Keystone logo

Why Study Supply Chain Management?

“Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products,” says Investopedia. Comprising everything from product development to production, supply chain management, or SCM, helps companies deliver products faster and for less. The result? More satisfied and loyal customers. Thinking of pursuing a career in SCM? Here’s a closer look at why it’s a great choice, along with one course of action that gives aspiring SCM leaders an invaluable inside edge.

Jun 18, 2019
  • Education
Why Study Supply Chain Management?

“Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products. It involves the active streamlining of a business's supply-side activities to maximize customer value and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace,” says Investopedia. Comprising everything from product development to production, supply chain management, or SCM, helps companies deliver products faster and for less. The result? More satisfied and loyal customers.

Thinking of pursuing a career in SCM? Here’s a closer look at why it’s a great choice, along with one course of action that gives aspiring SCM leaders an invaluable inside edge.

Why choose a career in supply chain management?

While the continued growth of the e-commerce sector has transformed the retail sector, one thing remains certain: any business involving the procurement, storage, and dispatching of goods requires logistics. Enter SCM, which seeks to make these processes as economical and efficient as possible.

Specifically, good SCM can facilitate a number of desirable organizational outcomes for businesses and their constituents, including the following, according to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (GSCMP):

  • Boosting customer service by ensuring that the right amount of the right product is delivered at the right time with appropriate sales support.
  • Reducing operating costs by decreasing purchasing and production costs as well as total supply chain costs.
  • Improving a business’s financial position by increasing profit leverage, decreasing fixed assets, and increasing class flow.

SCMP also serves a lesser known but equally important role in society. “SCM knowledge and capabilities can be used to support medical missions, conduct disaster relief operations, and handle other types of emergencies,” says CSCMP. Societal impacts of SCM can include:

  • Ensuring human survival through the delivery of basic necessities, improving human healthcare, and protecting humans from climate extremes
  • Improving quality of life by providing a foundation for economic growth, enhancing standards of living through infrastructure, job creation, and the opportunity to decrease energy use
  • Protecting cultural freedom and development through the better use of military logistics and the safeguarding of food, medicine and water supply chains

Working in SCM has other benefits as well. For starters, nearly all businesses rely on SCM in some capacity, so local job availability is usually strong. On the flip side, if you desire a job with travel, many logistic jobs require international travel in our increasingly globalized society.

According to the US Bureau of Job Security, employment growth will continue to be strong in the years ahead, driven by the need for SCM in the global economy. The pay is good, too: the median pay for a logistician is $74,600 with plenty of room for salary growth with experience and education.

It is for these and other reasons that not only are more millennials deciding to work in -- and stay in -- this dynamic field, but they are also reporting extremely high job satisfaction rates, according to a research report conducted by Peerless Research Group in conjunction with Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR) and the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC). Abe Eshkenazi, CEO of APICS, the association for supply chain management, said of the findings, “We see that more millennials started their career in supply chain, are moving around less, are highly satisfied with their jobs and see more opportunities for advancement in the field.”

Is a supply chain management career right for you?

So SCM has many benefits, but is it the right fit for you based on your skills, talents, training and experience? According to APICS, foundational academic competencies include math, statistics and analytical thinking; reading and writing for comprehension; applied science and technology; supply chain fundamentals; foundations of business management; and operations and enterprise economics.

However, ‘soft’ skills also come into play, including problem-solving and decision making, teamwork and collaboration, accountability and responsibility, customer focus, planning and organizing, conflict management, enabling technology, awareness of the needs of others, integrity, continuous learning, effective communication, interpersonal skills and creativity.

Within the field of supply chain management, meanwhile, there are many areas of specialization. These may include supply chain design and planning; procurement and supply management; freight transportation; warehouse design and management; distribution network design and planning; inventory management and control; and customer service.

Differentiate yourself with a degree

One way to gain sought-after SCM skills while simultaneously demonstrating your proficiency to employers -- both in terms of being hired and advancing to more senior positions? Studies in supply chain management. This is where the Master in International Supply Chain Management at ESDES comes in.

This English-taught program helps students develop the skills and abilities they need to manage people, processes, and technologies in interconnected operational environments and systems. It also prepares them to source products worldwide, to develop expertise in operations management and material sourcing, and to identify risks in supply chains.

Students learn from highly qualified faculty members who have worked for some of the world’s largest international supply chain, warehousing, shipping, and logistics companies. Students also benefit from a robust network of internship and job opportunities.

Born within the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy) and a member of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE), ESDES is committed to creating “responsible manager-entrepreneurs” within today’s complex world. Its master’s degree program has been recognized and awarded by France’s Ministry of Higher Education and Research, while the school is currently engaged in the process of acquiring international accreditations like the AACSB.

One last thing to consider when contemplating a career in SCM is that the job was recently ranked by Glassdoor in the top 20 jobs in the US. Supply Chain Dive says of this ranking, “With the [designation], a perceived talent crisis, and industry shifts, it is an exciting time to begin working in the supply chain. After all, supply chain management as an employment field continues to grow rapidly as companies see the need for end-to-end value chain integration and its potential to drive down operational costs.”

So there’s no better time to work in SCM, and no better way to get there than with ESDES’s Master in International Supply Chain Management.

Find your perfect program

Use our search to find and compare programs from universities all over the world!

Supply Chain Management
Joanna Hughes

Author

Joanna worked in higher education administration for many years at a leading research institution before becoming a full-time freelance writer. She lives in the beautiful White Mountains region of New Hampshire with her family.