Is Supply Chain Becoming Sexy? Driving Talent to Supply Chain Careers

I have great passion for supply chain management. However at dinner parties, when I get asked what I do, I usually make up stories like being a hand model or working as an avalanche forecaster. It's just too involved to accurately (and better yet, briefly) describe supply chain services. Although I love what I do, I know it's not an inherently sexy profession to discuss.

And that's the problem.

There is a supply chain talent shortage that needs to be addressed to drive people to supply chain careers. It may just be a product of under exposure as a career. At least, I hope it is. Good news is that I'm reading more stories like this one that came out in the Wall Street Journal last week.

Here's the dirty little secret…you know those groceries you just picked up last night at the supermarket? They got there through the orchestration of a supply chain career professional. How about the shampoo at the local pharmacy? The clothes to your favorite retail outlet? Food to your favorite restaurant? Ditto to all the above.

Until manufacturers stop making products to sell, I don't see this paradigm changing anytime soon. People want goods and professionals need to deliver those goods. Maybe 3D printer technology could change all this, but in the meantime, tell your children that a supply chain career looks like a pretty good option.