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Supply Chain Manager

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Supply Chain Manager

Supply Chain Manager

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Global Supply Chain Director, Material Requirements Planning Manager, Solution Design and Analysis Manager, Supply Chain Director, Supply Chain Manager

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Determine appropriate equipment and staffing levels to load, unload, move, or store materials.
  • Manage activities related to strategic or tactical purchasing, material requirements planning, controlling inventory, warehousing, or receiving.
  • Select transportation routes to maximize economy by combining shipments or consolidating warehousing and distribution.
  • Define performance metrics for measurement, comparison, or evaluation of supply chain factors, such as product cost or quality.
  • Implement new or improved supply chain processes to improve efficiency or performance.
  • Develop procedures for coordination of supply chain management with other functional areas, such as sales, marketing, finance, production, or quality assurance.
  • Confer with supply chain planners to forecast demand or create supply plans that ensure availability of materials or products.
  • Analyze inventories to determine how to increase inventory turns, reduce waste, or optimize customer service.
  • Negotiate prices and terms with suppliers, vendors, or freight forwarders.
  • Analyze information about supplier performance or procurement program success.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    It's useful to be good at
    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

    Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

    Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

    Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

    Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

    Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

    Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

    Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2022
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $27.78 $36.37 $47.39 $62.62 $81.28
    Yearly $57,780 $75,640 $98,560 $130,240 $169,070
    Arizona Hourly $28.08 $36.34 $42.65 $54.06 $72.73
    Yearly $58,400 $75,590 $88,710 $112,440 $151,270
    2022 Median%
    United States $47.39 Hourly $98,560 Yearly
    Arizona $42.65 Hourly $88,710 Yearly

    Employment (2022)
    177,700 employees
    Projected growth (2022 - 2032)
    Faster than average (8% to 10%)
    Projected job openings (2022 - 2032)
    15,900
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).
    What are accelerated programs?
    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    3 year programs

    These programs allow students to fast-track their studies after admission and earn a bachelor's degree in three years or fewer while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students should talk to their academic advisor to get started.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
    What are concurrent programs?
    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
    What are joint programs?
    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    What constitutes a new program?
    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the “New Programs” option.
    What are online programs?
    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
    What is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)?
    The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a program in which residents of western states (other than Arizona) may be eligible for reduced nonresident tuition. See more information and eligibility requirements on the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program.

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