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Supply Chain Management Advising Guide

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What is Supply Chain Management?

Supply chain management (SCM) embraces the full range of processes required to get goods and services to customers worldwide. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) offers the following description:

‘Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. It also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.’ One way to visualize and understand the reach of supply chain management is to look about you at the many products and services in your environment. Select five products that are closest to you at this moment. Ask the following questions –

  1. How did each product get to this point?
  2. What are the component parts of each product?
  3. What firms supplied the component parts and how did the parts get to suppliers?
    What firms supplied the suppliers and their suppliers?
  4. Who purchased the inputs for the manufacturers to build the product?
  5. How and why was the product constructed in the manner that you see?
  6. What was the role of warehouses and distribution centers in getting the product to you?
  7. What role did transportation-related services play in getting the product in your hands?
  8. Why and where did you purchase your product?
  9. How were all of these functions, activities, and processes coordinated and integrated?
  10. Are you a satisfied customer?

Answers to the above ten questions guide you through the range of integrative functions and processes required for successful supply chain management. Supply chain professionals are engaged in purchasing, production, transportation, storage, distribution, customer service, and a host of processes that ‘connect’ each of these functions. The Supply Chain Management & Logistics major in the Mitchell College of Business prepares you for careers in each of the exciting and challenging components of the supply chain.

Is Supply Chain Management a career match for you?

Supply chain and logistics-oriented functions account for over ten percent of the entire U.S. Gross Domestic Product. This involves everything from transportation, distribution, warehousing and all related areas. Given the pivotal force of supply chain activities in both the domestic and global economies, there is continuous need for talented leadership at all levels. The pervasiveness of supply chain activities means that all organizations need supply chain talent, whether industry, government, or military. 

What are you looking for in a career? Do you want a career field that allows you to be analytical, creative, entrepreneurial, value-driven, in a high-energy, team-based, performance-oriented environment? If the answer is yes, you are a perfect match for many of the varied career fields in Supply Chain Management. As firms strive to enhance
competitiveness in global markets, Supply Chain Management is at the center of the action! Organizations are constantly seeking innovative, cost-effective, customer-centered means of getting goods and services across the globe. This is the central challenge of SCM. If this challenge is for you, join the energy and contribute to the success of the new SCM Concentration in the Mitchell College of Business.

The Supply Chain Management field demands high performance and rewards accordingly. Annual salary surveys indicate professionals in SCM enjoy very competitive salaries and high levels of job satisfaction. SCM participants in the following areas – Materials Handling, Inventory Control, Purchasing, Warehousing, Import-Export Operations, Planning, Fleet Operations, Distribution/Logistics, Computer Systems, and Supply Chain Management leadership positions - have consistently realized salary gains at satisfactory levels. As SCM positions are expected to grow with opportunities in the global economy, you too can become an integral part of this exciting process. Join the Supply Chain & Logistics Management team in the Mitchell College of Business today!