There are several general career tracks for those pursuing Supply Chain Management MBA degrees. The corporate retail management track focuses on store operations or merchandising. Analytical retail intelligence prepares graduates for market research, analyzing sales trends, and using scanner data.
Overseeing and managing the process of taking raw materials to finished product has changed due to technologies such as electronic commerce, and the traditional ways of managing supply chains are no longer effective. In today’s e-business environment, a supply chain manager must be able to accommodate technical advances that can influence a business outcome positively or, conversely, make a product outmoded in just a few months. Devices such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), and Point of Sale (POS) have drastically altered how business is done. Satellite networks link suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retail outlets to customers.
In addition, globalization has also dramatically changed the business environment. Competition is no longer limited to domestic firms, and customers make greater demands for more efficient delivery and better services.
Doing business successfully in a global marketplace means being able to integrate supply chains effectively across all functions—from supply management to operations to logistics—so that customer expectations are met and product-life cycles are cost-effective.
As a supply chain management M.B.A. graduate, you should be equipped with the skills to put the pieces of highly complex systems together in a wide variety of companies, including manufacturing, high tech, service, financial, educational , e-business, and consulting, as well as work for the government. Careers include supply chain managers or analysts, logistics planners, product and raw materials buyers, quality control managers, packaging experts, and trade negotiators.
A retailing entrepreneur track is for those who wish to start their own businesses. Supply chain operations managers manage the flow of goods and services, information, and financials starting at the raw products and taking them through to the end product. Major course themes cover globalization, e-business, teamwork, communication, process orientation/integration of functions, and how supply chain management affects corporate success.
