Interview Preparation

Mastek Limited: Interview Preparation For SCM Functional Consultant Trainee Consultant Role

Mastek Limited: Interview Preparation For SCM Functional Consultant Trainee Consultant Role

Mastek Limited is an enterprise digital and cloud transformation partner serving Healthcare & Life Sciences, Retail & Consumer, Manufacturing, Financial Services, and the Public Sector across the UK, US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Recognized for delivering digital experience and engineering, cloud implementations, data, automation & AI, and cloud managed services, Mastek collaborates with leading technology ecosystems as a preferred partner to Oracle, Salesforce, Microsoft, AWS, and Snowflake. With a global footprint and a strong client portfolio that spans medium enterprises to Fortune 1000 organizations, Mastek focuses on engineering excellence and measurable business outcomes.

This comprehensive guide provides essential insights into the SCM Functional Consultant (Associate Consultant / Trainee Consultant) at Mastek Limited, covering required skills, responsibilities, interview questions, and preparation strategies to help aspiring candidates succeed.


1. About the SCM Functional Consultant (Associate Consultant / Trainee Consultant) Role

As an SCM Functional Consultant, you will collaborate closely with clients and internal teams to gather and analyze business requirements and assist in designing functional solutions that improve end-to-end supply chain processes.

Responsibilities include supporting solution configuration and documentation, preparing training materials, conducting user workshops, and performing research and analysis to meet project objectives. You will also provide ongoing support and troubleshooting to maintain high levels of client satisfaction and adoption.

Positioned within consulting and delivery teams, this role bridges business stakeholders and technical specialists, ensuring solutions are aligned with client needs and Mastek’s quality standards. It is particularly suited to MBA graduates specializing in Operations or Supply Chain who want to launch a consulting career with exposure to cloud-enabled supply chain transformations. Operating from Mastek’s Ahmedabad office, you will contribute to projects across industries and geographies, reflecting Mastek’s global reach and partner-led ecosystem in cloud, data, and automation.


2. Required Skills and Qualifications

Candidates should combine formal education in operations or supply chain with strong analytical, communication, and client-facing skills. Proficiency with productivity tools, familiarity with ERP or business process platforms, and the ability to work both independently and in teams are essential. Certifications and internship experience provide added advantage.

Educational Qualifications

  • Mandatory: An MBA in Operations or Supply Chain Management.
  • Experience: This is an entry-level role designated as Associate/Trainee Consultant. While not explicitly stated, the trainee title and focus on foundational skills suggest it is open to fresh MBA graduates. Relevant internship experience is a preferred qualification.

Key Competencies

  • Business Analysis & Functional Design: Core skill in collaborating with clients to gather business requirements and translate them into functional designs for system-based solutions that optimize supply chain processes.
  • Communication & Stakeholder Facilitation: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to lead client workshops, explain technical concepts clearly, deliver end-user training, and work collaboratively within project teams.
  • Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills: Strong ability to analyze client business processes, identify inefficiencies, and solve complex supply chain problems through technology-enabled solutions.
  • Client Delivery & Support: Ability to support the full project lifecycle, from implementation and training to providing ongoing troubleshooting and support to ensure client satisfaction.

Technical Skills & Industry Knowledge

  • Core Supply Chain Process Expertise: In-depth, functional understanding of end-to-end supply chain operations, including procurement, inventory and warehouse management, order processing, and production planning.
  • ERP & Digital Platform Proficiency: Familiarity with ERP systems is a key preferred qualification. As a major Microsoft partner, knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (D365 SCM) is highly relevant for this role at Mastek.
  • Implementation & Configuration Skills:
    Skill in assisting with the setup, configuration, and testing of SCM software modules to meet specific client business needs.
  • Proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) for analysis and presentation.
  • A certification in relevant functional areas is a strong plus. The industry-recognized credential for this career path is the Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant Associate.

3. Day-to-Day Responsibilities

Expect a balance of client interaction, analysis, documentation, and delivery support. You will contribute to requirement gathering, solution design assistance, training enablement, and ongoing support. Below is a representative view of weekly activities aligned to this role.

  • Collaborate with clients to gather and analyze business requirements.
  • Assist in the design and implementation of functional solutions to meet client needs.
  • Support the development and delivery of training materials and workshops for end-users.
  • Conduct research and analysis to support project objectives and deliverables.
  • Provide ongoing support and troubleshooting to ensure client satisfaction.

4. Key Competencies for Success

Success hinges on blending business acumen with process rigor, clear communication, and a service mindset. The following competencies elevate performance and accelerate growth in this consulting role.

  • Structured Problem-Solving: Ability to decompose complex supply chain issues and recommend feasible, phased improvements.
  • Stakeholder Management: Build trust with business users and project teams through proactive communication and expectation-setting.
  • Process Orientation: Comfort with documenting as-is/to-be flows, controls, and metrics to ensure traceability and compliance.
  • Training & Enablement: Translate technical or process changes into practical guidance that accelerates user adoption.
  • Adaptability & Learning Agility: Quickly absorb new domains, tools, and client contexts across industries and geographies.

5. Common Interview Questions

This section provides a selection of common interview questions to help candidates prepare effectively for their SCM Functional Consultant (Associate Consultant / Trainee Consultant) interview at Mastek Limited.

General & Behavioral Questions
Tell me about yourself and why you’re interested in SCM consulting at Mastek.

Connect your MBA focus, internships, and interest in cloud-enabled supply chains with Mastek’s industry footprint and partner ecosystem.

What attracts you to starting your career as an Associate/Trainee Consultant?

Highlight learning agility, client-facing work, and exposure to cross-industry projects.

Describe a time you worked with limited information and still delivered results.

Use STAR to show structure, stakeholder alignment, and incremental delivery.

How do you prioritize tasks when deadlines conflict?

Discuss impact/effort frameworks, risk awareness, and communication of trade-offs.

Give an example of simplifying a complex concept for non-technical stakeholders.

Show empathy, visualization, and feedback loops to verify understanding.

How do you handle feedback or course-corrections on projects?

Emphasize openness, rapid iteration, and documenting decisions.

Tell me about a team conflict and how you resolved it.

Demonstrate active listening, reframing goals, and action-oriented compromise.

What does client-centricity mean to you?

Explain aligning to outcomes, transparent communication, and adoption-focused delivery.

How do you manage stress during peak project phases?

Discuss planning buffers, clear status updates, and issue triage.

Why Mastek specifically for your consulting career?

Reference Mastek’s global operations, industry coverage, and cloud/data/AI capabilities.

Prepare 5–6 STAR stories mapping to teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and stakeholder communication.

Technical and Industry-Specific Questions
Explain procure-to-pay (P2P) and order-to-cash (O2C) at a high level.

Define key steps, stakeholders, and typical KPIs to show end-to-end understanding.

Which inventory metrics would you track and why?

Mention turns, fill rate, stockout rate, and safety stock; tie to service and cash.

What is the role of master data in SCM?

Discuss item, supplier, customer, and location data as foundations for accuracy.

Differentiate MRP and MPS.

MPS plans finished goods; MRP explodes requirements for components and materials.

How do lead time and cycle time impact planning?

Explain buffering, reorder points, and promise dates.

What is User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in an ERP rollout?

Validation by business users against real scenarios; define entry/exit criteria.

Cloud ERP vs on‑prem: what should clients consider?

Scalability, upgrades, TCO, integration, security, and change management.

How can data and analytics improve supply chain decisions?

Forecast accuracy, inventory optimization, and exception management through dashboards.

Where do training and documentation fit in change management?

They drive adoption; discuss role-based training, quick reference guides, and support.

How do partner ecosystems (e.g., major cloud/ERP vendors) influence solutions?

Reference best practices, accelerators, and integration patterns that speed value.

Rehearse concise definitions and illustrate with a brief, practical example for each concept.

Problem-Solving and Situation-Based Questions
A client has frequent stockouts despite “high” inventory. How do you approach?

Probe demand variability, ABC classification, lead times, and safety stock policy; propose pilots.

Stakeholders disagree on the to‑be process. What’s your plan?

Facilitate a workshop, align on objectives and constraints, document options and trade-offs.

UAT shows defects near go‑live. What do you do?

Triages by severity, define workarounds, adjust cutover scope, and communicate impacts.

Key user is unavailable for requirements. How will you proceed?

Leverage proxies, review artifacts, schedule time-boxed sessions, and validate assumptions early.

Data migration reveals inconsistent item masters. Next steps?

Define data standards, cleansing rules, and reconciliation checks; iterate test loads.

How would you measure success of a training program?

Pre/post assessments, adoption KPIs, support ticket trends, and role-based completion.

Supplier lead times have doubled suddenly. What analysis will you run?

Root cause with supplier, re-calc safety stock, alternate sourcing, and expedite rules.

Design must fit a tight budget/timeline. How to prioritize?

MoSCoW features, minimum viable process, phased rollout, and risk-based sequencing.

Logistics costs are rising faster than volume. What hypotheses?

Mode mix, cube utilization, routing, carrier rates, and warehouse handling efficiency.

Client requests out-of-scope changes mid-project. Response?

Assess value/effort, log CR, estimate impact, propose timeline/cost options, seek approval.

Use a structured approach: clarify goal, analyze baseline, propose options, define metrics, and plan next steps.

Resume and Role-Specific Questions
Walk me through a project from your MBA/internship relevant to supply chain.

Explain objective, your role, data used, tools, outcome, and lessons learned.

Which part of the supply chain do you understand best and why?

Pick one (planning, procurement, inventory, logistics) and cite evidence.

How proficient are you with Excel for analysis?

Mention functions (LOOKUPs, PivotTables, What‑If), and examples of usage.

Describe your experience with ERP or process tools.

Share exposure to modules, process mapping, or UAT even if academic.

How do you approach writing BRDs or user stories?

Cover scope, acceptance criteria, traceability, and stakeholder sign‑off.

What training materials have you created and how did you measure adoption?

Discuss role-based guides, workshops, and feedback/assessment mechanisms.

Are you comfortable working from the Ahmedabad office and collaborating with global teams?

Address location readiness and flexibility for cross-time-zone collaboration.

How soon can you join and what support do you need to ramp up?

Be clear on timelines, onboarding needs, and a 30‑60‑90 day plan.

Which certifications or learning paths are you pursuing?

Relate to functional SCM or ERP/process tools that aid faster contribution.

What differentiates you from other entry-level consulting candidates?

Summarize unique mix of domain knowledge, communication, and execution discipline.

Align your resume stories to the role’s responsibilities: requirements, solution support, training, analysis, and client service.


6. Common Topics and Areas of Focus for Interview Preparation

To excel in your SCM Functional Consultant (Associate Consultant / Trainee Consultant) role at Mastek Limited, it’s essential to focus on the following areas. These topics highlight the key responsibilities and expectations, preparing you to discuss your skills and experiences in a way that aligns with Mastek Limited objectives.

  • End-to-End Supply Chain Processes: Review Plan–Source–Make–Deliver–Return, with deeper dives into P2P, O2C, inventory control, and basic logistics KPIs.
  • Requirements & Documentation: Practice capturing as-is/to-be flows, writing BRDs/user stories, and maintaining traceability to business outcomes.
  • ERP and Process Enablement: Understand how ERP modules support core workflows, UAT cycles, cutover basics, and post-go-live support.
  • Data-Driven Analysis: Strengthen Excel skills (PivotTables, LOOKUPs, What-If) to evaluate demand patterns, stock policies, and performance metrics.
  • Change Management & Training: Learn to plan role-based training, success metrics for adoption, and feedback mechanisms to improve user experience.

7. Perks and Benefits of Working at Mastek Limited

Mastek Limited offers a comprehensive package of benefits to support the well-being, professional growth, and satisfaction of its employees. Here are some of the key perks you can expect

  • Global and Cross-Industry Exposure: Work with clients across Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Financial Services, and the Public Sector.
  • Cutting-Edge Project Experience: Opportunities across digital experience, cloud implementations, data, automation & AI, and cloud managed services.
  • Partner Ecosystem Access: Leverage best practices and enablement from leading platforms as Mastek’s preferred partnerships span major cloud and ERP vendors.
  • Early-Career Learning Opportunities: Hands-on consulting experience in requirements, solution support, and user enablement.
  • Relocation Support on Joining: Accommodation provided for the first 2 weeks during final full-time joining.

8. Conclusion

The SCM Functional Consultant (Associate Consultant / Trainee Consultant) role at Mastek Limited is a launchpad for MBA graduates to build robust consulting foundations across process analysis, solution design support, and user enablement. With exposure to global clients and cloud-driven transformation, you’ll translate business requirements into practical improvements that elevate operations and customer satisfaction.

Focus your preparation on core SCM concepts, documentation excellence, data-driven analysis, and clear communication. By aligning your stories to the role’s responsibilities and Mastek’s capabilities in digital, cloud, data, and automation, you’ll demonstrate immediate readiness and long-term potential.

Tips for Interview Success:

  • Master the basics: Be fluent in P2P, O2C, inventory metrics, and change management with concise examples.
  • Show structured thinking: Use STAR to frame requirements, analysis, solution options, and measurable outcomes.
  • Demonstrate enablement skills: Bring samples or outlines of BRDs, process maps, and training artifacts.
  • Connect to Mastek’s strengths: Tie your answers to global delivery, cloud implementations, and user-centric adoption.