Supply Chain Director
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Supply Chain Director directs supply chain functions including logistics, materials, purchasing, distribution and inventory management. Develops and implements strategies for improving these functions and oversees operations. Looks for ways to streamline production, purchasing, warehousing and distribution and implement cost savings
Job Outlook
There were 215 Supply Chain Director job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5590 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Supply Chain / Logistics Manager industry, which includes the Supply Chain Director career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Supply Chain Director jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $167,076.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $159,789.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Supply Chain Director postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $136,532.
Education and Experience
Posted Supply Chain Director jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 82.52% |
| Master's Degree | 44.47% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.52% |
| Other | 3.86% |
Posted Supply Chain Director jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 2.99% |
| 3 to 5 years | 25% |
| 6 to 8 years | 23.04% |
| 9+ years | 48.97% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Supply Chain Director positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Operations (69.32%)
- Leadership (67.75%)
- Management (64.17%)
- Communication (52.52%)
- Planning (40.29%)
- Problem Solving (30.86%)
- Customer Service (30.07%)
- Innovation (26.08%)
- Sales (25.67%)
- Negotiation (22.68%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Supply Chain Strategy (18.12%)
- Supply Chain (97.52%)
- Procurement (34.04%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (35.64%)
- Inventory Management (29.14%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (32.71%)
- Purchasing (30.01%)
- Supply Chain Management (49.44%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership (8.87%)
- Business Metrics (10.87%)
- Supplier Management (5.96%)
- Workflow Management (10.78%)
- Business Operations (4.48%)
- Warehouse Operations (7.16%)
- Supply Chain Optimization (10.98%)
- Demand Planning (11.25%)
- Data Analysis (18.27%)
- Supply Chain Planning (18.76%)
- Production Planning (8.61%)
- Six Sigma Methodology (10.09%)
- Third-Party Logistics (3.35%)
- Change Management (13.7%)
- Demand Forecasting (5.74%)
- Finished Good (5.81%)
- Marketing (7.61%)
- Risk Management (7.43%)
- Materials Management (8.58%)
- Warehouse Management Systems (7.87%)
- Logistics (8.2%)
- Business Requirements (5.94%)
- Auditing (9.38%)
- Performance Metric (11.76%)
- Strategic Sourcing (6.41%)
- Business Process (10.8%)
- Performance Management (15.22%)
- Enterprise Resource Planning (14.31%)
- Strategic Leadership (3.13%)
- Inventory Control (15.21%)
- Business Strategies (7.99%)
- Cycle Counting (7.39%)
- Warehousing (17.19%)
- Finance (28.76%)
- Working Capital (3.35%)
- Cost Reduction (8.14%)
- Supply Chain Acumen (20.34%)
- Material Requirements Planning (7.9%)
- Project Management (29.23%)
- Lean Manufacturing (9.38%)
- SAP Applications (10.44%)
- Operational Excellence (6.41%)
- Supplier Relationship Management (6.56%)
- New Product Development (13.13%)
- Sales Inventory And Operations Planning (7.25%)
- Process Improvement (22.07%)
- Supplier Performance Management (9.16%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Inbound Logistics (5.57%)
- Outbound Logistics (5.39%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Supply Chain Strategy (40.88%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (73.79%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Supply Chain Director skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Director of Supply Chain
- Director of Supply Chain Operations
- Supply Chain Manager
- Director of Supply Chain Planning
- Supply Chain Associate Director
- Director of Global Supply Chain
- Director of Supply Chain Management
- Director of Supply Chain Services
- Head of Supply Chain
- Vice President of Supply Chain
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Supply Chain Manager
- Supply Chain Specialist (General)
- Supply Chain Analyst
- Demand Planning Manager
- Distribution Manager
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Supply Chain Director jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Johnson & Johnson (211)
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (129)
- Huron Consulting Group (117)
- Albany Medical Center (117)
- HCA Healthcare (105)
- Uline (96)
- Accenture (94)
- Intermountain Health (89)
- Celestica (58)
- Amentum (49)
North Carolina
- Wells Fargo (18)
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (8)
- Biogen (8)
- Duke University (6)
- Caterpillar (5)
- Cornerstone Building Brands (4)
- Albemarle (4)
- Spectrum (4)
- Accenture (4)
- GlaxoSmithKline (3)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Agricultural Business Management Undergraduate Certificates
- Business Administration Master's Degrees
- Professional Communication and Managerial Skills Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.