Businesses are getting bigger, and they are developing hubs all over the world — that means the products they create need worldwide shipping infrastructure. Just look at companies like Walmart, which has 11,500 stores in 28 countries, not to mention 11 e-commerce websites around the world. The products Walmart sells have to find their way to those 11,500 stores.
Walmart is just one example of how important global logistics is to the worldwide economy. Restaurants with locations around the globe also rely on intelligent people to make sure that forks and steaks arrive in time for dinner. Clothing retailers trust their logistics experts to make sure shirts and shoes get from the factory to the store. Companies need experts to keep tabs on products, which is why degrees like the Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Supply Chain Logistics Management are catching the attention of big companies.
Taking Business Online
Like Walmart, other well-known big box stores rely on online shopping — Target, Home Depot and Lowes, to name a few. These websites add another layer of supply chain management to an already complicated network of truck routes, shipment tracking and ordering. Consumers can avoid the store altogether and have their goods shipped to their homes.
This means the post office and independent companies like FedEx and UPS have had to increase their hiring since the number of parcels continues to steadily increase. Online commerce is not restricted to big companies, either. Tiny companies also sell their goods through small online stores. Websites like Etsy.com allow crafters to create goods in their own homes, which they can sell for profit. Those goods have to be shipped, and those shipments need coordination.
Where Are the Jobs?
Supply chain management jobs are everywhere, hiding in plain sight. When people see a package on their porch or a soda in the gas station refrigerator and wonder how it got there, they think of either a person driving a forklift or their neighborhood postal worker. They often do not realize that there are many moving parts and people working behind the scenes to orchestrate that package’s timely arrival and that soda’s placement.
For years, companies have merely been keeping up with their own supply chain demands because job seekers were not aware of the demand. In fact, the logistics industry will need 270,000 additional workers each year by 2018. And these jobs pay well: usually around $80,000 a year. The problem is that current graduates have no idea these jobs even exist.
Entering the Industry
Many industries are familiar to social media audiences, but global logistics is difficult to explain on Twitter and Facebook. In order to attract future employees, logisticians tend to recruit in-person at the college level, but even then, the audience is limited.
However, students who have heard about this industry can do their due diligence and discover what skills and certifications (not to mention degrees) can make them top contenders for these valuable spots in supply chain management. Many logistics companies post articles and white papers about their processes and needs, publications that are full of helpful key terms and industry jargon. Further, students can stand out in the field by studying the industry and going on to earn an advanced degree like the Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Supply Chain Logistics Management. Entering the supply chain industry, like any industry, with advanced know-how can put candidates ahead of their peers.
Restaurants, big box stores, shipping companies and global retailers all rely on global logistics to get goods to market. Companies like Walmart, in fact, cannot operate without many supply chain managers and logistics experts working behind the scenes to keep tabs on the millions of products that must get to customers.
Learn more about the UWF’s online MBA with an emphasis in Supply Chain Logistics Management.
Sources:
Strategy + Business: Demand Growing for Supply Chain Execs
Fortune: Wanted: 1.4 Million New Supply Chain Workers by 2018
