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Materials supervisor vs supervisor

The differences between materials supervisors and 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 materials supervisor and a supervisor. Additionally, a materials supervisor has an average salary of $67,592, which is higher than the $53,902 average annual salary of a supervisor.

The top three skills for a materials supervisor include continuous improvement, safety procedures and logistics. The most important skills for a supervisor are customer service, safety procedures, and sales floor.

Materials supervisor vs supervisor overview

Materials SupervisorSupervisor
Yearly salary$67,592$53,902
Hourly rate$32.50$25.91
Growth rate6%-
Number of jobs61,634224,920
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

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.

What does a supervisor do?

Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the daily functions of employees in a specific team, department, or even a work shift. They create work schedules, organize work processes and workflows, train new hires, provide necessary reports related to the team function and the employees, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and ensure that goals of the specific team or department are met. When needed, supervisors also provide guidance to employees in terms of their career or even personal challenges. They also help in fostering harmonious work relationships by resolving interpersonal conflicts at work. To be successful in their role, they must have leadership skills, time management skills, decision-making capabilities, analytical skills, and problem-solving skills.

Materials supervisor vs supervisor salary

Materials supervisors and supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Materials SupervisorSupervisor
Average salary$67,592$53,902
Salary rangeBetween $51,000 And $89,000Between $31,000 And $92,000
Highest paying CityElkhart, INNew York, NY
Highest paying stateWyomingAlaska
Best paying companyMercy CorpsReed Smith
Best paying industryManufacturingHealth Care

Differences between materials supervisor and supervisor education

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

Materials SupervisorSupervisor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Materials supervisor vs supervisor demographics

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

Materials SupervisorSupervisor
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 79.6% Female, 20.4%Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between materials supervisor and supervisor duties and responsibilities

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.
  • Show more

Supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Lead continuous process improvement and six sigma teams to meet ISO 9001 and QS 9000 standards.
  • Manage and implement merchandising strategy for POS marketing and display inventory.
  • Lead comprehensive training for each new volunteer or court-mandate worker regarding OSHA regulations and warehouse procedure.
  • Organize care with 6 CNAs.
  • Coordinate lifeguard duty schedule for all pools.
  • Maintain cleanliness throughout kitchen, coolers, and freezer areas.
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Materials supervisor vs supervisor skills

Common materials supervisor skills
  • Continuous Improvement, 6%
  • Safety Procedures, 6%
  • Logistics, 6%
  • Inventory Control, 6%
  • Shipping Receiving, 5%
  • MRP, 4%
Common supervisor skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Safety Procedures, 9%
  • Sales Floor, 9%
  • POS, 9%
  • Direct Supervision, 9%
  • Payroll, 5%

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