Director of Supply Chain
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Director of Supply Chain 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 259 Director of Supply Chain job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 7245 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Supply Chain / Logistics Manager industry, which includes the Director of Supply Chain career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Director of Supply Chain 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 $178,053.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $174,002.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Director of Supply Chain postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $150,492.
Education and Experience
Posted Director of Supply Chain 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 | 81.23% |
| Master's Degree | 46.34% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.66% |
| Other | 4.68% |
Posted Director of Supply Chain 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 | 0.68% |
| 3 to 5 years | 21.36% |
| 6 to 8 years | 25.29% |
| 9+ years | 52.67% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Director of Supply Chain 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.
- Leadership (80.8%)
- Operations (65.92%)
- Management (65.52%)
- Communication (58.32%)
- Planning (48.32%)
- Problem Solving (35.51%)
- Customer Service (28.05%)
- Innovation (26.53%)
- Influencing Skills (25.16%)
- Negotiation (25.15%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Supply Chain Strategy (22.53%)
- Supply Chain (97.3%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (39.32%)
- Procurement (39.01%)
- Inventory Management (29.96%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (28.59%)
- Supply Chain Management (44.76%)
- Purchasing (27.34%)
- Project Management (30.22%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Supplier Management (11.5%)
- Business Metrics (8.55%)
- Logistics (10.96%)
- Thought Leadership (10.13%)
- Six Sigma Methodology (6.94%)
- Supply Chain Optimization (8.06%)
- Supply Chain Planning (19.15%)
- Demand Planning (13.88%)
- Data Analysis (16.06%)
- Accounting (8.58%)
- Business Development (7.22%)
- Automation (9.34%)
- Business Requirements (7.59%)
- Production Planning (8.56%)
- Third-Party Logistics (4.24%)
- Capacity Planning (7.39%)
- Auditing (11.14%)
- Cost Reduction (9.28%)
- Business Process (11.21%)
- Change Management (14.48%)
- Inventory Control (10.97%)
- Performance Management (9.37%)
- Enterprise Resource Planning (10.41%)
- Inventory Turnover (4.03%)
- Finance (30.82%)
- Lean Manufacturing (15.27%)
- Warehousing (10.52%)
- Contract Negotiation (6.57%)
- Finished Good (4.97%)
- Operations Management (7.32%)
- Demand Forecasting (8.13%)
- Marketing (10.99%)
- Risk Management (10.13%)
- Material Requirements Planning (7.04%)
- Merchandising (1.73%)
- Materials Management (8.83%)
- Strategic Sourcing (8.47%)
- Sales Inventory And Operations Planning (4.72%)
- Operational Excellence (9.49%)
- Pharmaceuticals (9.17%)
- New Product Development (17.56%)
- Process Improvement (22.67%)
- Business Strategies (9.75%)
- Performance Metric (9.34%)
- Supply And Demand (8.49%)
- SAP Applications (11.93%)
- Supplier Performance Management (12.83%)
- Supplier Relationship Management (9.92%)
- Supply Chain Acumen (16.09%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Supply Chain Network (6.26%)
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 Network (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Director of Supply Chain skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Director of Supply Chain Operations
- Supply Chain Manager
- Supply Chain Associate Director
- Director of Supply Chain Management
- Sourcing Leader
- Director of Supply Chain Planning
- Director of Supply Chain Solutions
- Director of Global Supply Chain
- Head 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
- Director of Logistics
- Director of Procurement / Sourcing
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Director of Supply Chain jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- GE Aerospace (340)
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (237)
- Johnson & Johnson (196)
- Celestica (128)
- Intermountain Health (124)
- Albany Medical Center (120)
- Huron Consulting Group (116)
- Cardinal Health (97)
- HCA Healthcare (95)
- Leonardo DRS (83)
North Carolina
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (11)
- GE Aerospace (9)
- Honeywell International (7)
- GlaxoSmithKline (7)
- Celestica (7)
- Ahold (7)
- Lowe's (6)
- Aston Carter (5)
- Merck & Co. (5)
- Duke University (5)
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
- 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.