Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management is the management of flow of products and services, which begins from the origin of products and ends at the product’s consumption. It also deals with movement and storage of raw materials that are involved in work in progress, inventory and fully furnished goods.

The main objective of supply chain management is to monitor and relate production, distribution, and shipment of products and services. This can be done by companies with a very good and tight hold over internal inventories, production, distribution, internal productions and sales.

Supply chain management basically merges the supply and demand management. It uses different strategies and approaches to view the entire chain and work efficiently at each and every step involved in the chain. Every unit that participates in the process must aim to minimize the costs and help the companies to improve their long term performance, while also creating value for its stakeholders and customers. This process can also minimize the rates by eradicating the unnecessary expenses, movements and handling.

Here we need to note that supply chain management and supply chain event management are two different topics to consider. The Supply Chain Event Management considers the factors that may interrupt the flow of an effective supply chain; possible scenarios are considered and accordingly, solutions are devised for them.

Courses

There are multiple levels of courses available in the field of Supply Chain Management and some important graduate, post-graduate, diploma programs offered are given below:

BBA in Supply Chain Management: An undergraduate course in SCM with a duration of 3 years. 

Diploma in Supply Chain Management: A postgraduate course in SCM with a duration of 1 year.

MBA in Supply Chain Management: A postgraduate course in SCM with a duration of 2 years. 

The supply chain basically covers the basic concept of supply chain management, its legal aspects, manufacturing methods, materials and store management, operations management, project management, contract administration and logistics. Besides theoretical understanding, the course also trains candidates through internships and practical projects. Supply chain syllabus is different for different programmes.

Post Graduate Diploma in Supply Chain Management: A postgraduate course in SCM with a duration of 1 year.

Required Skills and Aptitude

The skills and aptitudes required for a career in the SCM field include the following:

  • Adaptability to new techniques and changes
  • Analytical skills
  • Communication skill
  • Decision making skills
  • Geographical skills
  • Leadership skills
  • Numerical skills

Eligibility Criteria

BBA in Supply Chain Management: Aspirants should have passed their 10+2 Board Examination in any stream from a recognized board of education. The admission process for BBA is mostly merit-based, but some institutes are admitted based on entrance tests at university or institution level.  

Diploma in Supply Chain Management: Candidates should be passed 10 th standard. 

MBA in Supply Chain Management: Candidates who have a degree in any discipline are eligible for admission. The admission process is mostly based on  entrance tests. 

Post Graduate Diploma in Supply Chain Management: Candidates who have a degree in any discipline are eligible for admission. The admission process is mostly based on  merit basis.

Entrance Examination

Admission procedure for supply chain courses is different for different institutes. Some colleges/universities offer direct admission to candidates based on their performance in class 12 for BBA in Supply Chain Management.

Most of the colleges/universities accept the scores of national level management entrance exams like CAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, XAT etc for admission to MBA in Supply Chain Management.

Job Profiles

Some of the job profiles in the field of SCM are as follows:

  • Contract analyst
  • Inventory manager
  • Logistic supervisor
  • Operation Manager
  • Purchasing Agent
  • Purchasing manager 
  • Strategic planner 
  • Supplier relationship manager 
  • Supply Chain Analyst
  • Supply chain consultant 
  • Supply chain directors
  • Supply chain manager

Top Recruiters

There are various sectors in supply chain management that candidates can look for a job like manufacturing and distribution sector, transportation, logistics companies, shipping corporations, aviation etc. Followings are some of the firms where jobs for SCM are available:

  • Accenture   
  • Advanced Supply Chain Logistics
  • Amazon    
  • Bharti Airtel
  • Flipkart
  • Future Retail   
  • ITC
  • Larsen & Toubro Ltd   
  • Luminous Power Technologies (P)
  • Mahindra
  • Procter & Gamble
  • Reliance Industries   
  • Snapdeal
  • TVS

Institutions

Institutions offering BBA in Supply Chain Management 

  Name of the institution  State
  Sushant School of Business – Gurgaon   Haryana
  Karnataka College of Management and Science - Yelahanaka   Karnataka
  Presidency University – Bangalore   Karnataka
  Skywings Academy of Aviation and Tourism – Kochi   Kerala
  National Institute of Management and Research Studies (NIMR) – Mumbai   Maharashtra
  Universal Business School - Mumbai   Maharashtra
  ILAM-JIMS   New Delhi
  International Academy for Studies   New Delhi
  School of Business, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies - Dehradun   Uttarakhand

Institutions offering MBA in Supply Chain Management 

  Name of the institution  State
  GITAM Institute of Management – Visakhapatnam   Andhra Pradesh
  Institute of Clinical Research India – Ahmedabad   Gujarat
  Presidency University – Bangalore   Karnataka
  Indian Maritime University – Kochi   Kerala
  School of Management Dr DY Patil University - Navi Mumbai   Maharashtra
  Coimbatore Marine College - Coimbatore   Tamil Nadu
  Indian Institute of Logistics – Chennai   Tamil Nadu
  Amity Business School – Noida   Uttar Pradesh
  Integral University – Lucknow   Uttar Pradesh
  Sharda University - Greater Noida   Uttar Pradesh
  School of Business, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies - Dehradun   Uttarakhand

Institutions offering Post Graduate Diploma in Supply Chain Management

  Name of the institution  State
  GD Goenka School of Management - Gurgaon   Haryana
  Usha Martin University – Ranchi   Jharkhand
  University of Mysore – Mysore   Karnataka
  ASM's Institute of International Business and Research – Pune   Maharashtra
  Suryadatta Institute of Management and Mass Communication - Pune   Maharashtra
  SVKM's NMIMS School of Business Management - Navi Mumbai   Maharashtra
  Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies – Pune   Maharashtra
  CMJ University - Shillong   Meghalaya
  Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management   New Delhi
  Career Point University - Kota   Rajasthan
  Loyola Institute of Business Administration – Chennai   Tamil Nadu
  Sacred Heart College - Vellore   Tamil Nadu
  Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management – Kolkata   West Bengal
  St Xavier's College - Kolkata   West Bengal

Questions & Answers​

Q) What are the objectives of supply chain management?

A) Supply-chain management has been defined as the design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply-chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally.

Q) Why did you choose the supply chain?

A) Every retail organisation has a supply chain, so SCM area where there are multiple opportunities for employment.

Q) What are the factors of supply chain management?

A) Stock control, Technology, Outsourcing,Quality management of materials, Product innovation, Logistics are some factors that can affect supply chain management

Q) Is supply chain a good field?

A) Supply Chain is a fantastic career path for anyone. For many people their interests, desires, and goals will change over time. A great feature of Supply Chain careers is that there are so many options and directions that as your goals change you can easily change within Supply Chain.

Q) Which is better marketing or supply chain?

A) The supply chain is broader than marketing channels. It begins with raw materials and delves deeply into production processes and inventory management. Marketing channels are focused on bringing together the partners who can most efficiently deliver the right marketing mix to the customer in order to maximize value.

Q) Is there a lot of math in supply chain management?

A) Supply chain management study and implementation part is not required to be very good at mathematics. You should be well versed with MS Excel and basic formulas for calculation purposes along with passion towards SCM. If you can have this, you would be able to achieve higher possibilities in the same field.

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