The Supply Chain Manager position is one of the most important positions in a company, with a lot of responsibilities: from managing all procurement activities to delivering products at the right time and place, ensuring at any time, the availability of all the resources needed to meet customer demand.
From our point of view, 5 of the most important skills a Supply Chain Manager needs to have are: project management capabilities, good communications and negotiation skills, market understanding and technical capabilities and data analysis capability. Let’s develop.
Project Management
The success of the project depends on the manager’s ability to manage it. Supply Chain Managers have to negotiate resources, budgets and schedules. At each point along the way the product travels from one point to the other, they will face risks and will have to make the right decisions.
Communication and negotiation
Like any manager, communication is the basis for his work. Regardless of the environment to use, it has a very important weight in maintaining relationships with customers and partners. Equally important is communication with your own team, so messages sent must be very clear, that each member of the team knows what to do.
Negotiation skills are also essential for the EMS to be successful. Every day, he has direct contacts with suppliers, partners, customers, or different partners, and the knowledge and skills to negotiate a better outcome must always be developed.
Understanding the market
This activity is very dynamic and in constant evolution. Supply Chain Manager needs to understand the market, analyze trends, and predict, to some extent, possible fluctuations.
What factors determine the demand, supply, and pricing for products that the organization develops? How can the production process be managed efficiently? These are the main issues that a Supply Chain Manager needs to focus on.
Technical skills
The supply chain relies heavily on technology. Organizations use enterprise resource planning systems and warehouse management systems so that managers can control everything that’s going on.
Since you will always use various applications and analysis programs, you need to know how you are around modern technology if you want to be a supply chain manager.
Data analysis
Data analysis is an incredibly complex process, but it also plays an important role in managing the business. An efficient supply chain manager knows what data to choose and how to measure them.
As a supply chain manager, you need to use data to identify weak and inefficient issues, and for that you need to select and implement the right IT solutions to help your team work effectively.
