Jobs in the supply chain brings satisfaction, cash and opportunities, says report – The Loadstar

Life is good in supply chain jobs. The seventh annual Supply Chain Salary & Career Report, by the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), portrays an industry where job satisfaction and remuneration are high and opportunities abound.

For its survey, conducted in January and February, the organisation elicited responses from 5,435 supply chain professionals – 42% of them classified as staff or associate, 40% managers, 10% directors and 1 CEO, the remainder in other positions.

The report’s authors concluded that “supply chain professionals continue to benefit from a solid job market, reflected in another year of significant salary increases. Building on the momentum from 2023, respondents saw their average salaries increase by 8% this year”.

The median salary rose to a record $103,000.

Many professionals received additional remuneration on top of their base salary, with cash bonuses the most frequent form (64%), followed by profit sharing (13%).

Professionals with a degree commanded a salary premium of $25,000 above the national average, while individuals with at least one supply chain credential earned a median salary 10% above their non-credentialed colleagues.

Douglas Kent, EVP of corporate and strategic alliances at ASCM, noted that credentials appear to have assumed greater importance than academic training. He pointed to the increased investment in technology and proliferation of emerging technologies in the industry as a major driver of this.

It tallies with ASCM’s Top Ten Supply Chain Trends for 2024 published five months ago, topped by digitisation, followed by big data and analytics, he said, adding that learning about new technologies contributed to job satisfaction and equipped professionals better to meet the rising demands of their role.

“The last two certificates that we added to our portfolio were supply chain technology and supply chain resilience,” he said.

The report emphasised that in the past year, “AI and other emerging technologies and tools permeated the workplace and advanced at an unprecedented rate. Results from the research showed that to navigate the ever-evolving supply chain field, a blend of technical and emotional intelligence skills is crucial”.

Job satisfaction is high, according to the report, with 60% of respondents rating their careers at eight or higher on a 10-point scale and 81% stating that they planned to remain in the supply chain field for at least the next five years. As many as 85% stated that they took pride in their work and 58% felt appreciated by their organisations.

For those who don’t feel appreciated, there are ready alternatives, according to the report. Of those who changed jobs, 29% found a new role within a month.