with return logistics. I'm looking at how a consumer returns something they no longer want and how it ultimately gets back to the retailer.
Beforehand, I took that for granted. I just thought, "I'll take something back, and they'll figure it out." It seemed like a magical process.
Now, being in this space and seeing the day-to-day operations of how that actually works, I find it really cool and exciting. It's not just about understanding how it works, but also being able to influence it.
I can see inefficiencies and, within my role, I can help change and modify things to make them better, faster, or simply make people's lives easier.