Supply chain, logistics, and shipping power the economies of the world and represent one of the largest global industries. Supply chains are responsible for keeping raw materials and parts available to factories and the finished products in the stores you buy from. More recently, supply chains also plan and execute the increasingly complex e-commerce and home delivery demand for products bought online.
Supply Chains can be incredibly complex for global firms like Apple, Toyota, or Nike, or incredibly simple like a local welding shop or bakery.
The wide range of opportunities within the supply chain field is a result of its size and complexity. Firms both small and large need manager to coordinate their own supply chains, in addition to the numerous supply chain logistics companies that provide the needed services. These could be anything from trucking companies, parcel carriers like DHL, UPS, etc, ocean freight companies, warehousing companies, railroads, air freight companies, third-party logistics companies, logistics software providers. The list is nearly endless for the type of jobs and personnel needed to keep supply chains functioning smoothly.
The first step to finding a job within the supply chain industry is asking yourself what do you want to do? What niche you want to work in and your relevant experience?
Because the industry is so diverse you can find nearly any niche the interests you or that you have experience in.
Your network is always a great source of warm openings. Chances are there are several people within your personal network that work in the supply chain, it might be the location or type of job you’d want, but an inside introduction is often a great way to get your foot in the door at a firm.
Travel opportunities also draw some to the industry, as many firms have teams that travel to their global warehouse and factory locations, then company’s such as freight forwarders or international logistics companies have customers and offices globally, which presents a great opportunity to live and work in a foreign country.
Searching for Supply Chain Opportunities
Once you know have an idea of what niche or type of career you want in the field. Start the search for companies to proactively reach out to. Of course like any job hunt, when finding a job in the supply chain logistics industry, it can be a great idea to proactively reach out to the companies you are interested in. This will not only show them you are interested but also potentially result in offers or interviews even if they don’t have a position posted. An introduction by someone from your network would be an even stronger way to get your foot in the door even when the firm doesn’t have a job posted as available.
Make a list of companies you’d be interested in talking to, often just googling logistics or related firms. You’d surprised at the sheer number of the supply chain, shipping, and transportation companies near any port, metropolitan area or even just mid-sized cities.
What about recent graduates?
Most supply chain-related firms offer some form of co-op or internships in addition to recruiting new graduates. Internships and co-ops are a near sure way to have a career waiting for you once you graduate. Even if you realize the firm you interned at isn’t the right fit, the internship opportunity, and particularly if you can leverage a reference or letter of recommendation from it, is a great way to be at the top of the list for any position.
A large number of people in the supply chain industry didn’t actually study supply chain, so even if you didn’t directly study supply chain, there are certainly opportunities in the industry. Software developers and engineers are highly sought after within the supply chain logistics industry as so many firms are developing their own technology or tech solutions companies that provide services for other companies.
Many universities have tie-ins with some of the larger supply chain firms and shippers, this is a great starting point as well, and can serve as a way to get an interview or a behind the scenes look at the day-to-day of a supply chain-related career.
Small Supply Chain Firms
Many of the internships, co-ops, university relationships, etc will be with the larger companies both from the customer and provider sides of the industry. These are certainly great opportunities, but you’d be overlooking many, many more opportunities by only looking at the largest firms. There is a multitude of smaller companies that both need managers to run their own supply chains and logistics service providers looking to expand their teams. These often will give you a greater breadth of experience as you’ll be more relied upon to “get it done”, in the sense that their teams will be smaller.
Take a moment to search supply chain startups, and you’ll be amazed to see the number of relatively new, often tech-based digital supply chain firms that have been started within the last 6-8 years. These are also great places to search for jobs. While a start-up will be a more hectic experience than a more established company, you’ll likely have the chance to be promoted quicker, while working in a fast-paced company. Just like with smaller firms, you’ll get more experience doing more things, perhaps even launching new services, products or locations, which is a unique experience that’s very different from working in a more traditional global firm.
Supply Chain Careers 2021
With the ongoing covid pandemic still a major disrupter, the hiring processes for many supply chain firms will be a little different. Expect more opportunities to work remotely for firms that might not even have an office in your location. While many supply chain firms will return to some form of office-based work, work from home has proven itself as viable for many companies, so likely some form of work from home is here to stay within the supply chain industry.
Data analytics, supply chain resilience, automation, better data connectivity, more connected devices, and a more careful look at global processing are going to be strong trends that firms will be hiring for throughout the industry in 2021. Good at sales? Well, you’ll have plenty of options for both established and new firms within the supply chain industry. For new firms wanting to expand their geographic reach or build volume, putting a marketing and sales team together will be a major component of their yearly plan.
The rapid growth of e-commerce has also meant that warehousing and fulfillment demand is higher than ever, with many firms hiring to support their e-commerce growth and efficiency, along with logistics providers expanding the range of e-commerce supporting fulfillment services they offer.
Conclusion
The supply chain is huge, with so many different needs, types of companies, locations, languages and knowledge needed that no matter your background or degree is, you’ll be able to find an opportunity somewhere within the supply chain industry.
Zmodal is a top intermodal shipping company providing door to door intermodal, and full truckload services nationwide throughout our digital supply chain dashboard which provides easy route searching, booking, document management, and analytics.
