The role of a Supply Chain Lead is to oversee and manage the production of a company's products. They are involved in every part, from the acquisition of the raw materials to the finished product and sometimes even further to its shipment off to stores and customers.
Of course, due to the nature of their job, the Lead will have to interact and build relationships with a number of different people, such as procurement managers and customers, suppliers, and inventory and product managers, and other leads. They will also have to negotiate contracts, do research on materials, factories, and manufacturing processes, manage budgets and deadlines, oversee the storage of materials and products, oversee inventory, and plan and apply strategies.
A person hoping to work in this position should generally have a university degree in a subject relevant to the position, such as business or supply chain management, finance or transport management, or a similar field. Excellent planning and communication skills are a must, as are computer literacy, negotiation, and risk assessment and management.
Supply Chain Lead Overview
Working as a Supply Chain Lead
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a supply chain lead. For example, did you know that they make an average of $46.57 an hour? That's $96,859 a year!
What Does a Supply Chain Lead Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a supply chain lead, we found that a lot of resumes listed 24.7% of supply chain leads included supply chain, while 10.9% of resumes included customer service, and 8.2% of resumes included project management. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the supply chain lead job title. But what industry to start with? Most supply chain leads actually find jobs in the manufacturing and technology industries.
How To Become a Supply Chain Lead
If you're interested in becoming a supply chain lead, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 44.9% of supply chain leads have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 36.5% of supply chain leads have master's degrees. Even though most supply chain leads have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a supply chain lead. When we researched the most common majors for a supply chain lead, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on supply chain lead resumes include high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a supply chain lead. In fact, many supply chain lead jobs require experience in a role such as purchasing manager. Meanwhile, many supply chain leads also have previous career experience in roles such as supply chain manager or buyer.
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Supply Chain Lead Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a supply chain lead can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as supply chain manager, progress to a title such as supply chain director and then eventually end up with the title supply chain vice president.
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Average Salary for a Supply Chain Lead
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Orica Supply Chain Excellence Lead (11116) Supply Chain Excellence Lead (11116) | Orica Orica | 01/25/2021 01/25/2021 | $95,00001/25/2021 $95,000 |
University of Washington Supply Chain Technician Lead Weekend Days) Supply Chain Technician Lead Weekend Days) | University of Washington University of Washington | 10/23/2020 10/23/2020 | $38,95210/23/2020 $38,952 |
Intermountain Healthcare {Title:Category Leader I or II-Supply Chain} {Title:Category Leader I or II-Supply Chain} | Intermountain Healthcare Intermountain Healthcare | 06/30/2020 06/30/2020 | $73,58806/30/2020 $73,588 |
Colorado State University TMI Central Supply Lead TMI Central Supply Lead | Colorado State University Colorado State University | 04/17/2020 04/17/2020 | $33,16804/17/2020 $33,168 |
Intermountain Healthcare Category Leader I or II-Supply Chain Category Leader I or II-Supply Chain | Intermountain Healthcare Intermountain Healthcare | 02/25/2020 02/25/2020 | $73,04502/25/2020 $73,045 |
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Top Colleges for Supply Chain Leads
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Public
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Public
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Public
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Public
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Top Skills For a Supply Chain Lead
- Supply Chain, 24.7%
- Customer Service, 10.9%
- Project Management, 8.2%
- KPI, 7.3%
- HR, 5.7%
- Other Skills, 43.2% See All Supply Chain Lead Skills
Best States For a Supply Chain Lead
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a supply chain lead. The best states for people in this position are California, Colorado, Maryland, and Nevada. Supply chain leads make the most in California with an average salary of $118,325. Whereas in Colorado and Maryland, they would average $115,497 and $114,068, respectively. While supply chain leads would only make an average of $113,146 in Nevada, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$112,638
Avg. Salary
2. Colorado
$115,498
Avg. Salary
3. California
$118,325
Avg. Salary
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