Lead supervisor vs materials supervisor

The differences between lead supervisors and materials supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a lead supervisor and a materials supervisor. Additionally, a materials supervisor has an average salary of $67,592, which is higher than the $42,548 average annual salary of a lead supervisor.

The top three skills for a lead supervisor include safety procedures, PET and payroll. The most important skills for a materials supervisor are continuous improvement, safety procedures, and logistics.

Lead supervisor vs materials supervisor overview

	Lead Supervisor	Materials Supervisor
Yearly salary	$42,548	$67,592
Hourly rate	$20.46	$32.50
Growth rate	-	6%
Number of jobs	71,796	61,634
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	2	2

What does a lead supervisor do?

Lead supervisors are responsible for several duties within an organization. They are accountable for overseeing their members and making sure that the work they produce is of good quality. They mainly serve as role models for their staff members, who often seek guidance, leadership, and support from them. When issues arise between employees, lead supervisors should intervene by providing conflict management to ease the situation. They also have to delegate work to employees to get the job done efficiently.

What does a materials supervisor do?

The job of a materials supervisor is to oversee the shipping, receiving, handling, and warehousing of materials. You will supervise the transport of materials and ensure that the material needs of an organization are met. Typical job duties include overseeing the daily business operations of the group, ensuring best practices in safety, productivity, housekeeping. The supervisors ensure that attendance is being followed and monitoring routine operations in materials management, including logistics and planning. As a materials supervisor, you are also expected to mentor team members for professional and personal development.

Lead supervisor vs materials supervisor salary

Lead supervisors and materials supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Supervisor	Materials Supervisor
Average salary	$42,548	$67,592
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $72,000	Between $51,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Elkhart, IN
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Wyoming
Best paying company	ABB	Mercy Corps
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Manufacturing

Differences between lead supervisor and materials supervisor education

There are a few differences between a lead supervisor and a materials supervisor in terms of educational background:

	Lead Supervisor	Materials Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Lead supervisor vs materials supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between lead supervisors' and materials supervisors' demographics:

	Lead Supervisor	Materials Supervisor
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0%	Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 4.4% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 4.8% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between lead supervisor and materials supervisor duties and responsibilities

Lead supervisor example responsibilities.

Direct and lead inventory control initiatives and conduct all safety committee meetings per OSHA requirements.
Plan, lead and participate in training, Kaizen and ongoing activities.
Follow the GMP's and safety guidelines, complete reports on computer and manually; and assist line workers.
Coordinate scheduling of several production lines involve in GMP manufacturing.
Check and audit timekeeping and attendance records for compliance standards and payroll integrity.
Institute daily time sheet and accounting reviews reducing errors and almost eliminating after-the-fact payroll and invoicing adjustments.

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Materials supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage the inventory of electrical parts and component using KANBAN.
Manage a free BOM scrubber design to review manufacturer's current part lists.
Develop, implement, and manage logistics of outsource manufacturing operations to sister companies in Canada and Italy.
Establish procedures that manage critical factors such as moisture sensitivity, electrostatic discharge, storeroom temperature and FIFO inventory staging system.
Implement new inventory management system into MRP.
Implement OSHA forklift safety standards to ensure safe and efficient warehouse operations when unloading freight trucks.

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Lead supervisor vs materials supervisor skills

Common lead supervisor skills

Safety Procedures, 22%
PET, 19%
Payroll, 12%
Customer Service, 11%
Exceptional Guest, 10%
Performance Evaluations, 10%

Common materials supervisor skills

Continuous Improvement, 6%
Safety Procedures, 6%
Logistics, 6%
Inventory Control, 6%
Shipping Receiving, 5%
MRP, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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