Interview Preparation Notes - Supply Chain Planner Position at Benteler

Round 1: Screening

• What experience do you have in supply chain planning?
• What technical skills do you possess relevant to this position?
• What kind of challenges have you faced in supply chain planning, and how did you overcome them?
• How do you keep up with industry trends and developments in supply chain planning?
• What motivated you to apply for this position at Benteler?
• What are your salary expectations for this job?
• What are your long-term career goals, and how do you see this position fitting into your career plan?
• What do you know about Benteler's supply chain operations?
• What kind of ERP systems have you worked with in the past?
• What is your experience with demand forecasting and inventory control?

Round 2: Behavioral

• Describe a time when you had to optimize inventory and operations. What was your role, and how did you handle the situation? (STAR answer)
• Can you share an example of a process improvement project that you managed, and what were the results? (STAR answer)
• Tell us about a time when you had to manage a difficult stakeholder or vendor. What was the situation, and how did you resolve it? (STAR answer)
• Have you ever faced a situation where demand forecasts were off, or material planning errors occurred? How did you address the issue, and what results did you achieve? (STAR answer)
• Can you describe a time when you had to collaborate with a cross-functional team for a project? What was your role, and how did you ensure that the project was successful? (STAR answer)
• Tell us about a time when you had to deal with a tight deadline or unexpected obstacle in a project. What was the situation, and how did you handle the pressure? (STAR answer)
• Describe a situation where you had to make a difficult decision involving a trade-off between cost and quality. What factors did you consider, and how did you make the decision? (STAR answer)
• Share an example of a time when you had to come up with a creative solution to solve a supply chain problem. What was the situation, and how did you approach it? (STAR answer)
• Have you ever faced a situation where there were conflicting priorities among different departments or stakeholders in a supply chain project? How did you prioritize and resolve the conflicts? (STAR answer)
• Can you give an example where you dealt with a sustainability issue in a supply chain project? What actions did you take, and what was the outcome? (STAR answer)

Round 3: Coding

Design

During this round, you will be asked to design a system to optimize inventory and operations in a global supply chain. Be prepared to discuss both high-level and low-level details of your design. Some potential aspects to consider:

• Database schema design
• Data structures and algorithms for inventory management
• User interface design
• Scalability and performance considerations

Technical

• Given a list of integers, write a function in Python to return the sum of all even numbers in the list. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Implement quicksort algorithm in Java. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Given a string, write a function in C++ to determine if it is a palindrome. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Write a function in Python to determine if a given number is a prime number. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Create a linked list in C++ and implement a function to reverse the list in place. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Write a function in Java to find the two numbers in an array whose sum is equal to a given target. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Implement a stack data structure in Python, with push(), pop(), and peek() functions. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Write a function in C++ to calculate the factorial of a given number. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Given two sorted arrays, write a function in Java to merge them into a single sorted array. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.
• Implement a binary search tree data structure in Python, with insert(), search(), and delete() functions. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution, and provide indented code.

Round 4: Managerial

• Can you describe your management style?
• How do you motivate and inspire your team members?
• How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively?
• What strategies do you use to manage risk in a supply chain project?
• How do you measure and track progress in a project?
• What qualities do you think are necessary for a successful supply chain planner?
• How do you ensure that your team is meeting project deadlines effectively?
• Can you describe a difficult situation involving conflicting priorities among different stakeholders in a project, and how did you resolve it?
• How do you ensure that your team is keeping up with industry developments and trends?
• What is your experience with project budgeting and financial management?

Conclusion

Preparation is key to succeeding in any job interview, especially in a technical field like supply chain planning. Take the time to review your relevant experience, brush up on technical skills, and practice answering both behavioral and technical questions. Make sure you are familiar with the company's supply chain operations and be prepared to discuss your ideas for optimizing inventory and operations. Good luck!