Career Opportunities
Career Options After MBA in Supply Chain Management (2022)
Career Options After MBA in Supply Chain Management
The supply chain industry is gaining much attention considering its massive contribution to running a smooth and profitable business. It is one of the smartest sectors to work in. As simple as it may look, it needs reasonable decision-making skills and thorough knowledge of the entire process. To simply put, supply chain management involves maximizing quality, customer satisfaction, delivery, and profitability by handling the whole production flow, starting from raw materials to finished products.
You can understand this with a simple example. If you want to cook something, let us say noodles, then the first thing you need to do is buy all the required groceries. You would visit the nearest store or order online. In both scenarios, the store must have all the items in stock. You buy these items; they are your raw materials. To eat them, you will have to process these raw materials. In your case, it would involve cutting vegetables, boiling the noodles, and making a sauce.
You then process it further to enhance its flavor and cook it until ready to eat. If you want to send it across to a friend, you would have to pack it safely so that it does not spill or leak and remains hot at the same time. This step is the packaging of the product. To deliver it across, you would book a slot on the delivery apps, add details, and track the order until it reaches.
Career Options After MBA in Supply Chain Management
Now, your friend who would enjoy your tasty noodles might not be aware of all the steps you had to complete. This process is your supply chain management, right from procuring raw materials and converting them to quality products through processing, followed by logistics and delivery. The chain goes as shown:
Storekeeperà Youà Delivery guyà Friend.
This supply chain differs for every product, but the process is similar. When no connection or sequence is being followed between the steps, it leads to wastage, loss of time, loss of resources, and loss in profits. This is why every business incorporates a robust supply chain management system in its process. Supply chain management jobs in India are gathering demand and let us understand the opportunities further.
The vast world and its vast opportunities
There was just one product/ dish in the above noodles example. But when we think of running a business, the number of products to be made is pretty high, and thus the process would be even more complex. The chain of suppliers would be much longer. Consider a company whose product is painted. The chain would look something like this:
Suppliers: Raw materials: chemicalsàcolors/bleachesàsolventsàpackaging material/tins/cans.
This is just the chain for suppliers. Big businesses would be dealing with multiple suppliers simultaneously as the quantity they require is enormous.
To manage all of this smoothly, with accurate results and minimal wastage, we need a sound supply chain management system in place; that is when the business has a strong base and can run smoothly. The high involvement of companies and corporate offices in establishing a robust supply chain system has led to vast opportunities in this field.
If you always wonder and are interested in knowing and understanding what goes behind the making of a product or what happens behind the scenes, then this is definitely your right fit. A core interest in managing, dealing with different groups, striking a good deal, reducing wastage, and getting work done on time smoothly with the available resources is all you will need.
Jobs after MBA in supply chain management:
A master’s degree in supply chain management will prepare a candidate for managerial, analyst, and entrepreneurial roles. After MBA in logistics and supply chain management, let us look at a few jobs.
1. Industry analyst:
As an industry analyst, you will have to research markets; they could be primary or secondary markets. The industry analysts access financial data to advise investors about beneficial financial programs. The primary duties include creating segment taxonomies, developing industrial models, preparing forecasts, and assembling spreadsheets. This role needs you to have a perspective that looks at broader industry-wide trends.
Supply chain analyst salary in India: 4.1 lakhs per year to 13.8 lakhs per year.
2. Project manager:
A project manager is assigned tasks that involve managing client expectations, building project plans, scheduling tasks, and looking over the team. The project allotted may take inputs from project management such as process improvement in manufacturing settings, monitoring compliance for a product lifecycle, making logistic recommendations after thorough analysis. This role demands quick decision-making skills backed up with good reasoning skills and a personality that can manage multi-tasking.
Salary as a project manager in India: 3.9 lakhs per year to 25 lakhs per year.
3. Supply chain sales manager:
As a supply chain sales manager, you would have to keep track of the logistics and regularly update the company’s inventory. There is the involvement of operations and fulfillment of orders by acting as a mediator between sales and supply chain operators. Good knowledge of ERP systems and relevant software is an excellent skill. The main aim is to improve productivity and reduce costs while ensuring high-quality material. A supply chain sales manager also analyzes operational performance and solves any issues. Collaborating with vendors and suppliers to conduct the smooth running of processes is another task.
As a supply chain sales manager in India, the salary is 3.7 lakhs per year to 26 lakhs per year.
4. Procurement analyst/ Purchasing manager:
This role includes buying, selling, and distributing after a thorough inspection and testing of the vendor products. It requires communicating with vendors to strike deals and negotiations, forming contracts, documenting costs, and generating reports. They also review new project proposals and communicate with the sales and marketing teams to figure out working strategies. Performance-enhancing through analysis and discussions is another responsibility.
Salary as a procurement analyst/purchasing manager in India: 2.5 lakhs per year to 18 lakhs per year.
5. Transportation Director
Transportation directors provide logistical support in various forms such as trucking, air shipping, waterways, and trucking. Apart from making transportation arrangements, this role also includes analysis and research, and implementation of improvements in the transportation network as it deals with procurement and distribution.
Salary as a transportation director in India: 6.5 lakhs per year on average.
There are a few fresher jobs in supply chain management, so as a fresher, there would be fair opportunities available as there is a good scope and great learning opportunities in this field. As this industry is expanding and gaining a lot of attention and importance, it is a great time to consider working in this field as over time you would gain expertise, and your skills would be in great demand, which brings to you a good hike in pay, great respect, and executive position.
A work profile that brings exciting challenges every day and allows you to put your best skills on the desk. A career in supply chain management will undoubtedly reward your skills and is highly promising.
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