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In terms of career paths, many people are unaware of several occupations in which a strong knowledge of logistics and goods procurement can be a viable asset. Supply Chain Management is the balanced flow of services and goods, including the process by which raw materials become a brand’s final product. A Supply Chain Management Masters offers not only an esteemed higher echelon of education. Besides that, it also helps one to specialize in the field to earn more money on average.
Average salaries for supply chain managers have been known to be as high as 120k per year, though shifting demographics dictate a trend toward lower salaries in some areas. Regardless, education in this field offers one the freedom of employment across a variety of industries.
What is Supply Chain Management?
Overall, Supply Chain Management (SCM) incorporates the leveraging of a brand’s supply-side efforts to increase customer value and solidify its place in the market.
SCM constitutes an effort by suppliers to structure supply chains to be proficient to brand goals and be economically sound. Supply chains typically control everything from initial production to prototype development, to the applications needed to direct the entire process.
This intricate and dynamic nature of the profession is why higher education becomes a great asset within the field of supply chain management. A Supply Chain Management master’s degree is often the pinnacle of this path of education.
How SCM Works
In the most general sense, a supply chain manager is responsible for the overall control of the production, shipment, and logistics of a brand’s product.
Through intimate knowledge and expertisein handling supply chain tactics, brands can cut costs and meet the consumers’ needs at a faster rate. This process is achieved by asserting control over internal inventory, production, logistics, sales, and additionally over that of company vendors.
Supply chain management, at its core, is based on the philosophy that products coming into the market results from a multi-organizational effort of the different bodies that form the structure of a supply chain.
In Supply Chain Management, the manager coordinates the distribution of all components of the supply chain. Correspondingly, the primary supply chain typically consists of the following components.
- Overall product strategy
- Procurement of materials to develop the product
- Oversight of manufacturing productivity)
- All aspects of distribution/logistics
- Product development and upgrade
In short, the supply chain manager’s main objective is to mitigate product shortages and keep within budget constraints.
The job, then, includes not only logistics and purchasing tasks but also offering recommendations, which might result in higher productivity, quality, and efficiency as per brand goals.
The more efficiently a product can be produced and distributed will enhance the brand’s overall image, thereby boosting brand awareness, which results in lasting consumer impact.
Getting into Supply Chain Management
Job descriptions in SCM are numerous. In fact, in nearly every industry, some form of supply chain management is evident, whether this is in the purchasing side of a company’s Food & Beverage department or the logistics between ordering office supplies for business needs.
In this respect, one may start in a supply department as a logistics coordinator, a purchasing assistant, or the like and then eventually work up to a supply chain manager or a similar title. It is, however, always recommended that a prospective supply chain manager has a formal education in the field due to the dynamic nature of the job itself.
