Articles
Reskilling to Boost Your Career
1 de May de 2024
A Master of the Supply Chain
You grab your phone and order a product online. You wait a couple of days, and… ta-da! It’s at your doorstep. Seems easy, right? Yet, behind this entire process lies a meticulous management and planning effort involving numerous activities and people.
The supply chain is essentially what ensures customers receive their orders. In the past, this process focused solely on buying, storing, and transporting goods. However, in today’s context, the supply chain faces various challenges, including managing demand, optimizing inventory, coordinating among multiple suppliers, and adapting to market changes and customer needs.
In this evolving landscape, it’s absolutely critical to capitalize on industry tactics and technological advancements. That’s precisely why there’s a growing demand for professionals who are able to lead, innovate, adapt, and predict market shifts. Let’s dive into the role of the Supply Chain Manager.
What are Supply Chain Managers and what’s their role?
Business success is linked to product quality, differentiation from competitors, meeting customer demands, and adding extra value. To accomplish this, having a Supply Chain Manager is vital. They collaborate with suppliers, manufacturers, carriers, and more in order to ensure the end product reaches customers. Interestingly, within this process, the Supply Chain Manager also fulfills various other significant roles.
Stock management
The primary goal of a Supply Chain Manager is to cut costs by improving how things are stored and managed. They achieve this by organizing items effectively, maintaining them in good condition, and being mindful of expenses. They must also plan how the warehouse is arranged, taking into account the staff, machinery, and giving priority to key products.
Transportation control
An effective Supply Chain Manager doesn’t just focus on ensuring products leave the warehouse in top condition but also guarantees their seamless arrival at the destination. This involves coordinating and fostering strong communication with both internal and external transportation companies. By doing so, they can oversee and manage transportation times and efficiency, which are key to ensuring customer satisfaction.
Leading and organizing activities
Effective management of human teams constitutes a vital aspect of supply chain operations, making it a key responsibility for the Supply Chain Manager. This role demands exceptional leadership and communication skills to effectively convey goals and performance metrics to the team, ensuring alignment with the supply chain goals. It also involves having great negotiation skills with potential clients, suppliers, and distribution companies, alongside strong problem-solving abilities and an inclination towards adaptability in the face of change.
Máster en Supply Chain Management & Logistics
El Máster en Supply Chain Management & Logistics de EAE Barcelona te permitirá cubrir toda la cadena de suministro “end-to-end”, desde proveedores a clientes, incluyendo todos los procesos de diseño, planificación, ejecución y gestión asociados.
Más información
Supply chain: Keys to leading the logistics sector
On our path to success within the logistics sector, there are two key aspects that we must pay close attention to: digitalization and the modernization of our systems. The Supply Chain Manager bears the responsibility of ensuring all employees receive the essential training to adeptly navigate through emerging changes and challenges. In fact, taking a moment to reflect and analyze the challenges and strengths of the company and each worker is beneficial. Only by doing that can we enhance our competitiveness and meet market demands.
Employment opportunities for a Supply Chain Manager
Initially, you might think that the Supply Chain Manager role, being relatively new and not widely understood until recently, doesn’t offer many job opportunities. But that’s not the case! Thanks to advancements in technology and industry, it has become a role that companies worldwide are actively looking to hire.
In the future, we’re likely to see a considerable rise in logistical activity, primarily driven by the growth of e-commerce and ICT, the expansion of international trade, and the increasing trend of on-demand production.
You can see now how the traditional logistics role isn’t keeping up with the changing needs of the industry. That’s why professionals who specialize in Supply Chain Management can do a lot: from handling purchases and logistics to offering advice and creating new ways to manage products. These experts are also equipped to lead projects that help companies go global, presenting abundant opportunities in today’s interconnected and tech-centric world. This highlights just how crucial this profession is and will be in the industry’s future.
