Careers in Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management means the management of design, planning, implementation, control and monitoring of supply chain activities from goods' origin to the point of their consumption. The main objective of supply chain management is to create net value, building a competitive infrastructure, managing supply with demand and evaluating performance at the global level. Supply chain management consists of several components, such as, planning and control, work structure, organization structure, product facility structure, information structure, management methods, power and leadership structure, risk and reward structure etc.

Under the supply chain management, one has to concentrate on distribution network configuration, distribution strategy, information, inventory management and cash flow. In the world of globalization, many manufacturing firms want to have efficient supply chain system for the effective distribution of their commodities. Therefore, such organizations are always on a hunt for skilled supply chain managers. Keeping in view of the ever increasing demand for professionals to work in supply management, many institutes in India are offering courses related to the field.

Course Details
In the present time, many management and technical institutes in India conduct courses in supply chain management. The courses in supply chain management are mostly offered at postgraduate degree and diploma levels. To be eligible, the students must be graduates with degree in retail management/finance/B.E. /B. Tech/BBA or in any stream, from any recognized Institute or a University.

Career Prospects
The performance of supply chain can directly create an impact on the productivity of the company. Therefore, supply chain management as a career is a very promising as well as challenging job. After completing their courses, students can work in any big or small business organizations as Commodity Buyer, supply planner, supplier manager, purchasing executives, implementation manager, procurement officer, material manager, inventory manager, head of supply and head of procurement.

Top Colleges Offering UG/PG/Other Courses
A number of management institutes in India taught courses in supply chain management. Some of the prominent institutes are Indian Institute of Materials Management (Navi Mumbai), Centre for Supply Chain Management (Gurgaon), Indian Institute of Materials Management (Hyderabad), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), Supply Chain Management Institute (Mumbai), CII Institute of Logistics (CIL) (Chennai), National Institute of Retail Management (Bangalore), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (for MBA in Logistics & Supply Chain Management), Dehradun, etc.

Remuneration
Beginners can earn between Rs 10000 and 15000 per month, in the field of supply management. A person with two or three year experience may get around Rs 18000 - 22000 per month. The salary package for those, who are working at the higher level, can easily be Rs 8.00 - 12.00 lacs p.a.