The importance of supply chain managers has recently hit the public eye.
These professionals were needed to ensure essential ingredients for medications, ventilators and vaccines could be delivered around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. And breakdowns in corporate supply chains over the last few years have led to shortages of food, toilet paper and other basic necessities.
Supply chain managers monitor the flow of shipments to factories and oversee the movement of products to store shelves. Supply chain management is important not only in the manufacturing, wholesaling and retail industries, but also in the technology sector, since major corporations that store sensitive data about product users need to place that information on reliable and secure computer servers, according to experts on the field.
“The title of supply chain manager has never had more interest than it has since the pandemic,” says Jason Miller, associate professor of supply chain management and interim chairperson of the supply chain management department at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad Graduate School of Management. “I don’t ever see the profession flying under the radar like it did pre-COVID.”
What to Look for in an MBA Program
Those interested in joining the field will want to consider attending a Master of Business Administration program that offers numerous solid courses about supply chains. Some B-schools offer a concentration, major or specialization in supply chain management, which is sometimes called logistics, while other schools offer a curriculum track that relates closely to this academic discipline, such as courses of study in production or operations management.
Supply chain management MBA concentrations typically include classes on materials sourcing, manufacturing design, corporate sustainability initiatives and best practices for satisfying customers who order a company’s products.
Aspiring supply chain managers should sign up for MBA courses that help them boost their skills in quantitative analysis, strategic thinking and decision-making, Miller says.
“You don’t want it to be all numbers crunching or all algorithms, because that’s more engineering, but at the same time, you do need to have some skills and experience working with data to make decisions,” he adds. “You want that balance.”
Courses on artificial intelligence and machine learning are useful for future supply chain managers, since automation is frequently used to make supply chains nimbler, according to supply chain management faculty. Anyone interested in supply chain management should also learn about market forecasting and anticipating market disruptions, since circumstances beyond a company’s control often affect its supply chains, these professors say.
Lessons on leadership and team-building are also valuable for a career in supply chain management, which necessitates providing clear instructions to front-line workers and motivating them.
Thomas Roemer, a senior lecturer in operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Business and executive director of the university’s Leaders for Global Operations program, explains that while most B-schools teach students about the fundamental rules of supply chains, what differentiates MBA programs in this field is the extent to which they provide practical experience, leadership training and technical knowledge.
Business school students should be granted opportunities to work on supply chain consulting projects for real businesses, experts say. It’s also helpful when supply chain B-school classes include meaningful projects that can be advertised to employers and described in resumes. If supply chain MBA students are automatically connected with internships in the field, that’s a real plus, according to experts.
Reynold Byers, vice chair of the supply chain management department at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, encourages MBA hopefuls to ask about whether the MBA curriculum on supply chain management is updated regularly and to inquire about whether an advisory council of supply chain executives is involved in influencing what content is taught.
MBA applicants with an interest in supply chain management should look up alumni of their target schools on LinkedIn and check on whether they have supply chain jobs and a range of job titles, says Byers, a clinical professor of supply chain management at ASU.
Demand for People With Supply Chain Management Education
A salary and career report published this year by the Association for Supply Chain Management reveals that overall compensation in the field increased by 12% between 2020 and 2021, and the median salary among supply chain managers with Master of Arts, Master of Science or Master of Business Administration degrees was $108,000 in 2021.
Byers says the new and widespread public recognition of the importance of logistics in business has increased the amount of investment that companies are making in their supply chain management divisions.
Twenty-five years ago, the general public had limited awareness of the existence of supply chain networks, Byers says. However, the visible negative repercussions of damage to those networks — such as empty store shelves — have made the public more aware of what a supply chain is and why it matters, he says.
“With that public pressure, companies have to act,” Byers adds. “You have to respond to your customers.”
Krupa Jagannath, who received an MBA degree at ASU in May 2022 before launching her supply chain career, emphasizes that most companies cannot succeed without reliable supply chain networks.
“If you can’t get the end product to the user, at the end of the day, your business is failing at some point,” says Jagannath, a technical program manager at the Applied Materials manufacturing firm who is participating in the company’s 18-month supply chain rotation program for new graduates.
Roemer says part of what makes the Amazon retail website successful is that it meets customers’ expectations to receive the products they order in a timely fashion.
There’s a common misconception that there is a ceiling on what level of leadership someone can achieve at a company if they begin in a supply chain position, Roemer says. In fact, there are many chief executive officers, chief operating officers and other executives who started their careers as supply chain managers.
The collaboration, problem-solving and team-building skills necessary for supply chain business jobs are also relevant for other kinds of business positions, he says. “You learn skills that are transferrable well beyond the realm of supply chain management.”
Searching for a business school? Get our complete rankings of Best Business Schools.
More from U.S. News
Is an MBA Worth It? How to Decide
How An MBA Can Lead to Career Change
MBA Programs That Trained Fortune 500 CEOs
What You Can Do With an MBA in Supply Chain Management originally appeared on usnews.com
