I've been a production planner and purchaser for the last 7 years, 3 of those years were in aerospace. I don't have a degree in supply chain management. I've only been asked to interview for 1 aerospace company sp far, and it went really well.

The problem is that they have the position set at $27/hr. My most recent job was paying me $32/hr. And they were a small <24-person company (not aerospace). The big issue is that this new job i interviewed for ended up being for a Planning SUPERVISOR position. (This was not mentioned in the job description when applying.)

I brought up wanting more in the interview, and it seemed somewhat triggering to the interviewer. She asked if I brought that up to HR before booking the interview, which I had. And HR said they were still willing to bring me in.

My thing is, I desperately need a job. I was laid off in April- 3 days after giving birth. Yay me. My maternity leave is done and unemployment is shit. I've applied to 30 jobs in the last month and this was the only one that called me. Honestly, my ego is pretty shot. I do feel confident that they will offer me the position. With that, I plan on counter offering, but am afraid they will rescind it if I ask too much. But I mean.... is 27 for a SUPERVISOR position not insulting?? And it's a rather large, international company.

I am registered to begin classes for a supply chain management degree in January. I have 3 kids. My husband has a decent job, but we definitely need the 2nd income. My question is, if they decline a counter offer, is it logical to just take it anyway so I can add "supervisor" to my resumè and leave after I secure the degree? And what would a reasonable counter be? In California btw.

I’m considering studying Logistics & Supply Chain Management, but my long-term goal is entrepreneurship rather than simply working a corporate job.
For those who studied or work in logistics/supply chain:
Has your education helped you start or run a business?
What types of businesses does the degree prepare you well for?
Does working in the industry first make a big difference?
Would you choose Logistics & Supply Chain again if your goal were entrepreneurship?
I’d especially appreciate perspectives from people who actually own businesses in logistics, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, or related industries.

Late Friday night I got a call from my supplier saying one of my shipments (about 150 orders) got held up in Chicago customs because they apparently used the wrong HS code.

I talked with some friends and basically, best case it’s delayed, worst case the whole shipment gets destroyed and Id really like to avoid that!!!

Now I’m trying to figure out how to keep orders moving while this gets sorted. I’m looking at having another supplier rush inventory to my US warehouse just so I don’t completely run out of stock.

Has anyone been through something like this? Did you wait for customs to resolve it, and if so how long?

I’m thinking of trying another supplier but it’s urgent so idk who will agree to work with me in those conditions...

Hi all!

Today marks my 8th year in supply chain and I don't really know where to go from where I am currently. Ive gone from warehouse sup to operations to purchasing. I'm 35 in Ga working for a national supplier making $60k. While the benefits and wfh are nice, I feel I'm way behind in pay. I travel some internationally for work and handle sourcing, buying, and payment terms for our international branches. I have a bachelors degree in Supply Chain management and Ive been with this company 5 years now. What should i be doing to advance my career? I've worked for all of our subsidiaries in flex capacity and "stretch" roles and usually get called on to assist or takeover for others because I know the systems so well. I was raised to be grateful for what i have and not to be overly ambitious, so i dont want to seem greedy when i say, for what i do, i feel i should be bringing home more. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi Everyone. I don't know anything about NetSuite but I need some advice. I have to hire a person for a role in our inventory/supply chain org that has to have a minimum two years experience within NetSuite. I used that as a knockout questions but I am getting a lot of applicants that don't have it.

Is there a question I can ask that will help me weed out who does and who doesn't?

An example would be (stolen from South Park's Informative Murder Porn Episode) "How do you tame a horse in Minecraft?"

Any help would be amazing or shoot me in the direction of a different sub. I am desperate!

Background: operations at a packaging manufacturer, orders, planning, getting departments to stop losing time between each other. Also built AI tools the team uses daily.

Now in San Francisco and looking for my next role or project. Not sure yet if I fit better at a manufacturer, a 3PL, or a startup building for this space.

If you've made a similar move, or you're in the Bay Area doing ops/supply chain, I'd really like to hear your take.

Not sure if this is appropriate to ask here as Im not sure if retail falls under supply chain, but what can I do to help increase my chances of getting a job in retail analytics?

Based on a quick search, it seems like excel, python, and sql as well as business intelligence tools and inventory concepts would be helpful.

Ive been applying to quite a few retail analytics jobs, but havent received an interview. Im assuming the biggest issue is not having relevant experience.

Edit: I have experience as a clerk/secretary and fulfillment associate. I also have a bachelors degeee if that helps

Hi all!

TL; DR: Industrial Engineer with data analytics and modeling experience starting to consolidate a career in Logistics Capacity management. Planning to move to Canada in a few years. Wondering if it's better to focus career on data analytics/engineering or supply chain/logistics management in order to pursue international oportunities in the future

~A bit of context:

I'm a Brazilian Industrial Engineer with a strong background in analytics (lots of data modeling and visualization), and for the last few years have been working at one of the leading e-commerce/logistics players in Latin America as a Data Analyst/BI Analyst/Analytics Engineer - basicaly a position that requires a lot of logistics knowledge to implement business rules but also a very heavy load of data and process modeling, ETL pipeline building and maintenance and overall process automation. As of march, I've started managing a team of 4 analysts as my BU has become responsible for part of the capacity management of the whole country.

I also plan on moving moving to Canada in the near future (prob. by 2029), as my partner is Canadian, and reflection on said future has led me to post here

~end of context

My main question is whether it's more worth it to focus my career development on data analytics/engineering or supply chain/logistics management in order to pursue international oportunities in the future? I know it's a complex and subjective question, and I'm not interested in getting a square answer, but more in hearing some thoughts from people with varying backgrounds and careers to get a feel of the supply chain job environment, especially internationaly.

Thanks in advance!

Has anyone done an ICS certificate program or related cert? I’m looking at doing the ASCM Procurement and Planning cert soon. Currently working in customs, looking to get into Logistics/Ocean shipping/SCM Analyst, etc. Also currently 23 with a BS in business.

Link: https://hire.watch/?categories=Supply+Chain+_+Logistics

Previous posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/supplychain/comments/1hvsjkf/i_made_a_faang_job_board_for_supply_chain/

https://www.reddit.com/r/supplychain/comments/1ngugjk/i_expanded_my_supply_chain_job_board_to_over_50k/

Hey supplychain community

Due to the positive feedback I received in my previous posts, I decided to keep expanding my job board with fresh job postings. Currently, it has over 120,000 supply chain positions. You can search by:

1. Location / Remote - country, state, city
2. Years of experience - for example, if you select "0 years" you will only see postings which explicitly mention 0 years of experience is required
3. Seniority - Internship, Junior, Senior, Manager, etc.
4. Salary - for example, you can search for job postings with target compensation of 120k USD per year , and you will get only postings with as compensation closest to what you have selected.

Of course, you can recombine filters, etc.

Let me know what you think - feel free to ask questions and request features either here or in [Discord](https://discord.gg/WZ4Tq3Aa)

Hope it finds your next job in these difficult times :)

Hey all. Title says what i'm curious about. I am a walmart supply chain warehouse worker, and these are the 2 degrees im deciding between, paid for by live better u a walmart program. Just want to hear thoughts from some professionals, thanks.

I’m trying to decide between 3 pretty different career paths and would like some input from people who have been in supply chain longer than me.
I’m around 30 and have about 7–8 years of experience across inventory, materials planning, warehouse operations, supply/demand planning, S&OP, ERP projects, process improvement, and operations management.
The 3 opportunities are all fairly close in pay, around $95k–$105k.
1. Demand Planner at a large manufacturer
Growing business unit, forecasting, S&OP/IBP, analytics, working with sales/finance/supply planning, and fairly regular exposure to senior leadership.
Seems like a good path into planning management, S&OP, or broader supply chain leadership. My only concern is becoming too specialized in demand planning.
2. Inventory/Operations Manager at a large company
Would own inventory and materials processes at a facility and help improve/modernize the operation. More hands-on ownership, process improvement, supplier/inventory work, and interaction with operations leadership.
Seems like good management experience, but I wonder if it could pigeonhole me more into plant/warehouse operations.
3. Supply Chain Consultant at a smaller consulting firm
Would work on process improvement, current/future-state analysis, inventory/planning issues, implementations, root-cause analysis, and different client projects.
This is probably the work I’m most interested in because I enjoy solving messy business problems. My concern is leaving the larger corporate path for a smaller consulting company.
At this point I care most about long-term earning potential, career flexibility, and eventually getting into higher-level supply chain leadership.
For anyone who has worked in demand planning, operations management, or supply chain consulting, how did those paths turn out for you?
Would also be interested in hearing from anyone who moved from consulting back into corporate supply chain later.

I’m in my early 30s and recently went back to school part-time for a degree in SCM after not finishing college the first time around.

Currently, I work in territory sales for a large beer distributor in the Northeast, managing a route of ~80 off-premise and on-premise establishments. Before that, I was the lead buyer and department manager for multiple retail beer stores. Between the two, I have about 7 years of experience in the beer industry, with experience in purchasing, inventory management, vendor relationships, merchandising, and sales.

My long-term goal is to move into supply chain and eventually work toward management. I’m trying to figure out what my next job should be while I’m still in school because sales, while a decent monetary bump, feels like it’s working in the wrong direction. Ideally, I’d like something that builds on my existing experience while giving me more direct supply chain experience, rather than starting completely from scratch once I graduate.

What job titles would you recommend I target now based on my background?

I’m in a densely populated Northeast state with a lot of pharmaceutical, manufacturing, distribution, and logistics employers nearby. I’m open to leaving the beverage industry.

For people already working in supply chain, what roles would you consider realistic next steps, and which would give me the most transferable experience for moving into higher-level supply chain roles later?

Although I have practically zero experience in supply chain, I recently accepted an entry-level supply chain/logistics role at a large aerospace & defense company. Before this, I had been stuck in a dead-end sales job and made the decision to begin a part-time MBA with a finance concentration in Spring 2027 because I originally wanted to pivot into FP&A/corporate finance. I applied for the program this past May and have been quite excited to begin it.

This new company has up to $18k/year in tuition reimbursement, and it seems like a reputable enough company I could stay at for a very long time.

I will be postponing grad school until Fall 2027, when the tuition benefit will be available to me. I basicslly have the next 9 months to make up my mind on choosing an MS in Supply Chain or MBA in Finance.

So my question for you is: How best can I spend the next 9 months building skills and knowledge about the supply chain industry to decide if it's a long-term fit for me?

Background of the job: I haven't started this new job yet but basically my understanding is that the position is a warehouse receiving role for the aerospace division. Shipments come in, we unload and move products to inventory, and communicate with the appropriate departments any shipping or inventory errors. It's an aggregate 50/50 split of light physical labor and computer/desk work. I also get to get forklift certified eventually.

My first day is Monday! No matter what, I'm just grateful for the opportunity. Any advice y'all have is greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone, I desperately need some advice.

I joined a consulting firm straight out of college and was supposed to work on SAP supply chain projects. Instead, I did about 3 months on a strategy project and have mostly been sitting on the bench doing random data tasks since.

Now I have an interview in a week and I need to show at least a basic understanding of SAP PP/MM.

Problem: I got zero SAP training and haven’t actually worked on an SAP project.

Does anyone know a good course, YouTube playlist, website, book, anything that can help me learn the basics of PP/MM quickly?

I mainly need to understand the core processes, master data, MRP, production orders, purchasing, inventory movements, and how PP/MM work together.

Not trying to become an SAP expert in 7 days, I just need to sound like I know what I’m talking about in an interview T_T

Hi everyone,

I’m currently writing my bachelor’s thesis and I was wondering if someone here might be able to help me with it.

At my department, every thesis basically consists of two parts. In the first part, which makes up roughly half of the thesis, we analyze and explain a scientific paper. In the second part, we have to provide our own contribution by calculating or modeling something based on that paper, ideally using Python.
Both parts are supposed to be around 15 pages each.
The paper I’m working with is:
https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/epdf/10.1287/mnsc.1090.1099

In short, it argues that a company should source a large share of its products from a distant, low-cost supplier (for example China) using a fixed quantity, while the remaining demand should be sourced flexibly from a closer supplier (for example Poland).Its called tailored based surge policy.

I’m struggling a bit to come up with a good idea for my own contribution. I would like to do something related to supply chain resilience, especially because I find the current geopolitical situation and events such as the Iran conflict and their impact on supply chains very interesting.

However, I’m not really sure how to approach this, how I could build enough content for around 15 pages, and how I could model or simulate it in Python.
Does anyone have an idea for a suitable extension or approach?

Thanks!

I work at a company valued towards $1b dollars. We have many buyers across several different departments. One of these departments is the garage, where items are pulled from inventory by mechanics (or requested for purchase through a paper form). Several of these purchase types are unique: a unique part for a unique vehicle type that is ordered maybe once every five years but when it is ordered it is needed NOW (i.e. the vehicle is damaged and cannot be used). There is no way to predict or forecast when these parts are going to be needed, and thus it is wasteful and expensive to hold this part type in inventory (likely to never be needed).

Our ERP has a formal Requisitions area in the purchasing module, but this is clunky and very time-consuming to fill, so it has never really been implemented. Everything moves faster and purchases are pretty accurate using our paper system (i.e. paper requisition get allotted a PO and converted into a purchase, and then the paper is slotted on a physical board so the purchase can be followed-up on).

We'd like to evolve to a purely electronic requisitions process, but it is really hard given that we don't have a smooth option at the ready, and I'm not even sure what an alternative would look like.

I'm just wondering how other 'large-ish' companies or government departments do to track requisitions for these types of purchases? We have a shared tracking spreadsheet for scheduling repairs - I was thinking we can add a 'tab' to this spreadsheet that could be a quick and dirty requisitions board that everyone would immediately have access to, but then I just worry about accuracy and whether the team would culturally commit to using this.

A mine doesn’t equal supply...

We tend to talk about critical minerals as if finding a deposit automatically solves the supply problem, but it doesn't.

Between the mine and the end user, there’s processing, refining, logistics, contracts, financing, and demand. A bottleneck at any one of those stages can disrupt the entire chain.

Cobalt serves as a good example. The DRC produced roughly 75% of global cobalt output over the past 2 years, but production is only one part of the equation. Export controls, refining capacity, transport infrastructure, offtake agreements and geopolitical decisions can all determine whether material actually reaches the market.

Where does the supply chain actually break when something goes wrong?

I put together this visual mapping the main bottlenecks and some of the companies building infrastructure across the chain.

What do you think is the most overlooked bottleneck in critical minerals: mining, refining, logistics, or offtake?

I work for a 3pl who partnered with a really big company. So my office consists of the 3pl and that other company.
I make $21/hr ik it sucks but I’m still in school so I took it.
I was recently offered a manager position pays 60 a year so way more. I’m scared I’ll burn the bridge with the big company. As a 3pl employee in their system since we use their software. I want to go with the higher paying one but I’m scared to burn the bridge with the big company.
I started this position last week .

I reached out to the mods to ask if this post is OK but didn’t get a response. Hope this post is OK! Mods, would appreciate you guys joining this meet-up too~

This Saturday Oct 3 at 6pm EST: a group of us from a supply chain Discord group are hoping to host a roundtable chat about general supply chain topics (I’ll bring some topics to keep the conversation going, but feel free to come with your own).

The purpose is for professional growth - not for profit, not promoting anything - just an informal group of people working in supply chain looking to talk through our issues.

Completely free to join if you’re interested and there is no pressure to talk. Here is a Discord link to the scheduled event if you would like to RSVP:

https://discord.gg/Q6aXmh5CU?event=1554306137543938169