Operations and supply chain management
Consider the steps involved in ensuring that every product you order online makes it to your doorstep. Each of these steps is part of a supply chain. As online sales continue to soar and the economy becomes even more globalized, the logistics industry will present exciting new opportunities for jobseekers.
450 million
people are employed by the global supply chain
$74,750
average salary
for logistics and supply chain professionals**
* International Labour Organization
**U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Operations and supply chain management definition
Simply put, operations and supply chain management — also known as logistics — is the flow of goods and services. It consists of each of the processes involved in transforming raw materials into final products and distributing them to consumers.
Operations and supply chain management is critical to economic growth and stability around the world. Experts anticipate that global e-commerce sales will total $4.8 trillion in 2021, with the overall market for supply chain management projected to reach $37.4 billion by 2027.
Operations and supply chain management duties
Those who work in operations and supply chain management must possess strong planning skills and the ability to maximize efficiency while minimizing costs. Typical duties include:
- Developing and applying customer satisfaction strategies
- Leading and coordinating global supply chain functions
- Handling the procurement of necessary materials and supplies needed to meet product demand
- Working with various teams to strategize the transfer of goods
- Coordinating with the sales department to determine the most efficient, cost-effective means of delivering products to customers
- Cooperating with team members to determine the best method and cost for transportation
COMMUNICATION
A major part of logistics involves cooperation between each link in the supply chain. Becaause of this, one of the most important supply chain management skills is communication. You will need to build relationships with suppliers, collaborate with sales teams, and respond to feedback from buyers and customers.
LEADERSHIP
Developing your leadership skills will help you grow from within. When you take initiative on projects and speak up about your contributions, it demonstrates your investment in the organization as well as your capacity to lead others toward success.
DECISION-MAKING
Each day, operations and supply chain professionals make critical decisions regarding the best supplier, cost, and mode of transportation to stay within budget and ensure timely delivery of products.
STRATEGIC THINKING
The most effective logistics professionals can see the big picture. They understand how the parts of the supply chain work together to produce a high-quality product and get it to consumers on time and in accordance with their expectations.
TECHNOLOGY
The field of operations and supply chain management relies on computers, tablets, wireless networking, and data analysis to ensure streamlined logistics. You can also make yourself more marketable to employers by familiarizing yourself with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IOT), automation, and robotics.
BUDGETING AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
A primary goal of any operations and supply chain professional is saving money for your organization by identifying ways to produce quality goods and services at a lower cost.
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Purchasing
This focus area involves acquiring the necessary materials for production, which enables everyone in the supply chain to perform their function.
Key responsibilities include:
- Maintaining the quality and value of products and services
- Reducing the amount of cash tied up in inventory
- Managing the flow and balance of inputs and outputs
- Keeping the organization competitive in its respective industry
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the process of producing merchandise for use or sale. Whenever raw goods become finished goods on a relatively large scale, they have undergone manufacturing.
Businesses rely on human labor, tools, chemical and biological processing, and automation to manufacture goods. These finished goods sometimes have intrinsic value and are sold on their own. In other cases, they facilitate the production of more complex products, such as automobiles, aircraft, and household appliances.
Inventory management
Inventory specialists provide a core function in the supply chain by ensuring that an organization has the desired amount of a particular item to fulfill each order.
Monitoring and maintaining inventory guarantees that the production, sales, and customer service teams can carry out their respective roles in the supply chain.
Demand planning
Planners forecast customer demand to streamline the supply chain process. This helps the supply chain run smoothly by aiding in production planning, inventory management, and capacity assessment.
Demand planners make their decisions based on quantitative analysis of historical sales data. They may also examine current data from test markets to determine buying strategy.
Warehousing
Warehouse managers and inventory managers perform administrative and physical duties to facilitate the safe storage of goods and materials in the supply chain. This job is vital to maintaining inventory and avoiding losses.
Important tasks in warehousing include:
- Receipt
- Identification
- Inspection
- Verification
- Storage
- Retrieval of products for dispatch
Transportation
Transportation is a critical function in the supply chain since it’s the final step in providing products to customers. In our global economy, transportation has never been more important.
Where workers might have previously packed a shipment onto a truck or a train, they now load it into a shipping container or a freight plane. Those who work in this area of the supply chain identify the most practical, expedient, and affordable means of delivering products.
Customer service
At the end of every supply chain is a customer base. Providing optimal customer service is a crucial step in the supply chain. This might involve helping someone learn more about a product before placing an order or resolving an issue with a product that was damaged in transit.
The operations and supply chain industry continues to evolve to meet dynamic demands. With high expectations set by online retailers such as Amazon, modern supply chains must have systems in place to process orders in a timely fashion and ship products as quickly as possible.
With 44 million people employed by the U.S. supply chain alone, the future is promising for well-trained logistics professionals. The main responsibilities associated with operations and supply chain management include:
- Purchasing
- Manufacturing
- Inventory management
- Demand planning
- Warehousing
- Transportation
- Customer service
Here’s a brief look at some trends in operations and supply chain management based on research conducted by Burning Glass Technologies:
Innovations in technology and automation
Over the next decade, operations and supply chain students and professionals in a broad cross-section of industries and verticals — including automotive, manufacturing, health care, energy, oil and gas, retail, pharmaceuticals, and e-commerce — will need to become familiar with the following:
- Digital manufacturing
- 3-D printing
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Internet of things (IoT)
- Blockchain
- Robotics
Growth of data management
Today’s operations and supply chain leaders rely on data about products, customers, vendors, and suppliers to make informed decisions. To be successful in this industry, you must understand how to responsibly store, distribute, and use data to improve business outcomes.
This knowledge will help you ensure efficient data warehouses and accurate master data, in addition to facilitating cloud computing and structured and unstructured data management.
Increased use of logistical software and programming languages
There is still a heavy focus on the use of Microsoft Excel in operations and supply chain management, but the industry is seeing the emergence of other tools and programming languages, such as:
- SQL
- Python
- SAS
- Tableau
- R
Top 10 skills in the operations and supply chain management industry
In the operations and supply chain management industry, 80% of the fastest-growing skills relate to some form of business or supply chain competency, while the remaining 20% require basic technological competencies.
Here are the top 10 skills that will see the highest projected growth in the operations and supply chain management industry:
Skill |
Projected Posting Growth (2018-2023) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Office and productivity tools | 44% |
| Advanced Microsoft Excel | 37% |
| Supply chain planning | 28% |
| Supply chain planning (material requirement planning [MRP]) | 25% |
| Enterprise resource planning (ERP) | 25% |
| Key performance indicators (KPIs) | 25% |
| Supply chain planning (manufacturing resource planning ) | 25% |
| Business strategy | 24% |
| Basic customer service | 23% |
| Leadership and management | 22% |
| Performance management | 15% |
Source: Burning Glass Occupational Insights, 2019
Outlook for new graduates
Furthering your education in operations and supply chain management can help boost your confidence and provide you with a sense of achievement. It can also increase your value in the workforce.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- Logistics professionals earn an average salary of $74,750
- The most experienced logistics managers earn more than $120,400
- Employment growth will be partly driven by the need for logistics in the transportation of goods in a global economy
