Entering the Unchartered Waters
I joined the supply chain and logistics sector in 2006. The career looked promising to me. Before joining this sector, never in my, I heard about supply chain management and logistics. Immediately after I started working in this 3PL company, one of my relatives asked me where I have joined and what do I do. It was really hard for me to try explaining what is supply chain and logistics because he too never heard about it. The only word ever heard and seen were transportation and godown.
A few such encounters in the first year made me sceptical about my career in supply chain and logistics. The questions such as “None of my friends and relatives works in this sector, then how can I explain it?” “There is a lot of manual work going on around me and it is a high-pressure job, am I in the right place?”.
Come 2008, the recession hit the world economies alike. Please were losing their job like crazy. Graduates who just finished were hardly getting any job offers. Everyone was staring in uncertainty. Like everyone, I too was concerned. A question was lingering around in my mind from the last few days, “Will I be laid off looking at the bad situation we are in?”.
However, we received an email from our director about what was happening around due to the economic recession. The summary of the mail was like this.
- The economic recession is real
- We are going through tough times
- Businesses across the table are downsizing and reducing costs to survive
- We are not laying off anyone at this time point, but expect less increment in comparison to the previous year
- Think out of the box always, explore ways to improve processes continuously
- Continue to work on providing superior solutions and customer service to every customer, because people will continue to buy and it means the companies will have to supply the demand.
Careers in Supply Chain Management & Logistics – A Metaphor for Growth & Stability
Since then, there was no looking back for me and thousands working in this sector. Let me explain why this is called a sunrise sector and is recession-proof.
Even in a stressed economy, there is a need to manufacture, store and move goods from one place to another. Therefore manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing will remain critical as will the demand for professionals that can successfully fulfil these services. It is rightly said that every person and every industry in the world is influenced by, and depends upon transport and logistics.
This was evident when the pandemic hit the world. This too was unprecedented and we were never prepared for it. The supply chain too was hit with blanket lockdown over the production and movement of goods. However, this was the first sector that bounced back and went the extra mile to make sure everyone have access to the essential goods during those uncertain times.
It is worth taking note that there are so many diverse careers available in this exciting, fast-paced, and dynamic sector. No day is boring and the same. Careers in core areas such as supply chain and logistics aplenty in Supply Chain Management, Sousing, and procurement, Inventory management, warehousing, logistics, supplier & customer relationship management, etc, and functional areas such as HR, Business Development, Operations, Finance, IT, Training & Development, etc.
Supply chain management and logistics may not be as glamorous as IT or banking, however, provides a stable and fulfilling career opportunity.
You can also read about the Soft skills for Logistics and Supply Chain Management Professionals
