Supply Chain Management

It's a fairly broad business function that can include logistics, procurement, process improvements, etc. It's relative importance usually depends on the sector. Employment is usually pretty stable but compensation isn't as good as other business areas in most cases.

Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers (Harland, 1996). Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption (supply chain).

Another definition is provided by the APICS Dictionary when it defines SCM as the "design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally."

Lol thanks for the dictionary definitions.

this. if you're an OS member, then you will be paid less (in bonuses) for being in SCM vs. sales

I think you'll make less in SCM than most other core (or core-ish, at least) business functions. But the trade off, at least with sales, is usually better hours and more interesting and challenging work.

i agree for the most part (i'm in SCM/quality) but i'd like try sales out ps. it's makes me a sad man when i find out the same OS members of other groups get paid 3x what i make

Can anyone enlighten me as to what "OS" means?

Other Shit

It's not the greatest career path, IMO. My wife is in supply chain and she's really f*cking good at it, but it tends to be a department that is often underrated. I think this is what causes the salary lag. It often doesn't get a lot of respect because so few people really realize what a core function it is; how much savings it can provide. Also, assuming you're in the US, supply chain is almost a shrinking job function as so little is manufactured here anymore, and distributorships tend to like making purchase and inventory decisions at the marketing level. Supply chain gets relegated to a functional, as opposed to strategic, role. That said, the hours are usually decent, and the work is less stressful and demanding than sales, so the lifestyle can be good.

You bring up some good points. If you want to make it rain SCM is definitely not the place for you, that's for sure. It does offer, however, probably the best combination of hours, wages, and interesting work of most major business functions. As far as it becoming a shrinking job function, that depends. At its basic level (i.e. routine procurement, some logistics) it certainly is shrinking because most of that work can be outsourced. At a strategic level, however, it's actually growing because a number of big companies have realized how much of a competitive edge it can provide. LG's new CPO (Chief Procurement Officer) saved the company an estimated $1 billion in his first year on the job by reorganizing the company's sourcing functions. $1 billion! Think about that. Although manufacturing is certainly crawling along in the US, SCM is still a pretty damn important function for a number of American companies, most notably food and beverage producers, airlines, oil and gas, etc. Finally, it is an underrated business function. That means it doesn't always get the credit it deserves, but it also means that talented people can have an amazing impact in the area.

SCM is also includes reverse logistics, which I think the potential in america can be huge. it's definitely very interesting and VERY UNDERRATED. I don't know about the hours... I think that depends on the company. The biggest problem with marketing poeple dealing with supply chain is that they can order/produce too many because they don't understand proper product life cycle development or etc. (their primary focus is to buy as much as possible and unload it to as many people as possible, which can overload the market) OS = operations support (ie. financial analysts, business analysts, etc.)

Like all business functions it has its own pros and cons but I'm actually pretty optimistic about the outlook for SCM in North America. Businesses finally seem to be realizing that spending billions of dollars a year without worrying about how strategically or efficiently they make their purchases or move their products is not a good decision.