How to Become a Supply Chain Manager

A career as a supply chain manager is both a responsible and exciting job to pursue as it is central to distributing products to retailers and consumers. This guide will provide you with all of the information that you need to kick–start your career in the field!

To become a supply chain manager, it’s necessary to have at least an HND qualification but more commonly a bachelor’s degree in a discipline such as business administration, computing, information systems or computing, which shows that you have excellent problem-solving and communication skills.

Master’s degrees are available in supply chain management, logistics and transport planning.

As well as obtaining a degree, an important next step is also to have acquired work experience in the field. Many degree programmes in disciplines such as chain management offer a paid placement year in industry which gives you both hands-on experience, allowing you to learn the nature of the job, and the support of academic staff.

There is also the option to apply for internships which are run by independent organisations such as supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

Due to the varied nature of the supply chain management job and the diversity of duties that are expected of supply chain managers, they need to have the right set of skills, such as:

Supply chain managers are responsible for the movement of goods from the manufacturers and suppliers to the customers and overseas. They also manage the production flow of goods from the initial raw materials through to the delivery of the final product.

Supply chain managers’ work is integral to the management and flow of goods and services as they have a lot of responsibility over coordinating the logistics of the supply chain as well as the decisions that are taken throughout the whole process, and these decisions can affect the final products.

Through effective management of the chain, companies are able to avoid excessive costs and also deliver the products to the consumers faster.

Supply chain managers often work for global supply chains and their everyday tasks involve:

Supply chain management career paths offer progression across all sectors. Career pathways available allow you to develop your skills and management experience and obtain positions in senior management and and board-level roles.

Related career pathways for supply chain managers include: