Why I joined APICS?  

Hi, I’m Kristi Ushiro and very excited to be joining the MSPK chapter of APICS.  I started my career in 1994 at Raychem Corporation in the Product Development group but was always intrigued with manufacturing.  So, when an opportunity arose to move into a manufacturing engineering role in 1996, I jumped at the chance and have been in manufacturing ever since.  After Raychem, I joined a fiber-optic start-up called LightLogic in 2000 to manage their process engineering group, and then Intel Corporation acquired LightLogic in 2001.  I still reside within this Intel division, managing the New Product Introduction engineers, collaborating with R&D to design product and develop the supply chain for HVM.  I have worked closely with many incredibly talented individuals managing a complex supply chain, inventory, supply/demand planning, and I am continually awed by their deep understanding of Operations and by how effective they are at making tangible, bottom-line contributions to the business.  My admiration for their skills inspired me to join APICS, and I look forward to this opportunity to further my skills in Operations Management and meet more inspirational people in the Operations world.

Kristi Ushiro

I did follow up on Kristi’s CSCP application with Henri Wingfield and Jesse Aguilar at APICS HQ. They followed up and sent Kristi an e-mail confirming her qualifications to take the CSCP test. Many Thanks goes to Henri Wingfield and Jesse Aguilar for being responsive to our members. This is not exceptional; they are very dedicated people in serving our membership. Kristi sent me this e-mail-

Ahhhhh!!  Thank you so much for helping to get my eligibility application processed in time for the June exam!!  I just checked my home e-mail and was so excited, my kids and husband thought I’d gone nuts!!  Thank you!!  I have a study schedule planned out, and I’m registering for the exam tonight.  I really can’t thank you enough!!

After receiving my graduate degree in Logistics and working for 9 years in Logistics related disciplines, I was not clear where I want to go with my career. Moreover, my employer DHL was relocating their head office from Northern California to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  To my surprise and the surprise of many, people who knew me I made a clear but unexpected move to the financial industry and landed a Service Management role within VISA. Over the next few years, I even built up substantial experience and a network in the Business Intelligence space. However, in my heart I realized that I wanted to be a Logistics and Supply Chain professional. 

Therefore, 7 years after I left the Logistics World I found myself with no professional network and looking through a “sea” of job posting. Getting back into our field seemed harder than working at the most difficult job. In addition, every job posting said: APICS certification preferred. Being somewhat skeptic at first, I visited the web site and found that I actually could learn a lot.

My excitement built further when I got twenty welcome notes from Hank, Joy, La Donna and other APICS members and their advice and support created a positive feeling that carried me over New Year 2008. I have attended two meetings and the people and topics are great.

Besides the networking, I want to pursue the CPIM and CPSM certifications. For that, I will need much more than just encouragement…

That’s why the Chapter is here.   

Greta Dimitrova