Supply Chain / Logistics / Procurement / Operations

[Senbonzakura]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum so please let me introduce myself;

My name is Jack and I'm a 26 year old English national currently living and working in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I'm looking for a move to APAC specifically Japan and of course ideally Tokyo to live and work. Ideally Im looking for work inside the Supply Chain of an organisation.

I've got a Bachelors degree in Business and Computing, a Masters degree in Supply Chain Management and I also have my APICS Supply Chain Management Training. I've been working for Diageo PLC as a Market Supply Manager for the last two years looking after a third party customer in Singapore. I have experience in Logistics, Material Management, Import / Export, ERP Software specifically SAP, Forecasting and Demand planning tools such as Atlas Cube and Manugistics.

Ideally after reading the posts on this website Id rather not work for a Japanese company; while I agree that hard work and determination should be the key factors for reward in a business environment I'm not sure how comfortable I feel working "obligatory" overtime and working with prehistoric minded Japanese top management.

I'm also aware the majority of companies operations side of their business units in Japan are ran in Japan, I speak English and Dutch only - I know a few Japanese words as I'm a big fan of Japanese Cinema, Anime and culture in general but not enough to get around.

I've inquired with Michael Page in Japan so far as that's the company I gained employment to Diageo PLC with but so far have received no reply. My father has a good friend in middle / top management at Nissan in Sunderland, England who I may inquire with also.

My worry is that pretty much ALL the jobs I see online require Japanese at a convincing / fluent level and thus is probably the biggest barrier to success.

Would anyone have a list of sites or contacts for English speaking Business / Supply Chain jobs or any tips on where I should be looking?

Cheers,

[KansaiBen]

Would anyone have a list of sites or contacts for English speaking Business / Supply Chain jobs or any tips on where I should be looking?

Cheers,

How hard is it for a person who speaks zero Dutch to work in the Netherlands? Its pretty much the same thing, in reverse here.

[Kopfschuss]

https://www.interacnetwork.com/recruit/

Enjoy!

[Senbonzakura]

Given a) the universality of English in Western Europe and b) the similarity between Dutch and English, I imagine it is actually quite easy.

You're right my friend. I got a job in The Netherlands with only basic German native English to my name. The company put me on a crash course to learn Dutch and although it came quite quickly to quantify it..maybe I use it 10-15% of my time at work. The rest is in English.

I did do a crash course in Chinese for a month at the University of Amsterdam and to be frank, I found it extremely hard. Considering you need to know the Chinese characters to be able to read and write correctly in Japanese I should imagine it would be a long learning process.

----------------------------------

I have an opportunity with Nissan in Sunderland, England that has come to more of late but i'd only be in Japan for 1-2 months per year and I really wanted to push for full time living arrangements.

I know it will be possible to find something in English or to start anyway, whether it's exactly what I want to do is another thing all together.

Thanks to Kopfschuss and Apogee for the information you have provided Im going to look into that! and thank you for all other inputs.

Cheers,
Jack

[Micheal11]

To be successful in business world all you need is qualification and and hard work.It is essential to get right kind of certification training in business services as it will be helpful to expand the career. If are going to stay there only for few months then I think you can coupe with it.

[KansaiBen]

I did do a crash course in Chinese for a month at the University of Amsterdam and to be frank, I found it extremely hard. Considering you need to know the Chinese characters to be able to read and write correctly in Japanese I should imagine it would be a long learning process.

It takes Japanese students until the end of high school to master reading and writing Japanese kanji though being native speakers. An average adult foreigner can probably learn the same Kanji in 1-2 years if they study it full time. Thats just to learn Kanji, never mind grammar, syntax, vocabulary etc. Chinese does not use hiragana and Katakana and compared to Japanese Kanji, is quite a bit harder. Chinese pronunciation is a b-itch to learn.

[trip_hop]

I believe Rakuten and Uniqlo now run their Japan operations in English, so there may be opportunities there, both are atypical companies.

Look for both inbound and outbound business, write directly to companies, do your research and try to write to a person, not a department. Look also for major manufacturers in the realms of automobiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, consumer goods.

The more inquiries you write, with a focused, individualised cover letter, the greater the chance of success.

And FWIW, I was over in Amsterdam last year on a small project, no Dutch and no problems at all. They are pretty good with languages over there.

[Guru]

I find the supply chain field interesting, which is why I have been doing my gigs in this field. Since the freight forwarders and 3PLs get boring in my career taste, I am now in the 4PL managing the supply chain programs and 3PL/forwarders.

Forecasting and planning are two of the key aspects in the supply chain management. For people who do not speak Japanese, I think it would be tough to find a good position in Japan. There are many English-speaking Japanese nationals who can do the work, which increases the competition for open positions in Japan.

I will stay away from the freight forwarding companies as the profit margin in that field is low and the payout is consequently low. The best bet would be foreign owned companies in Japan for the supply chain. Domestic Japanese companies are not known for good pay and reasonal work hours. I have stayed away from them like pests during my job search and I am glad to say it paid off well in my case.

Also stay away from the sales jobs for the freight forwarders in Japan. Those are one of the suckiest jobs on earlth.

[Chuck Sickens]

How hard is it for a person who speaks zero Dutch to work in the Netherlands? Its pretty much the same thing, in reverse here.

You are so ignorant.

The Netherlands is probably one of the easiest countries in the world to work in with speaking zero Dutch.

Comparing Japan and the Netherlands is like comparing apples and oranges.

Please limit your ignorant posts to English teaching and the international marriages, please?