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AFAM: Please tell us more about what your consulting role is about?
Cyprien: My role is to address the various Supply Chain challenges that an organization is facing and to enable value-generating Supply Chains. I achieve this by laying down process improvement designs and through their implementation in a unified End-to-End planning solution (including Forecasting, Operational Planning and Scheduling, S&OP, and Network Design).
Simply put, I support large manufacturing companies in finding an executable and optimized way to produce, transport, and sell their products. This is done on both the strategic and operational level while respecting a large variety of constraints such as storage capacity, maximum shelf life, machine utilization constraints, changeover time, supply contracts, and other customer-specific requirements.
In addition to the implementation effort, I advise business leaders in conducting their company's digital transition and in building a standardized and streamlined solution shared organization-wide.
I focus on the chemical industry and work with organizations ranging from niche players to industry leaders. I am also involved in the creation of the US-based optimization competence center and take the role of 'expert' by answering other project team's questions and challenges.
AFAM: How did you get where you are now?
Cyprien: As part of Arts et Métiers' dual degree program, I got the opportunity to study at Georgia Tech for a Master of Science in Supply Chain Engineering. There I learned more about Supply Chain and Operation Research and got involved in multiple projects involving Georgia Tech's industrial partners. This is when I developed a taste for consulting, as I enjoyed discovering and resolving problems of diverse nature.
After finishing my final thesis in partnership with The Home Depot, I was looking for a position that could combine technical and advisory skills. This is when I accepted the position of Supply Chain Consultant at OMP. I have worked at OMP for the past 2 and a half years.
AFAM: What does your typical day look like?
Cyprien: A typical day changes depending on the phase of the project.
A project starts with an analysis phase in which I travel on-site to learn and discuss with business leaders about their planning practices and challenges. I then work with a central team of decision-makers to examine how to prioritize those challenges and find the best way to address them, either through our standard offering or a customer-specific functionality.
From our main office, I collaborate with the internal teams of experts to design the solution. Once the solution is fully designed, I either implement it or supervise its implementation.
Toward the project closure, I demo the solution to the planners that will be using the software. The audience for those demos ranges from ten to a couple hundred of attendants.
Finally, I support the testing of the solution and work on fixing potential defects before the application's go-live.
AFAM: What do you like about your consulting role?
Cyprien: I wholly appreciate the diversity in my tasks and in the challenges I am faced with. I receive exposure to a wide variety of organizations and get to learn from diverse people, from planners to Supply Chain executives. I also learn from solution experts and grow to solve more and more complex challenges.
I am also pleasantly surprised by the responsibilities and trust I am given by my peers, even as a new hire. With hard work and dedication, there are plenty of opportunities to grow within the company and to take your career to the next level.
Finally, there is an incredible sense of accomplishment when a project is delivered. You can feel your impact by measuring the value brought to the customer.
AFAM: What are the challenges of your consulting job?
Cyprien: One of the most challenging things I find is to manage customer expectations and relationships. You will often face executives with an idealized vision of a fully automated planning solution. When challenging their beliefs, it takes time and effort to convince them that you are working in their best interest. Alternatively, planners will often perceive you as the one that will render their job obsolete or at the very minimum disrupt their usual planning practices. The challenge here is to convince them that with advanced planning tools, their time will be spent on high value-added activities while their 'busy work' will be automated. It is important to guide them during the transition.
When working with worldwide organizations, it is also expected that you are available at all times during the week to answer questions or resolve issues that the customer is facing in their live environment. Even though the majority of issues can be resolved by coworkers in different timezones, in the event of a critical defect causing a factory shutdown you can be asked to work at night or during weekends to resolve it.
Finally, for large and strategic projects, it is not uncommon to implement a large number of custom functionalities. Each functionality needs to fit flawlessly with the neighboring ones and compose a coherent global solution. When asked to develop new functionalities, it sometimes feels like adding a new piece to an already complete puzzle. You will then be challenged to come up with a creative design causing the minimum changes to the already established solution while providing the desired value.
AFAM: What skills and qualities do engineers need to be successful consultants?
Cyprien: I found that engineers can be successful consultants. The additional technical and analytical background gives you an edge on other consultants when it comes to problem-solving. It usually results in smarter solutions delivering more value to the customer.
However, communication skills can never be underestimated. Even the best solution will be overlooked if it cannot be communicated comprehensively to the different stakeholders.
A good consultant should also be an excellent listener. The fastest way to learn about an industry is to listen to people that have been in it their entire life, regardless of their background. Being humble will never fail to improve customer relationships and help you deliver more value.
AFAM: What advice would you give to a student who wants to work in consulting? Start as a junior in a large management consulting company, find an internship in a boutique firm, become an expert in a certain field before breaking into consulting........?
Cyprien: I don't think that there is a single way to make it into consulting. My coworkers are coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, sometimes from the industry and even from academia. This diversity of outlook ultimately benefits us all. It is true however that transitioning to consulting later in your career can be difficult and requires some adaptation while the other way around can be easier.
From my experience, I enjoyed starting at a niche consulting firm. I am given a lot of responsibilities that usually fall to more senior positions and the growth opportunity is real. It allows me to focus my skills and quickly become an expert in my field.
I would suggest reading about different career paths that lead to consulting and try to find one that resonates with your aspirations.
AFAM: How did the recent corona virus outbreak influence your day-to-day work?
Cyprien: The fundamentals of the work are unchanged but how we achieve them did. Emphasis is put on coordination meetings with the customer and the rest of the project team to ensure that we are continuously working toward a common goal. Online meetings replaced demos, and it has proven to be challenging to engage an audience through this means.
During these difficult times, I am increasingly involved with some of our strategic customers to fine-tune the different optimization models that were implemented. The models were initially designed to operate in 'balanced' supply chains. Today, they are running in heavily disrupted supply chains: suppliers are defaulting, plants suddenly shut down, demands are uncertain and cross-border transport legislation are constantly changing. My role is to build robust, and reactive optimization models to resolve the many new planning challenges that our clients are facing.
Since the majority of our customer base is considered to be 'essential businesses' (chemical, pharmaceutical, energy industries), a lot of pressure is felt to get our software to work flawlessly. I feel a lot of pride to be a part of the global effort to send commodities to the people in need.
Photo courtesy - Cyprien Bastide: OMP employees during 10 miles charity run in Atlanta
For more information about OM Partners, please visit OM Partners' website
Other interviews in our "Why Consulting?" series
Interview with Claude Leglise (An 74), SVA Innovation
Interview with Maxime Crépin (Bo 210), Bain and Company
Interview with François Théry (Li 96), Accenture
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COVID-19 outbreak took people apart introducing shelter in place and social distancing everywhere but fortunately we have Internet! Gadz all over the US gathered online in the evening on March 31st to take apero together. There were alumni and students from SF bay area, south California, New-York City, Las Vegas, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and other places.
Thanks to the initiative of Sacha Ghebali, East Coast group president, 31 gadzarts could meet each other virtually and share their stories, difficulties and joyful moments occurred during the coronavirus outbreak.
It was also an occasion to talk about the upcoming AFAM board election. As Eric Benhamou (Ai 72), President and Board member since the beginning of AFAM, decided not to run for the AFAM president role, Xavier Wartelle (Li 82) announced during the virtual apero, that he will be a candidate for AFAM presidency.
Sacha Ghebali about past apero:
"Equipped with a Corona in a context that happens once in a Blue Moon, it was an immense pleasure to hear from such a diverse group of GadzArts. From toilet roll stories, to top-notch aerospace projects, not forgetting the glimpse on the lit Empire State from JB’s window (Jean-Baptiste Commans - former East Coast group president); it was also a refreshing, borderless journey, much needed from the confinement of our homes.
To keep the discussion going, please join the group that was created by Jean-Christophe over the call at Facebook
What a vibrant US Gadz’Arts Community! Many thanks again to everyone for joining and to Albina (Albina Patou-Chebykina - AFAM Community Manager) for her precious help setting up the event. Remember that we are here to support each other through hardships, remember to vote for the board elections, and hoping to meet in person soon!"
Thank you to all the alumni and students who joined the event this week! Stay healthy and connected!
See you (hopefully soon) during one of the gadzarts gatherings near you!
Sacha, Mathilde, Victor, Jean-Christophe, Xavier, Marc, Nicolas, Aurore, Mattia, Jean-Baptiste and other gadz'arts during the apero online
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In spring 2020 AFAM elections will be held to renew the board. Today's board members include executive (CEO, CFO, Secretary), non executive (regular board members) and ex officio members (school, la SOCE and Foundation representatives). Here is who is a part of AFAM team today.
If you want to become a board member, please contact
AFAM accepts candidatures for executive and non-executive positions by April 30th.
Who can vote?
If you want to vote, you need to be an AFAM donor. If you have been an AFAM donor in the last 3 years, you can vote. You can donate to AFAM by April 25th to be able to vote in 2020.
When and how will the vote take place?
- On May 1st, 2020, you will receive an email showing the slate of candidates, including a ballot and instructions for casting a ballot
- May 1st, 2020 - May 29, 2020 (midnight PST) - you can vote online
- On May 29, 2020 (midnight PST), the polls will be closed and AFAM team will proceed with ballot counting
- On June 2, 2020, the AFAM board will ratify the board and the new officers will be in place
If you want to participate in AFAM activities and help your community thrive, join AFAM and/or vote to select your representatives!
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Hello, Claude, and thank you for your participation in our "Why Consulting?" series
AFAM: Please tell us more about what your consulting role is about?
Claude: I started an innovation consulting firm (SVA Innovation) with a partner a year ago. We have 8 part-time employees in Silicon Valley, 1 in Japan and 12 full-time in China. We offer several programs: incubation for entrepreneurs prior to raising venture capital funding, innovation management for established companies and we assist western companies who want to establish themselves in the Chinese market. As in every small firm, my partner and I do just about everything that is needed to get business and to make clients happy with our services.
AFAM: How did you get where you are now?
Claude: After school (Angers 74 and Stanford MBA 82) I spent 23 years at Intel where I managed several divisions and ended up running Intel Capital International, part of the corporate VC arm. Then I worked in a small independent venture capital firm, started a solar company, and joined several boards of directors of private and public companies. My last corporate job was at SRI International, an R&D organization, where I was managing the Center for Innovation Leadership. So, over the years, I have learned about managing technology, taking it to market, raising money and making a return for investors. My colleagues all have similar profiles: successful executives, board members, investors.
AFAM: What does your typical day look like?
Claude: There is really nothing like a typical day. I have 4 primary activities and the mix changes all the time. First, I need to find clients, so I spend a lot of time on the phone/email/WeChat/etc, generating proposals, price quotes and the like. Then when we have a new assignment we need to create the information we will need to satisfy the client’s requirements (PowerPoint skills are important). This involves a lot of interaction with the client and with my team of consultants. Then when we deliver the results or hold a workshop we travel to the client’s office, China, Japan and Korea for the most part. This means a lot of public speaking. Finally, is what I call administrative minutiae: accounting, paychecks, taxes, office supplies, travel arrangements and more.
AFAM: What do you like in your consulting role?
Claude: The most important aspect is that I work with smart people all the time. I get exposed to many new technologies and markets. I find this very stimulating. Of course, I am trying to make the clients benefit from my experience but at the same time I am learning a lot from them. In addition, I am at a stage in my professional life where I can decide who I work with, and that includes respectfully declining to work with difficult clients and consultants (the “No assholes” rule).
AFAM: What are the challenges of the consulting job?
Claude: This may seem obvious but before you can actually start a consulting assignment you need to have clients. So, half my time is spent on business development, that is finding new clients. I also do a lot of follow-up with past clients to try and get more business from them. I suppose I would have the same challenges if I had started a bakery or a car repair shop.
Beyond that, the top issue is to make sure the client’s expectations are aligned with what we can reasonably provide. As an extreme example, we had a government official ask us last year to create unicorn start-ups in his city which had a strong manufacturing base but no university and no investors. We passed. Setting expectations correctly at the beginning is a key element of client satisfaction.
AFAM: I can't refrain from asking, how did the recent corona virus outbreak influence your day-to-day work?
Claude: I came back from China two days before Wuhan went into lockdown and right as my staff members were leaving to go see their families for Chinese New Year. They were not able to come back to the office until 6 weeks later. We adapted by working online from Silicon Valley and all over China. We turned several of our innovation workshops into on-line sessions that we are started to deploy this month (March 2020). We have not lost any business but we have not been able to get any new one, of course. I have spent more time generating proposals for prospective clients in Japan and Hong Kong.
AFAM: What skills and qualities do engineers need to be successful consultants?
Claude: You need to understand that consulting is a people business. You can start in a large firm such as Bain, BCG, McKinsey or Pwc as an analyst and if you want to really succeed and make it to the top, you must excel at client contact and relationship. If you start your own firm like I did, you have the same set of issues. The analytical skills learned in engineering skill school are super useful to get started, they are the base upon which you can build new skills and a practice.
You also need to be comfortable with the fact that in a consulting role you suggest to the client what to do but in the end, he decides and you do not implement your own ideas. Imagine designing a wonderful new machine and having someone else build it. Some days this can get frustrating and you must accept that is an integral part of the consulting profession.
AFAM: What advice would you give to an engineering student who wants to work in consulting? Start as a junior in a large management consulting company, find an internship in a boutique firm, become an expert in a certain field before breaking into consulting........?
Claude: I believe, there are two possible paths to a consulting profession. One is to start early in one of the big consulting firms such as those mentioned above. You will learn on the job and become a professional consultant. The other is to wait until later in your career, when you have experience and expertise to monetize. Either one is fine, it really all depends on what sort of business life you prefer to have. If you put your heart and energy into either path, you will succeed.
Photo courtesy of Claude Leglise: US consultants, China staff at SVA Innovation and the participants in the first incubation program in Qingdao
Photo courtesy of Claude Leglise: 1x1 conversation with an entrepreneur
For more information about please visit SVA Innovation website
Other interviews in our "Why Consulting?" series
Interview with Maxime Crépin (Bo 210), Bain and Company
Interview with François Théry (Li 96), Accenture
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A winter gadzarts meeting took place on February 21st in Bleecker St Bar in NYC. Albina, AFAM community manager, visited NYC at this time and was able to meet some big apple-based gadzarts.
Evening fun with Jean-Baptiste, Rémy, Sacha, Asma and Albina
Albina, AFAM community manager and Sacha, new Est Coast Group Zident, taking coffee and talking about AFAM and gadzarts in NYC - February 21st, in the morning
- French American Innovation Days (FAID) conference on Smart Manufacturing and AI for Industry 4.0 took place in College Station, TX
- Why Consulting? - replies Maxime Crépin (Bo 210), Consultant at Bain and Company, SF
- Why consulting?... replies François Thery (Li 96)
- First time together for Galette des Rois to celebrate Epiphany - Atlanta
- Looking back and sharing the most significant moments of 2019
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