Supply chain management is a complex and comprehensive system covering all aspects of business operations. It starts with the purchase of raw materials from suppliers and ends at delivering the final products to the consumers.
The efficiency of a supply chain relies heavily on the quality and competency of the workforce. Several workers are required to execute the proper functioning of the supply chain in various settings.
For instance, people join supply chains as policy-makers, planners, and designers for strategies, administrators, operations handlers, etc. The scope of the career in supply chain management is huge.
No matter where a person gets started, it opens a diverse range of career options in a multidimensional area of the supply chain.
The first step to embark on the journey of a successful career in supply chain management starts with the relevant education.
Students who want to join supply chain management can obtain related qualifications such as a degree in economics, finance, business administration, management, and statistics. In general, an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree is mandatory to start a career in supply chain management.
However, advanced job positions at executive and managerial levels demand specialized education programs such as an online general MBA program offering supply chain management concentration.
It helps graduates develop necessary leadership, technical, analytical, and project management skills to serve at the highest paying positions.
Following is a list of 10 highest-paying supply chain management careers that professionals can go for to raise their earnings.
1. Chief Supply Chain Management Officer
Average Salary: $257,660 per year
The chief supply chain management officer is the divisional head of a company who exhibits leadership skills and has sound business knowledge and professional insight.
A typical officer at this level plans and orders all the supply chain policies, directives, and goals.
In addition, an officer is also responsible for overseeing all the business operations, including inventory management, warehousing, transportation, and distribution. A candidate must possess expertise in supply chain management ideas, procedures, and practices.
As a chief supply chain management officer, a person usually needs to report to the company’s highest officials at the management board level.
2. Vice President of Supply Chain Management
Average Salary: $257,647 per year
At a vice president level, a person is responsible for handling all the essential aspects of the supply chain operations in the company. The typical duties of a vice president include formulating the supply chain management policies and executing the operational framework complied with health and safety standards.
In addition, this executive position demands interaction with vendors and suppliers and the implementation of innovative methods to cope with supply chain challenges. An officer generally reports the progress of the company to the management leader.
3. Global Commodity Manager
Average Salary: $105,667 per year
A global commodity manager is a senior-level professional who serves at a key position in the purchasing department. At this level, a person must possess sound knowledge of local and global market trends, risk analysis, and performance management.
Moreover, an executive coordinates the procurement and commodity purchase strategy with relevant stakeholders. They act as liaisons between manufacturers, suppliers, and vendors while ensuring the procurement policy helps the company achieve business targets.
4. Purchasing Manager
Average Salary: $121,997 per year
As a purchasing manager, a person is responsible for every facet of a company’s business operations. It includes product development, cost analysis, strategic planning, and manufacturing process. Purchasing manager designs strategies and implements procedures for managing purchases smoothly.
In addition, this officer handles all the essential purchase contracts by fostering relationships with all suppliers and vendors.
The primary responsibility of a purchasing manager is to forecast demand and reduce costs while purchasing goods and materials.
5. Supply Chain Manager
Average Salary: $116,514
A supply chain manager is a person who manages and oversees all the supply chain operations of the company. The specific goal of this position is to cut down expenditures while improving the system’s efficiency while working with other stakeholders.
Other duties include supervising the staff members and managing and checking the company’s performance of suppliers and vendors to ensure quality standards.
6. Production Manager
Average Salary: $108,613 per year
The production manager creates and plans production schedules and ensures the product is produced on time and within a fixed budget.
Moreover, a manager at this level creates production cycles and allocates staff accordingly. The production manager is also responsible for improving production processes by adopting and recommending modern and updated strategies.
They provide production statistics to the higher-ups while maintaining quality control and safety standards.
7. Logistics Manager
Average Salary: $111,847 per year
A logistics manager is responsible for planning and overseeing the company’s overall logistics. The duties of a logistics manager include developing strategies to ensure product delivery to clients on time while maintaining low costs.
In addition, this manager also controls and supervises storage and distribution of materials, negotiates with suppliers and distributors, and recruits human resources for warehouse, inventory, transportation, and customer service.
8. Sourcing Manager
Average Salary: $122,200 per year
A Sourcing Manager is responsible for planning and executing the company’s sourcing strategy. This position requires researching and analysis skills to develop a snapshot of requirements, an annual budget, and sourcing documentation for a company.
Additional duties include price controlling and negotiation with concerned officials, executing better sourcing strategies to enhance service delivery, and keeping up with the latest market trends and practices.
9. Facilities Manager
Average Salary: $102,890 per year
A facilities manager maintains the buildings, services, and properties to facilitate an organization’s operations. The manager at this level is responsible for designing effective policies and developing procedures to supervise buildings, properties, and facilities for maintenance.
For instance, a person may oversee safety measures and remove mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC challenges. This manager also ensures that an organization complies with safety, environmental, and regulatory standards set by the government agencies.
10. Category Manager
Average Salary: $113,596 per year
The Category manager works on specific categories of an organization. The duties of this manager include analyzing and developing marketing techniques and predicting the trends of consumer behavior.
A category manager saves costs by utilizing insights and collaborating with vendors and suppliers.
Final Thoughts
With the rapid expansion of the eCommerce industry, supply chains are under constant pressure to tackle the growing challenges of the modern world.
They need valuable and reliable human resources to use digital technologies and keep moving with the evolving market trends.