Career spotlight: Daniel Muir of Supply Chain Scotland
Scottish Food & Drink Ambassadors bring the sector to life talking about everyday experiences at careers events, classroom lessons, site visit, STEM-focused events and workshops for teachers and career influencers.
They all have their own stories and here we shine the career spotlight on supply chain consultant Daniel Muir, who is based in Perthshire.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself
I love mountains. I’m a keen skier and snowboarder and have snowboarded in France, Switzerland, Italy, USA, Austria and Norway – and, of course, Scotland. I’ve also cycled along the whole length of the Pyrenees and a tour around the Dolomites.
Tell us about your careers journey so far
As a child I was fascinated by cars and motorsport and that guided me towards a career in engineering. The University of Strathclyde had a great reputation and I had good Highers results so was advised to apply for their flagship M.Eng course. As well as the coursework I was able to do some excellent summer placements including with Ford Motor Co and Diageo.
After university, I joined Polaroid as a graduate engineer working on improving film manufacturing quality and output. Although the company wasn’t doing well by that time, it was a great place to learn a lot.
I then joined Highland Spring on a KTP project and changed direction a bit, getting involved in production planning and IT systems. My career developed there taking on management of customer service, planning, stock control and logistics. Then moved to food manufacturer Macphie as Head of Supply Chain. In both these companies I got involved in a lot of great projects.
After leaving Macphie, I decided to bring the knowledge and experience I’d gained in large companies to smaller food & drink businesses and set up my own consultancy business to do this. It is rewarding and I enjoy the variety.
“I really enjoy the variety of projects I work on, and I like the feeling that I am helping improve things for the customers I work with, as well as the people that work there.”
“A company’s supply chain involves all the planning and operations from sourcing materials, to producing goods, storing them, and delivering them to customers, and all the business processes and systems required to do these activities effectively.”
What was your favourite subject in school and why?
I enjoyed physics and chemistry at school as the experiments were interesting and helped relate theoretical concepts to the real world.
I also found economics really interesting as a view into how economies and societies work.
What subjects/qualifications/skills are useful for your role?
In my job I use the logic reasoning that develops through maths a lot.
And communication - with clients, customers and colleagues - is really important so the importance of English can’t be underestimated.
What is your favourite thing about your job?
I really enjoy the variety of projects I work on, and I like the feeling that I am helping improve things for the customers I work with, as well as the people that work there.
What is a normal day in your role like?
It’s a cliché, but there’s really no such thing as a normal day!
Different days I can be working at a client’s business on site, presenting on a project or just working on it.
Or I might be based at home working on projects such as running the local Regional Food Group which involves arranging events, marketing through social media and newsletters, providing business advice to smaller businesses, or working on my own business.
And what does your job title mean?
Supply chain: a company’s supply chain involves all the planning and operations from sourcing materials, to producing goods, storing them, and delivering them to customers, and all the business processes and systems required to do these activities effectively.
Consultant: someone who doesn’t work directly for a company, but provides external support such as specialist advice or skills to that company.
I mostly work with manufacturing businesses, a lot of them in the food & drink sector but have also done work for a tool manufacturer, NHS Scotland and several universities.
“I love mountains.
I’m a keen skier and snowboarder.”
Can you suggest an activity that could be done at home that illustrates an aspect of your work?
A key challenge in supply chain management is balancing supply and demand.
Think about a product that you buy, and what influences demand (how much people or the market wants) and what some of the challenges might be for the producer to supply the right amount.