Supply Chain Management Salary & Jobs: 2024 Ultimate Guide

In this article we review 48 Supply Chain jobs and their 2024 salaries across 70+ countries, what career path can make you earn more on the long term, how you can find accurate estimation for you 2024 salary using our proprietary simulator.

Check-out our Youtube video 48 SupplyChain Jobs Salaries and Career Paths

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Why did we make a Supply Chain Management Salary & Jobs Guide?

How did we make this Supply Chain Management Salary & Jobs guide?

We’ve put together this guide after a thorough look into various job roles and what’s currently going on in the industry. We checked out everything from industry reports to direct feedback from people working in supply chains. By mixing hard data with insights from real people, we made sure this guide is both true to life and up to date with the market.

The 15 Factors that will impact your supply chain salary

There are many different things that can affect how much money you make in supply chain procurement and logistics. From my own journey from a warehouse worker to a supply chain director, here are 15 key things that I’ve found can influence your salary for the same job title.

Supply Chain Jobs Industry

In the supply chain field, what industry you work in can really influence your pay.

For a supply chain Manager role in the US, working in Aerospace/Defense might get you an average salary of US$134K, more than what you’d get in Luxury/Pharma at $123K. The gap gets even bigger compared to the manufacturing sector at $107K, and it’s even wider against the retail, transport, and freight areas, where the average drops to $103K. This 30% difference in salaries between the highest and lowest ends shows how much each industry’s needs, the skills required, and the rules they follow can affect salaries.

The size of the company you work for plays a big role in how much you get paid. Big names like Apple or Amazon usually offer more money than smaller, local companies.

In the US, working as a supply chain manager at a small company with about 20 people might earn you around $100k, but this goes up to $105k if the company has 201-1000 employees, and even higher to $118k for those at firms with 1001-10,000 employees.

For leaders in supply chain at huge companies with more than 10,000 people, the average salary jumps to $134k. This shows a significant 34% increase in salary that comes with moving up to a larger company.

Job Location

Where you live and work, the cost of living there, and how much demand there is for supply chain professionals can really change how much you get paid.

It’s pretty clear that salaries for the same job can vary a lot between different countries. You might see up to five or six times the salary difference between the US and countries like Brazil or some African nations. But it’s always important to think about this in terms of the cost of living too.

Even within the same country, salaries can differ a lot depending on the city or region. For example, in India, which is a huge and varied country with over 1.4 billion people, the salary for the same supply chain manager role can change by up to four times between smaller cities like Patna and big cities like Mumbai.

Job Description and Team Management

How big your team is and whether you manage people are important things that affect your salary. Bigger teams and more senior positions usually mean higher salaries because of the added complexity, responsibility, and how much you can impact the company’s success.

Supply Chain Management Skills & Performance

Specific skills and qualifications can make a big difference in how much you get paid and how quickly you move up in your career.

Mastering certain skills not only gives you a stronger position to negotiate from but also shortens the time it takes to become a top performer. Think about what you can bring to the job, like:

• being fluent in Chinese,
• having a Six Sigma certification,
• mastering Excel automation capabilities,
• knowing how to use Power BI or SAP.

After getting your degree, it’s smart to focus on the skills that will help you negotiate better salaries and climb the career ladder faster. Remember, in some fields, being really good at the technical and operational sides can lead to higher pay and quicker promotions than just focusing on managing people.

Your experience plays a big role in how much you can earn in the supply chain field, showing a big difference in pay based on how many years you’ve been in the industry.

In Canada, for example, people with over 15 years of experience in supply chain, logistics, and procurement can make up to 60% more than those who are just starting out.

This difference is even bigger in countries like India, showing that around the world, the more experience you have, the more you can expect to earn in this field.

Other factors to calculate your Supply Chain Management Salary

Several other things also affect how much money you might make, including:

• the risks you might face at work,
• your bonuses,
• perks that comes with the job (car, food),
• and taxes…

People who work in riskier jobs might get paid more as a way to say thank you and to encourage them for taking on those risks. Bonuses and perks, which are often linked to how well you or your company does, also play a big part in your total pay, giving you extra money and benefits that make the job more satisfying and keep you loyal to the company. Taxes, though, can take a big chunk out of your paycheck, and this varies a lot depending on where you live.

Now that you know what can affect your salary, try it out in our 2024 Salary Simulator.

How to fast track your SCM Career?

No one else is going to push your career forward; that’s up to you. And the same goes for your salary, so you’ve got to be proactive by:

• always looking for new chances to learn and grow,
• aiming for jobs that give you more responsibility,
• and continually improving yourself to stay competitive and relevant.

Slow VS Fast

The speed of your career growth will greatly affect when you’ll see the next pay rise.

A slower path might mean a steady, patient climb, while a faster career path requires actively improving your skills and strategically moving to new positions, which can greatly increase your salary and responsibilities.

The slow Path: Starting as a Logistics Coordinator in your 20s, moving up to a Supply Chain Coordinator in your 30s with a salary bump of about 20-30%. In your 40s, you become a Supply Chain Analyst with a small pay rise, and by your 50s, you’ve reached a Service Manager position, which brings a substantial salary increase of 2.5 times.

The Fast Track: Starting off in the same Logistics Coordinator role, you quickly specialize in Inventory & Forecasting, becoming a Demand Planner with a 50% salary increase. Next, you take on the role of an S&OP Manager, acting as a key facilitator in the company. Your final leap is to a Supply Chain Director position, where your salary skyrockets, increasing by 5 to 10 times from when you started.

Proactive Actions To Get Your Next Supply Chain Management Job

No matter your path, focusing on strategic skills, continuous learning, and adapting to change will fast-track your career progress. Here’s a list of actionable tips to apply throughout your career:

1. Gain Diverse Experience: Work in different supply chain roles to fully understand the field.
2. Specialize in High-Demand Skills: Focus on areas like forecasting, inventory management, and data analytics to stand out.
3. Master Technical Tools: Get good at using tools like Excel, Power BI, or SAP to make yourself more marketable.
4. Improve Your Negotiation Skills: Learn how to effectively negotiate your salary and role to reflect your worth and contributions.
5. Focus on Continuous Learning: Keep updating your knowledge and skills, especially in fast-growing areas like AI, data science, and project management.
6. Seek Leadership or Expert Roles: Decide whether you want to manage people or become an expert in a specific area.
7. Leverage Educational Resources: Use free tools and resources to boost your skills and knowledge in supply chain.
8. Be Open to Change: Be ready to take on new opportunities, even if it means moving or changing industries.
9. Network and Build Relationships: Connect with others in the industry to learn about new trends and opportunities.
10. Align Career Moves with Personal Goals: Make sure your career choices also make you happy and meet your long-term goals.

How I boost my SCM Career?

My journey in the supply chain world has been full of surprises and learning. It began without a clear plan; I just knew I enjoyed working with numbers and found the supply chain interesting. Initially, I focused on managing inventory in factories and warehouses, which laid the foundation for my career path.

Then, I moved into a field called supply chain analytics and data science. This was before “data scientist” became a popular job title. I worked with MIT in the United States, using many computers to analyze data. Even though I wasn’t officially called a data scientist back then, this work was very important for my career.

Later, I took roles like supply chain logistics project manager and inventory management expert. These positions involved managing the inventory processes for 2,000 stores more efficiently. My skills in demand planning significantly improved how companies plan and manage their inventory.

My career also took me to different countries, including Brazil and Australia, where I held various roles. Eventually, I became a supply chain director, which seemed like the peak of my career. However, I discovered that what I truly loved wasn’t the title but sharing knowledge and teaching others.

This led me to start AbcSupplyChain, an online school for the next generation of supply chain experts and leaders.

2 things I learned during my Supply Chain Management Career

Expertise will get you a long way

Advancing your career and salary does not solely mean ascending the management ladder.

Expertise in specific areas can equally propel professionals towards significant career growth and financial gain, particularly in technical domains. Trends from tech companies illustrate that individuals with specialized skills in areas like AI, data science, and cloud architecture often command higher salaries than their managerial counterparts.

This new way of thinking offers two paths for career advancement, showing that deep expertise can be as influential as moving up the management ladder when it comes to increasing your salary.

Happiness Matters

Chasing money to find happiness takes time. It’s better to aim for happiness directly.

Transitioning from a corporate job to teaching and starting my own business taught me that success isn’t just about rank or salary. It’s about doing work that brings joy and positively impacts others.

Reflecting on my journey from a warehouse worker to an expert and educator in the supply chain has shown me that the best careers are those we carve out for ourselves, based on our passions and the differences we want to make.

48 Supply Chain Management Salary & Jobs

Let’s now focus on what you’re probably most curious about: how much you can expect to earn based on the job you do. We’ve looked at 48 jobs across more than 70 countries, but keep in mind that all the figures here are based on the following profile:

• Started working 8 to 15 years ago (in Supply Chain or another field), so someone in their mid-30s,
• Living in a mid-sized city, not the capital of the country or state,
• Working for a mid-sized company, with 201 to 2000 employees globally.

We’ve chosen to focus on just 5 countries in this article. If you want to fine-tune the numbers for your situation, location, and experience, our salary simulator can help you find out exactly how much you’re worth in your job.

Supply Chain Top Management Salary & Jobs

Moving from one role to another within this top management layer involves big changes, such as managing larger teams—increasing from 10 to about 50-60 people—and taking on more responsibilities. However, these changes are accompanied by higher salaries.

Roles

• Supply Chain Director: Oversees broad areas, including logistics, demand planning, and sometimes customer relations, depending on the company’s structure and industry. This role typically involves managing other managers rather than teams directly and can have 50 to 60 people under it.
• Supply Chain & Demand Planning Manager: Coordinates activities across all aspects of the supply chain, from procurement and manufacturing to distribution. This role usually manages around 10 people and, in smaller companies, might be combined with the Demand Planning Manager, S&OP role.
• Logistics Director: Focuses on planning, implementing, and coordinating logistics operations, including transportation, warehousing, and distribution.
• Client Relations Director: Works on managing and improving relationships with clients, ensuring their satisfaction and loyalty. This role is crucial but not always directly linked to supply chain management.
• Procurement Director: Manages the company’s procurement strategies, handles supplier relationships, and negotiates contracts to procure goods and services. This role might be part of the supply chain in companies focused on distribution or function separately in companies that purchase a large amount of raw materials or energy.
• Program and projects director: Leads the team responsible for internal or external projects to transform the company and its processes, often working with consultants.

Salaries

TOP MANAGEMENT	United Kingdom	United States	Australia KUS	Canada	India
Position	K£	K US$	K AUD$	K CAD$	L₹
Supply Chain Director	110	187	228	197	29
Procurement Director	102	177	216	197	26
Logistics Director	86	148	180	156	18
Supply Chain Manager	68	118	144	125	11
Client Relations Director	79	138	69	146	15
Program & Projects Director	91	158	192	166	22

Logistics Management Salary & Jobs

Under the Logistics Director, there are three key roles. If you’re aiming to become a Logistics Director, gaining experience in these areas—warehousing, transportation, and import-export management—is advisable.

Main Roles

• Warehouse director: Manages warehouse operations, including storage, inventory management, and order fulfillment. Depending on the company, this role could cover a large network of 40 to 50 warehouses or just a single location, significantly affecting salary variations.
• Transports director: Oversees various modes of transportation, including air freight, trucking, and sea freight,ensuring efficient and compliant transport of goods.
• Import/Export team manager: Manages the team handling both import and export activities, ensuring compliance with customs regulations and facilitating smooth transactions.

Salaries

Warehouse Salary & Jobs

Starting as a warehouse worker is a common entry point into supply chain management. By acquiring specialized skills, such as handling dangerous goods or operating a forklift, you can quickly increase your pay by up to 18%. Advancing involves becoming a team leader, then a logistics coordinator who plans and organizes warehouse activities.

Another key role is inventory manager, which prepares you for higher positions. Once you move to service manager, you could possibly earn a salary increase of 28%. Ultimately, you could become an operations manager and, with success, advance to warehouse director, a position that might offer a 22% increase from operations management.

Each promotion offers more challenges and higher pay. From there, uplifting your skills in planning and data analysis can open doors to roles like logistics director, where you could expect to take on a wider scope of work, potentially 35% more than a warehouse director.

Main Roles

• Warehouse Director: Oversees all warehouse operations, including inventory management, order fulfillment, and staff management.
• Operations Manager: Ensures daily warehouse operations run smoothly and efficiently.
• Service Manager: Manages customer service operations within the warehouse, addressing inquiries, complaints, and service delivery.
• Inventory Manager: Maintains optimal stock levels to meet demand without excessive surplus.
• Logistics Coordinator: Supports logistics processes, ensuring smooth transition of goods from warehouse to delivery.
• Team Leader: Oversees a specific area within the warehouse, such as packing or shipping.
• Specialized Handling: Focuses on managing goods that require special care or comply with specific regulations. Gaining a permit for specialized handling can be relatively quick.
• Warehouse Worker: Performs a variety of tasks within the warehouse, including packing, sorting, and loading goods.

Salaries

Transport Salary & Jobs

Starting as a driver is a common beginning in the transportation sector of supply chain management. Specializing in transporting larger items, perishables, dangerous, or high-value goods can lead to higher pay due to reduced competition, often resulting in a 27% increase in salary.

Another career path involves becoming a freight forwarder, coordinating international transport, which may require additional education and can also offer a 27% rise in compensation.

Advancing to transport manager and eventually transport director requires experience not just in driving but also in comprehensive logistics management, including warehousing and import-export knowledge. Transport directors can see a significant salary increment of up to 49% with the right blend of experience and skills.

Main Roles

• Transports Director: Leads the transportation department, ensuring effective and lawful movement of goods.
• Transports Manager: Manages day-to-day operations of the transportation department, including coordination with drivers and fleet maintenance.
• Freight Forwarder: Acts as an intermediary, facilitating cargo movement between shippers and transportation services. Education or training can be essential for this role.
• Specialized Driver: Operates vehicles for transporting specialized types of cargo, requiring specific skills and certifications.
• Driver: Transports goods across the supply chain network, fundamental to the logistics and distribution process.

Salaries

Import / Export Salary & Jobs

Advancing in supply chain management often involves expertise in multiple areas. Starting as an import-export assistant, you might get a salary rise of +41% if you can progress to manager roles, focusing on either import or export activities. Export managers usually earn more due to handling regulatory complexities. Customs managers play a key role in ensuring compliance with legal requirements for clearing goods, which can reflect.

Climbing the ladder can lead to becoming an import-export team manager, potentially seeing a +57% rise if coming from an import manager position, or even a director in larger companies, which might come with an +80% compensation from the Import/Export manager roles. But for this, you will have to bring more to the job than your sole expertise in Import/Export and train yourself to get there.

Main Roles

• Import/Export Team Manager: Oversees the team responsible for import and export operations, ensuring legal compliance and logistical efficiency.
• Customs Manager: Specializes in customs regulations, facilitating smooth clearance of goods through customs.
• Export Manager: Manages export operations, adhering to international trade laws and company policies.
• Import/Export Assistant: Supports the import/export department with administrative tasks and coordination efforts, paving the way to management roles.

Salaries

Client Relations Salary & Jobs

Starting in client relations typically begins with a client officer role, with an average salary increase of 27% as one advances to supervisor and potentially onto roles focusing on client data management. Managing customer information accurately, often through CRM systems, is crucial.

Advancing might lead to roles like sales administration manager, where there’s a notable 12% salary progression, or client relations director, where a significant increase of up to 74% can be observed, especially within large teams. While this path is integral to supply chain management, it opens opportunities in analytics, supply chain coordination, and demand planning, potentially leading to varied career paths and higher earnings.

Main Roles

• Client Relations Director: Sets strategy for customer engagement, leading the client relations department to ensure satisfaction and loyalty.
• Client Service Manager: Oversees the delivery of services to clients, managing a team of client service representatives.
• Client Supervisor: Ensures the client service team provides quality support and service.
• Sales Administration Manager: Manages sales support and oversees administrative tasks related to sales processes.
• Client Officer: Handles client inquiries and account management, playing a crucial role in maintaining positive client relationships.
• Client Master Data Manager: Manages accurate client data for sales and marketing activities, ensuring data integrity.

Salaries

Procurement Salary & Jobs

Starting as a purchasing assistant, procurement paths can diverge into roles like supplier data management or specialization as a buyer in various fields, such as transport logistics or project-specific procurement (+56% pay rise for both).

Advancing can lead to becoming a procurement manager, overseeing product categories in large companies, and potentially rising to a director level under the supply chain director and increase your earnings by +62%.

Main Roles

• Procurement Director: Leads purchasing strategies, managing procurement operations and large-scale agreements.
• Procurement Manager: Develops purchasing policies and optimizes procurement efficiency and cost.
• Raw Material Buyer: Specializes in buying raw materials, negotiating prices, and ensuring the availability of production materials, akin to a trader due to market volatility.
• Transport Logistics Buyer: Specializes in procuring transport and logistics services, aiming for efficiency and cost reduction.
• Project Buyer: Focuses on purchasing for specific projects, ensuring requirements and timelines are met.
• Supplier Data Management: Manages and analyzes supplier data to enhance supplier selection and contract management.
• Purchasing Assistant: Supports the purchasing department with administrative tasks, order preparation, and delivery follow-ups.

Salaries

Demand Planning Salary & Jobs

“Demand planning” opens up a variety of career paths. Whether it’s in a smaller company or a big one, focusing on demand and using data smartly can really help you move up in your career. This is especially true if you’re looking to become something like a supply chain director, where you need to understand everything about how the company runs and how to plan things out strategically.

For Small Businesses:

In a smaller setting, things are more straightforward. Early on, you might start as a supply chain coordinator, making sure everything from planning to inventory is running smoothly, with a potential salary growth of 24% if you transition to Supply Chain Analyst.

The big goal then is to become a demand planner, a role all about predicting and improving how inventory and costs are handled, which can make a huge difference in customer service. Getting really good at forecasting and analyzing data can push your career forward quickly, possibly leading to the above position of a Supply Chain manager, enjoying a significant salary increase of 32% and reporting to the operation director or even to the CEO.

Main Roles

• Supply Chain Manager: Often the top supply chain role in a small business, responsible for overseeing all aspects of supply chain operations, including demand planning, procurement, and logistics. Reports directly to the operations director or CEO.
• Demand planner (Forecast): A trendy job where you need to be sharp with data, making forecasts to better manage costs, inventory, and how you serve customers. It’s a smart move to aim for this role if you’re good at analyzing data and making predictions.
• Supply Chain Analyst: Analyzes what is happening in the company. Does recommendations to optimize Inventory, forecasting and planning. Moving from a Supply Chain Coordinator to Analyst is a very strategic move for your career.
• Supply Chain Coordinator: Works within the supply chain operations to coordinate activities and ensure that products move smoothly from suppliers to customers.

Salaries

For Large Companies:

Things get more complex in bigger companies, with roles split between planning/coordinating and digging into data for analytics and forecasting.

Starting off as a supply chain coordinator, you might have the chance to earn more as you move to a supply planner role, where you work on strategic planning with suppliers and logistics. Becoming a supply planning manager means you’re in charge of a team and get into deeper strategic planning for the company, with a potential 25% increase in earnings.

If you start as a supply chain analyst, you could grow into an inventory management expert, which sees a 14% rise. This is crucial for managing stock in various locations and directly affects how much profit the company makes. Being good at demand planning and inventory management could lead you to become a demand planning manager, who usually reports directly to the supply chain director, and sees a 34% increase.

Big companies might also have an S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) manager. This role is essential for making sure the company’s operations and what it plans to sell line up well. It’s a big step towards becoming a supply chain director, where you oversee lots of different departments and can expect a salary increase of 36% from your S&OP roles.

Main Roles

• Supply Chain Director: Oversees the whole strategy and operation of the supply chain, ensuring everything from procurement to distribution is efficient and keeps customers happy.
• S&OP Manager (Sales and Operations Planning Manager): Oversees the S&OP process to align production and inventory levels with sales forecasts and customer demand to balance supply and demand.
• Demand Planning Manager: Develops forecasting models and manages the demand planning process to predict sales and ensure the supply chain is prepared to meet customer needs.
• Supply / Planning Manager: Coordinates the planning of supply to meet customer demand, working closely with procurement, production, and distribution teams.
• Demand Planner (Forecast): Analyzes historical data and market trends to make accurate predictions about future product demand.
• Inventory Management Expert: Specializes in inventory strategies, managing stock levels and optimizing inventory turnover to reduce costs and prevent overstocking or stockouts.
• Supply Planner: Creates and maintains supply plans based on demand forecasts, inventory levels, and production capacities to ensure product availability.
• Supply Chain Analyst: Analyzes supply chain data to identify trends, improve efficiency, and recommend changes to inventory management, logistics, and other supply chain processes.
• Supply Chain Coordinator: Assists in managing various aspects of the supply chain process, supporting the flow of goods from suppliers to customers.

Salaries

Projects and Consulting Salary & Jobs

Starting in project management or consulting, such as a transport project manager, and progressing through roles in logistics and supply chain project management (+6% in salary) can lead to a program director position. Specializing in IT and supply chain, particularly with skills in AI and data science, is highly valued and can expedite career advancement with a +66% bump between Data Analyst and Data and Science Engineer.

Technical experts, including IT project managers, data analysts, and AI engineers, often command higher salaries due to their transformative impact on company processes. This trend is especially notable in technology-focused and large companies, where expertise is often prioritized over traditional managerial roles.

Main Roles

• Supply Chain Project Manager: Manages supply chain-related projects, focusing on process improvements, system implementations, or supply chain integration
• IT Project Manager: Oversees IT projects, managing the development and implementation of solutions to meet project objectives.
• Consultant: Provides expert advice, helping organizations solve problems, create value, improve growth, and optimize performance.
• Data Science and AI Engineer: Develops algorithms and models using data science and AI to support decision-making and innovation.
• Data Analyst Scientist: Analyzes complex data sets to identify insights, trends, and patterns for business decisions and strategic planning.
• Logistics Project Manager: Specializes in logistics projects, aiming to optimize operations such as transportation, warehousing, and distribution.
• Transport Project Manager: Manages transport-related projects, focusing on efficiency and cost reduction in the movement of goods.

Salaries

Supply Chain Salary Simulator

Now is the time to discover your true value.

Simply launch our simulator to find out. Find out exactly how much you worth in your job

• What your current salary should be based on your situation.
• Key insights into what the next job could mean for you regarding a pay rise.
• Tips on what it takes to get there.

Supply Chain Salary & Jobs: Conclusion

Great job if you’ve read this far; you are indeed motivated to find the right career path!

Drawing from my personal experience and discussions with thousands of members of the AbcSupplyChain Online School, don’t remain stuck in a pattern where you’re always aiming for more—unless you desperately need it. Ambition is good; it keeps you sharp. However, finding the right job fit is equally important, if not more so, than simply making more money.

In pursuing my career in the corporate world, I could have earned significantly more than by choosing the entrepreneurial path in education. But in the end, I found the right fit for me in this endeavor.

On the other hand, finding a job that suits you doesn’t mean you should become too comfortable either. If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re probably not in the right room. Always stay sharp, never stop exploring and learning, and be ready for opportunities—they will come, and you will be able to seize them.

Thank you for reading this guide. Feel free to contact us if you have any comments or need our assistance to steer your career in the right direction. We would be more than happy to help.