Anthony Galioto BUS105 IA05

Tim Jordan is responsible for managing the transportation procurement and operations and client support services at Armada. He has been with Armada for ten years and oversees the strategy, execution, and performance of the company’s managed freight program; strategic management of carrier relationships and redistribution order management for client supply chains. Prior to joining Armada, Tim spent 14 years working in supply chain with companies, such as Mountaire Farms, Smithfield Foods and UPS Freight – formerly known as Overnite Transportation. He has held various leadership roles in transportation management, industrial engineering, operations audit and compliance, driver qualification and hiring, fleet maintenance, equipment purchasing and accident investigation. Tim holds a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Pittsburgh and his M.B.A. from Duquesne University. Tim is a member of the Pittsburgh Traffic Club, Beta Gamma Sigma, and the Donahue Business Society. He will also be teaching Global Supply Chain Management as an adjunct professor in the Spring of 2019 at the University of Pittsburgh.

Tim has a very good background within information systems and operations, as he has to deal with manufacturing plants and the best way to transport his company’s food products. Like we have discussed in class, being able to communicate is a critical part of being a good business person, and this is portrayed through Tim’s experience. He has to meet with vendors, talk to customers and producers, and actually execute moves to allow his company to continue selling products. He tells how important it is to plan ahead, because even if an order is due next week to a distributor, it might be necessary to begin discussion that day because he never knows how long an order will take based on any number of difficult circumstances. Tim is a prime example of what it would be like to work within the information systems and operations segments of the business industry.

In terms of how Tim’s experiences relate to what is going on in the business world, GoPro recently reacted in a way that he has most likely heard of before. GoPro will pick up its production site from China, and look outwards after the likelihood of US imposed tariffs on China seems more and more likely. Most US bound cameras being produced by GoPro will no longer come from China because of the increased cost that consumers would have to pay. This tariff does slow the economy, as people have a lower demand for goods that are priced high, but what President Trump and his staff believes this will do is help the trade deficit that America is going through right now. Trump wants America to once again become a manufacturing powerhouse like how China is right now, and the best way to regain that reputation is by slowing how much China makes. GoPro, as well as other major consumer brands, will have to react accordingly to the decisions that are made by our government. Tim has most likely seen events like this, although it might not have been on as large of a scale, making decisions for a company takes a lot of hard work and decision making. 

In terms of relating what Tim discussed to a current business article, Tesla just recently made comments on their plans for the future as more and more competitors tap into the market. With the news that General Motors will be laying off workers “as the century-old company shifts focus to self-driving and electric vehicles,” (Wattles, 2018). This effects both Tesla and GM, as they are aware that the self-driving vehicle led by Elon Musk owns a large percentage of the market right now. Tim has likely gone through a similar situation, weighing the pros and cons of two companies and how to best use the offering available. Tim’s job primarily includes making decisions that will best suit his company and the perception of it, so thinking critically is a trait that is needed. Like GM, they had to assess the situation they were dealing with and come to conclusion that laying off their workers would be the best thing for them to do. Being adaptive, while staying focused on the goal at hand were some of the key takeaways that I took from guest speaker Tim Jordan. 

References

Wattles, J. (2018, December 08). Elon Musk wants the world to embrace electric cars, even if Tesla goes bankrupt. Retrieved December 10, 2018, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/08/tech/elon-musk-gm-electric-cars/index.html

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-jordan-2b990a14/