Interactive Business Challenges - engaging latest knowhow
Hear how Supply Chain management, Logistics, Project Management students provided 55 Parrots with strategic advice on becoming environmentally and socially conscious in their operational and relationship practices while gaining practical research and consultation experiences.
Discover more about Interactive Business ChallengesI found that there was a gap in the Wollongong area where we had no homeware store that was really concentrating on a sustainable future for homes in this area. For 55 Parrots it’s as part of our mission. It's about being environmentally and socially conscious. So environmentally we've talked about what we use in our products. How we use them. We use products that that are easily grown and recycle products. We don't use any plastics. The first thing I look at is: am I going to be able to work with the supplier, is this relationship going to work? The next thing I would look at is quality and then the next thing I would look at is price.
When I had the opportunity by the university, when they came to me and said would you like to work with us on some students that were doing their Master’s in Supply Chain and Logistics and Business Management, I jumped at the chance because I thought it just fitted perfectly with where we want to go.
One of the best parts of working with the University of Wollongong was actually spending the time with the students so they could understand my journey and how I got here. We actually had students come on-site here at the shop and they actually went to all of my shops. They went to my warehouse. They watched a container unpack and from that the students have actually written some very comprehensive reports and I have some actual young uni students that I've just picked up that are working part-time for me and they're actually going to sit down and help me go through those reports.
My name is Mitka and I'm a master's student specializing in Supply Chain Management. The business research project is one of the most practical and challenging subjects of my course. We had this company called 55 Parrots come in and talk about the business and future plans. That's one of the best things about the subject is that your research topic is totally flexible. It's up to you to choose what to focus on. I was interested in sustainability so I chose that as my topic. I had colleagues focusing on Marketing, Procurement, Logistics and so on. So, I liked the fact that I could align my area of interest with my report.
I've done research for assessments in the past but that was all based on the data and findings of other academics. In this I could collect my own data and come up with recommendations based on the information that I obtained. I also found that this subject creates a new holistic view, not just about your topic but also about the entire process of doing research.