r/supplychain

I swear everything is marked urgent now.

Urgent supplier issue. Urgent customer request. Urgent forecast update. Urgent shipment delay. Urgent internal question that somehow sat untouched for four days and only became urgent when it landed on my desk.

At some point the word stops meaning anything. It just becomes background noise with slightly worse consequences.

I’m honestly curious how other people deal with that. Do you have a real way of separating actual fire from routine panic, or do you just get better at reading the situation over time?

I am considering going to Canada, I've got two years experience in a FMCG and speak both French & English, I was wondering if I pursue my CSCP my chances of getting a decent paying job within supply chain or planning increase massively or not much.

So I literally just graduated on Monday with my bachelors in BusAdmin with a concentration in Ops/SC. If you saw my other posts I was struggling to find an internship, I was never able to find one. I ended up going another route by working as a seasonal package handle at Fedex Ground for a bit, which did give me a lot of insight. Then, when that ended, I was approached by a former professor to work as a research assistant (until I graduated). I did that and would apply to jobs on and off (depending on how busy I was). I felt so lost a few hours after graduation.

So today, I went to an employment agency (Personnel Partners) because I just want an extremely basic warehouse job, but I am terrified of becoming stuck. Both of my parents don't have degrees, my mom is an Ultrasound Tech which doesn't really work off of 'promotions' or climbing the corporate ladder.

I also did this because while I have conceptual knowledge, I need technical and tactical knowledge to eventually end up managing processes and people. But I have no clue how to do this, and I have no one to turn to. And yeah, I don't have the job yet, but I want to go in with the game plan.

Please tell me your guys' experiences with climbing the corporate ladder and gaining knowledge over time.

Leadership won’t stop yapping about digital transformation. It is the future, sure, but on the ground, it is a total mess.
In my department, we are actually trying. We use OpenClaw to scrap data and policy files, and AccioWork to handle the mountain of contracts. It works great for us. But here is the kicker: we are an island.
Supply chain is supposed to be a single, fluid machine, but in a big corp, it is just a bunch of disconnected fiefdoms. Nobody has the spine to step up and actually integrate the data across the whole company. Managers only care about their own immediate orders and their own KPIs. If it doesn't help their bonus this quarter, they don't want to hear about it.
While lean startups are out there building actual automated pipelines, we are stuck with data between five different legacy systems that don't talk to each other.
The death of AI in SCM doesn't happen because the tech is broken. It happens in the conference room, killed by office politics and people protecting their own little corners of the world.

Hey everyone, I was just curious.

Since Reddit is kind of anonymous, I figured to ask but, you guys that been in the Supply chain industry, what is your job title/ years of experience/ compensation?

I’m very curious on how people are realistically doing in this field.

I’m currently a Jr Analyst (doing supply chain manager work tho) but currently sitting at 50K a year. (I think I’m underpaid).

-About 4 years of relevant work experience.
-Bachelors Degree in Business
- MBA in progress

I've been working in the suppl chain world at the same company for 10 years and was recently made supply chain manager. The past 2 months is the first time I've seen surcharges being added to invoices instead of a standard price increase and all the raw material companies are siting "geopolitical issues" as their reason. I don't doubt that for obvious reasons but I'm curious and trying to learn if this was done in the past anytime there was a war or is the surcharge tactic something new going on when markets are volatile? Just looking for advice from anyone who has been around the block for a few decades lol.

hi im a senior in high school and will have to choose a major first. im currently divided between bussines (more specifically finance) and logstics. i know that, tehnically, i can work in logstics with a bussines degree but all scm/logistics positiom require experience in similar field? what are your experiences or advices?

Here’s my background:

About 5 years ago, I started a trucking company with absolutely no business experience. I didn’t have enough money to buy a truck at the time, so I started as an independent freight broker first.

That didn’t work out financially, but I gained a lot of knowledge about logistics, freight operations, and business through the experience.

Eventually, I saved enough money to get my own authority and operate as a carrier. Within the first month of renting a truck, I failed again mainly due to inexperience dealing with rental companies, insurance issues, and VIN switching complications.

Even after those setbacks, I refused to quit.

Right now, I’ve started a dispatching company because I wanted to stay active in the transportation industry instead of stopping completely while figuring out my next move.

At the same time, I decided to go back to college and found a Supply Chain diploma program that may eventually transfer into a full degree.

Currently, I also work in the live entertainment industry building stages and sets for tours, festivals, and events.

My questions:

• While taking supply chain courses (before finishing the degree), is it realistic to land an entry-level supply chain or logistics role?
• Would my trucking, brokerage, and dispatching experience help me get hired even without the degree completed?
• Can the knowledge from supply chain courses directly improve my dispatching business?
• If you were in my shoes, would you keep building the dispatching company while getting the degree, or focus entirely on one path?

I’ve failed a few times, but each failure taught me something valuable, and I’m trying to turn that into something bigger instead of quitting.

Would appreciate honest feedback.

Hello Everyone!

I am a Production Scheduler, by trade, and I have to try to figure out how to build a measurable schedule for a work center that is managed entirely by manual, daily prioritization.

This awful shared resource is Inspection. We have a large high mix, low volume machine shop, with complex routings that bounce all over the floor, but which always route through inspection, after each machining operation.

We schedule machines by lot, but for some reason, we schedule Inspection piece by piece, as it shows up to the department (and there is ALOT of material churn and demand, in this department). Whereas we are running machines efficiently in lots, we will dink and dunk through inspections, one or two or three units at a time. Available work changes every day, priority changes every day.

How do I create a measurable schedule for this type of work center? Or is a traditional schedule not the right approach, for a work center that functions like this?

Thanks in advance!

I need honest advice.

My situation:

32 years old

Finishing my MSc in Supply Chain & Logistics (UK uni) this September. (All distinctions, so far).

Right now: Unpaid sourcing apprenticeship in China. Raw materials, imports & exports, factories, negotiations. But they can't hire me after.

Before this: banking, risk & governance for 8+ years. I then had a year-long role as a supplier analyst (sadly, no opportunity to make it permanent), and fell in love with the role/ and the work in general. The more I learned about the supply chain industry, the more it resonated with me. Especially now that I am doing sourcing.

So I am using the degree to pivot.

What I've tried: LinkedIn and company websites. For a lot of different roles, keywords, "purchasing, sourcing, procurement, and supply chain management'

What I'm asking:

What job titles should I actually search for?

Where else should I look?

Further education, maybe? Working with raw materials has highlighted a gap in my knowledge and experience that I'm working hard to sort. So I'm thinking maybe a certificate to make it even more formal. Looking at a 6-month semiconductor supply chain course or something in Chemical Engineering. Give me more knowledge on these industries, if I am going to be sourcing for them. Helpful or a waste of time?

Geography: in China now. Open to the UK, China, and elsewhere. Just need a paid role.

Bottom line:

Once the degree ends, I need to work. No more unpaid gigs. No more gaps.

If you've broken into SCM from another field, or started late (30s), tell me how you did it. Thank you in advance!

I'm getting my degree with supply chain management from wgu. My only experience is working at a Amazon warehouse. I want to work remote. What are good career paths to aim for in supply chain management?

Hi all,

I started a job last week as a Warehouse Manager for a pallet/bulk containers company.

I've been able to wrangle the laborers and clean the place up considerably. The place was a mess. Clearly had not been swept in months. There were dead rats in various states of decay throughout the warehouse, including some fresh bloated ones. But the laborers are receptive to leadership thankfully and are willing to work hard.

However, it's currently a total shit show here on the admin side. All communication is done through an iMessage group chat. They do not use email. I receive my orders for the day on a loose leaf sheet of paper that the front desk writes on in sharpie, then scans/prints multiple copies to distribute.

My initial thought was to get on Excel and literally make a simple inventory and yard management system. I could make this sharable to the whole company so we'd all have visibility, audit trails, electronic tracking.... I could do that in like an hour. But they do not allow me to have a computer. The front office tried making a paper inventory tally sheet for me to fill out every day but they missed a lot of products that we carry.

I'm in a spot where I can't create a KPI, track inventory, write an SOP, create a warehouse diagram, make forms for the warehouse team, or even research something. My best idea is to buy a fuckin composition notebook and track things that way. I feel like I got teleported back to the 70's.

Their last warehouse manager lasted only a month and I'm thinking I should run for the hills too.

Have any of you been in a similar situation before?

update: ended up resigning today.

I work at a F500 company. Pay is decent. Company had good fundamentals.

But my work life balance has been atrocious.

The teams chats, emails, meetings, are non stop.

When I went to unlimited time off due to promotion I thought things would improve but they haven’t. When I do have time off it feels like there is always some emergency or thing I have to do. Former boss even called me on a vacation to do shit for him.

Pretty sure my wife and family think I am a workaholic. Working 55 a week on average to hit good numbers.

Are you facing a similar dynamic?

Hello all. I am a 22 year old, 2nd year Bachelor of Commerce in Supply Chain Management student from South Africa. My father picked out this degree for me but I ended up falling in love with this field & developing a passion for it. Now that I’ve found my passion I’ve had to think long & hard about what I want for myself in this field.

What I’m hoping to achieve with this post is just general advice about the plans I have set out for myself.

So I intend to get my Masters degree when I’m done with my undergraduate. I want it to be a MBA but with a focus in data analytics. I intend to become a supply chain analyst with this degree. Although I want to do my Masters abroad, maybe USA or Australia. God willing, I’ll be able to find a scholarship. (I’d like guidance on whether this is a solid move or not, I’ve heard quite a few people say that it’s not worth getting a masters in SCM so I’m still on the fence about this)

Secondly, is it possible to live a nomadic lifestyle in this career? Probably bit of a silly question but I’ve just always been fond of travelling & I’m wondering if it’s possible to combine my passion for SCM & my fondness of travelling lol.

Thirdly, what the hell do I do after graduation? I know it’s a bit early for me to wonder considering I’m still in 2nd year but the impending doom of wondering whether I’ll be a unemployed graduate sitting at home when the time rolls around is driving me insane. What can I do in university that will set me apart from other candidates studying the same thing as me?

Thank you in advance😸

So as everyone else is I am starting to consider my future majors, I have been considering SCM for a while now, the studying isn’t rigorous like engineering major and from what I heard about it it’s in demand, my only issue is that I (17F) am not really into sitting the whole day doing spread sheets thing or just calling people and negotiating or is extremely good at presenting and all ( I am not bad by any means either). So I don’t know If I should consider this major or not.

For context I’m in my mid 20’s. Six years experience in supply chain and four in procurement.

Company A: Fully onsite
Role: Buyer/Planner
$70k-$75k salary
Cons: Onsite, 35 min drive 1 way, less pay.
Pros: Easier to get promoted/noticed when in person. Less lay off risk/more stable.
NOTE: Huge company, OEM, name looks great on resume. Job title is great also, upward move in my resume.

Company B: Fully remote
Role: Procurement Specialist
$75k-$90k
Cons: Not easy to get promoted/noticed while remote.
(I’m currently fully remote and getting laid off because the company wants people onsite, I don’t want a repeat)
Pros: more pay, flex able schedule, fully remote no driving.
NOTE: Great company, but the name has little to no recognition (unless you’re in the same field). Job title is really good but not great either.

Should I go for the fully onsite lower pay, or easy peasy remote more money.

Potential schooling I would do is:
Bachelors (WGU, online school)
A&P license
(In this order)

Company B would be nice for online school, I can still make Company A work tho.
A&P license school is up north near where Company A is.
Company A also offers tuition assistance up to $5k a year.

Im at that stage where I need to outsource my order fulfillment and im a bit lost. There are sooo many 3PLs out there but how do you really know which one is actually good?? Ive talked to few companies and they all sound amazing on calls but im scared of choosing the wrong one and thought this is the place to ask for advice..

What are the real signs that a 3PL is solid?

How do you check their accuracy rate?

What questions do you ask about pricing and hidden charges?

How fast do they usually reply when theres a problem?

Any specific things you look for in their dashboard or inventory tracking?

Would love to hear what red flags you saw and what made you trust your current 3PL. This decision feels really important and i dont wanna regret it later.

Any advice is appreciated guys!