Career in Supply Chain Management

Ever wondered how the goods reach markets and malls all intact and that too attractively packed? The hard work of efficient supply chain professionals is behind this.

What is Supply Chain Management?

 From collecting raw material to manufacturing to reaching the consumers - a product goes through a chain of events before it reaches you. The career in managing various activities in this chain is called Supply Chain Management (SCM) or Logistics management. This fuction is extremely critical to the whole retail industry.

For example a supply chain for HDTV will have:

• Various companies contributing to building the components
• assembling the final product and
• moving it through the supply chain. The objective of the supply chain is to have the final product accessible for purchase from your favorite store or website.

With efficient supply chain management we can also bring down the cost of goods considerably. A job profile in this field will also include planning, implementation and controlling the flow of goods & services and legal requirements.

Courses available in SCM

SCM courses are generally offered at postgraduate degree and diploma levels. Such courses usually require you to have a Bachelor's degree in any stream (preferably in retail management/finance/B.E. /B. Tech/BBA) with minimum 50% marks from a recognised university. However, few institutes also offer part-time courses at diploma, certificate, postgraduate degree and post graduate diploma levels.

It is advisable to pursue a course in subjects pertaining to Logistics, such as CLP (Certified Logistics practitioner), Business logistics, supply chain management or transport management.

Some of the most popular courses in this field are:

• M.Sc. Logistics and Supply Chain Management
• Degree in Business Logistics 
• Degree in Advanced Logistics Management 
• Logistics Network Design and Supply Chain Management 
• Degree in Transportation Economics 
• MBA in logistics 
• PgD in Materials & Logistics Management

Job Prospects:

Performance of supply chain is directly proportional to the productivity of a company. With the retail boom in the country, a career in SCM is both challenging and rewarding option. You could get the following job profiles after completing the required qualifications:

• Commodity Buyer
• Supply Planner
• Supplier Manager
• Purchasing Executives
• Implementation Manager
• Procurement Officer
• Material Manager
• Inventory Manager
• Head of Supply 
• Head of Procurement.

Remuneration:

You can earn between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per month as a beginer in this field. After a year or two of experience, you can expect a package of Rs 18,000 to Rs 22,000 a month. Those working at a higher level can easily earn Rs 8 to Rs 12 lacs a year.

Probable institutes with SCM courses:

• Indian Institute of Materials Management
• Lead Global Management Institute
• CII Institute of Logistics (CIL)
• National Institute of Retail Management 
• University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (for MBA in Logistics & Supply Chain Management)
• uts

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