Logistics is now an attractive career choice

So, you are thinking about a career in logistics and supply chain? You are not alone, one huge and unforeseen event has raised awareness of the global importance of this vital sector—and shown it to be an attractive career choice. That event was the global COVID-19 pandemic, which erupted during the first half of 2020.

What is the Role of the Supply Chain Worker?

In the simplest terms, those connected to the supply chain industry are involved in one way or another in contributing to or managing the process of making or procuring goods and ensuring they reach the end-customer on time and in good order, with customer satisfaction and profitability being a priority.

Why Choose a Job in the Supply Chain Industry?

A career in logistics offers so much diversity to so many workers. These are some of them:

- It gives you an in-depth overview of the entire organisation. You learn the suppliers’ business, you learn the customers’ business.
- It touches many departments, from production, procurement, shipping, accounting, and finance to marketing, warehousing, research and development, and sales.
- It’s a constantly-changing, ever-expanding industry.
- Supply chain management is increasingly making an impact on the overall functioning of the business and influencing C-suite decisions.
- It allows you a variety of experiences—no two days are ever alike.
- There is enormous scope for movement within the organisation, including changing careers.
- Supply chain management is increasingly becoming a clear path to the C-suite.

In short, the industry offers something for everyone—for those who enjoy physical activity, for those inclined towards the intellectual and/or analytical, and for others who desire some combination of both. There is plenty of opportunity for those who like to lead and manage, and for those who prefer to be led and inspired to contribute positively to the organisation.

In addition, it is entirely possible to make significant career changes within the sector—and, conceivably, even within the same company. For example, a member of the sales team could apply to become a purchasing agent, based on her experience of negotiating sales deals.

Until the pandemic throttled global supply chains and emptied supermarket shelves, the industry had suffered an image problem. It was seen as an unglamorous, little-understood niche field.

As a result, there is a global shortage of supply chain talent and there are plenty of jobs to be had.

One study shows that one in three companies in the United States has jobs that are taking nine to 12 months to fill. Another study reveals that the demand for supply chain talent exceeds supply by 6 to 1. This is expected to widen to 9 to 1 in the years ahead.

This demand is expected to increase dramatically in the wake of the pandemic, as most companies have learned—the hard way—the importance of having staff with sufficient depth of talent and experience to adapt the supply chain to changing conditions and handle unexpected disruptions.

The pandemic has increased the importance of supply chain, posited it as a ‘cool’ career choice, and strengthened the need for job seekers to improve their supply chain skill sets.

Let me encourage you to join this exciting and challenging industry. Supply Chain is so extensive that anyone choosing this career path can find something to satisfy their goals and objectives.

Think about what type of thing you would like to be doing. For example, you can be doing finance in supply chain, or you can be doing operations.

Another option is to work in a warehouse, or in transport, or maybe in customer service where you are dealing with people all the time. If engineering is your thing, you could join a third-party logistics company and focus on solutions design.

You could be particularly numerate, or into analysis. Do you want to be managing people?

Decide which niche suits you best then go for it!

What Qualifications Will I Need?
ShippingCollege runs some really good online logistics and supply chain courses to get your foot in the door of this fascinating industry.