Manufacturing and Production Careers | Supply Chain Manager

Supply Chain Manager

Career Area: Business Management and Operations

Occupation Group: Logistics and Supply Chain Managers

Salary

Percentile wages tell how much a certain percentage of an overall population in a geographic area or within a given industry or field makes. The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.

An example would be the 25th percentile, 25 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 75 percent earn more than the estimated wage value. At the 75th percentile, 75 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 25 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.

A typical Supply Chain Manager earns the following wages (national and state):

State

The average salary in North Carolina for those pursuing this career is $81,701

*The salaries depicted here are representative of the range of salaries posted in job listings over the past year. Living wage in North Carolina is $30,000.

National

The average salary in the United States for those pursuing this career is $81,776

*The salaries depicted here are representative of the range of salaries posted in job listings over the past year. Living wage in North Carolina is $30,000.

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

Manages the work involved with moving materials, including raw materials, finished products or data, in a cost effective way. Supervises logistics analysts who gather data on production, storage and transportation costs; looks for ways to streamline production and implement cost savings.

Employment Trends

The job demand and job growth statistics shown here were derived from job posts over the past year. Expected job growth projections are extrapolated from year-over-year job post listing history.

Job demand and job growth is expected at the following rates:

LocationGrowth
North Carolina634+7.2%
Nationwide18147+5.6%

Skills

A professional in this position typically utilizes the following skills in the course of everyday work in this exciting and challenging field:

Baseline Skills

The following are baseline skills every Supply Chain Manager is expected to have in order to experience success in this field:

  • Communication Skills: The ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently.
  • Planning: Working experience with the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve desired goals.
  • Teamwork / Collaboration: Experience working in collaborative efforts with a team to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way.
  • Problem Solving: Problem solving consists of using generic or ad hoc methods, in an orderly manner, for finding solutions to problems.
  • Microsoft Excel: Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications.

Specialized Skills

These skills are specific to working in this career:

  • Supply Chain Knowledge: A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer.
  • Supply Chain Management: In commerce, supply chain management (SCM), the management of the flow of goods and services, involves the movement and storage of raw materials, of work-in-process inventory, and of finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.
  • Logistics: Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation.
  • Project Management: Project management is the discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria.
  • Procurement: Procurement is the process of finding, agreeing terms and acquiring goods, services or works from an external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process.

Distinguishing Skills

Any Supply Chain Manager that possesses the following skills will stand out against the competition:

  • Supply Chain Strategy: Working experience of Supply Chain Strategy, which is an iterative process that evaluates the cost- benefit trade-offs of operational components. Business strategy involves leveraging the core competencies of the organization to achieve a defined high-level goal or objective.
  • Supply Chain Planning: In commerce, supply chain management (SCM), the management of the flow of goods and services, involves the movement and storage of raw materials, of work-in-process inventory, and of finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.
  • Supply Chain Coordination: Channel coordination (or supply chain coordination) aims at improving supply chain performance by aligning the plans and the objectives of individual enterprises.
  • Strategic Sourcing: Strategic sourcing is an institutional procurement process that continuously improves and re-evaluates the purchasing activities of a company.
  • Supplier Management: The termsupply managementdescribes the methods and processes of modern corporate or institutionalbuying. This may be for the purchasing of supplies for internal use referred to as indirect goods and services, purchasing raw materials for the consumption during themanufacturingprocess, or for the purchasing of goods forinventoryto be resold asproductsin thedistributionandretailprocess.

Experience

This position typically requires the following level of experience. The numbers presented in the pie charts below were derived from actual job posts over the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Experience Required%
0 to 2 years19%
3 to 5 years42%
6 to 8 years19%

Many of the programs offered through NC State are designed for working professionals who need additional credentials to enhance existing work experience.

Students who do not have the expected level of experience may wish to look into internship and employment opportunities.

Common Job Titles

It is possible to find work in this field in positions commonly listed as the following job titles:

  • Supply Chain Manager
  • Customer Supply Chain Support
  • Customer Success Director
  • Usa Area Manager - Floor
  • Supply Chain Program Manager

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