All You Need To Know About Supply Chain Jobs
All you need to know about supply chain jobs can be summed up in one sentence
, flat - a supply chain starts from scratch - mines, fields or forests, and ends in the consumer's hands.
Everything that happens in between is part of the supply chain, and supply chain jobs require that every link in the supply chain operates smoothly and flawlessly.
To put it more formally, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals has come up with a definition for Supply Chain Management, that includes
1. Planning and managing every part of the process of procurement, conversion and logistics management.
2. Collaborating with all the "links in the chain" - suppliers, distributors, third-party service providers, clients
Clearly, supply chain management is what holds the manufacturing and distributing process together, creating one huge, detailed business model to maximize performance. From product design to finance, information technology, marketing and sales, there is no aspect of a business that supply chain management can overlook.
The goal of the supply chain manager is to match demand and supply, fulfilling the needs of the customer while generating fair profits for the company. The supply chain manager sees the manufacturing process as one whole, and seeks to optimize it on that level rather than looking for the best deals on the small scale. This is how companies arrive at the perfect compromise between, say cheap raw materials and transportation cost, or cheap labor versus union trouble.
Today, not all companies hire supply chain managers as a whole, as they may be too big to be managed by one core group of people. They may hire a separate, third-party team to coordinate the production aspect, or the logistics management alone. However, always keep in mind that the entire supply chain stretches beyond the scope of a single company - for instance, the company that mines silicon forms part of the supply chain that ends with delivering computers.
The previous paragraph shows that "supply chain job" really has no clear definition. Someone who specializes in freight rates and transportation facilities holds a supply chain job, as does a specialist in customer orders. People can choose to change positions in the chain if they are dissatisfied, and most do this before deciding on their preferred super-specialization. Also, responsibilities and requirements change dramatically from entry-level to mid-level, and again from mid-level to top-level if one should get there. Combining this dynamic nature of the job with constantly evolving technology, scientific discoveries, methods of knowledge and regulations, it isn't hard to see why supply chain jobs have hardly a dull moment.
To qualify for a supply chain job, aptitude is far more necessary than formal qualifications. A head for numbers and a good memory is a prerequisite, as it adaptability to modern technological developments. A Bachelor's degree is usually all the academic qualification that is needed - experience in a field that is relevant to one's specialization is far more important than a university degree.
Salaries in supply chain management jobs vary from mid-level to extremely high, depending on position, experience and job acumen. New jobs are also opening up with regularity, as supply chain management becomes more and more sophisticated. With drive and a willingness to learn, supply chain managers can reach high incomes in less than five years.
by: Gen Wright
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