Logistics and Supply Chain Management are the set of activities and network organizations that make the journey between raw materials to the shipment of the final goods, a reality. The best way to understand what it does is to realize what happens when the world is devoid of them.
Read A day in the life of an operations manager
Take the instance of that famous movie from the 90s, since if you are looking into this article now, you have probably lived in that decade. A downright terrible supply chain management can lead to the production of all collars and no shirts. The result – an embarrassed Aamir Khan, a pissed off customer/retailer and a marketing executive who is responsible for this riot of laughter. Try watching this movie in case you have no idea where this is coming from.
MS/Masters or MBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Top Schools, Admission Information and Industry Profile
Hilarious movie scenarios aside, logistics and supply chain management (SCM) deal with suppliers, purchasing, inventory, resource, manufacture, warehousing, transportation, and finally information management between each stage of production. Information from the customers, which could also be the next stage in production, keeps feeding back into the loop to optimize the process for cost and quality.
So, graduates in the field of Logistics & SCM are responsible for, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics in USA, BLS.gov Logisticians Occupational Handbook,
-Management of the product’s life cycle
-Allocation of resources
-Client supplier business management
-Design strategies to minimize waste, cost, and time in production
-Identify room for logistical improvements
-Deal with customer requirements and management improvements to meet customer needs.
For more information, click away on these articles for details.
Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Find out if you have what it takes to be in SCM by playing this Online SCM Game.
Here, in this article, we have put together all the relevant information for you to decide on your Logistics & Supply Chain Management Masters (MS) or MBA degree. Besides industry profiles and salaries, we have here the top schools, and their admission requirements. While most offer MBA degrees, some do have an MS curriculum in SCM. Some individual schools even float time and wallet friendly Certificate programs.
For completeness sake, here is a list of links to help ease your curiosity of the top MBA and MS specializations.
–Top MS/Masters specializations
Logisticians find themselves relevant in not just the manufacturing and corporate industry, but also in government jobs, defense and the scientific industry. It is an extremely sought after field with a growing need in India as well, reflected from the development of SCM courses in the IIMs and XLRI institutes.
According to BLS, the ten year growth projection of SCM jobs is about 2%, by 2024, taking the number of jobs to over 133k. The average salary is around $77,000 with the higher wages around $115,000.
The industries that are popularly known to hire Logisticians, according to BLS data in 2018, are listed in the table below.
| Industry | Average Salary (Approx.) |
|---|---|
| Federal Executive Branch | $88,500 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $79,000 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | $75,000 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $89,000 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $79,000 |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | $103,000 |
| Agencies, brokerages, Insurance, etc. | $115,000 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement | $67,000 |
| Securities, Commodity, Financial Investments, etc. | $113,000 |
| Food and beverage | $113,000 |
The possible industries, not listed here, are retail, online shopping and pretty much all manufacturing industries. And with increasing numbers and competition, it will become essential to hire professionals who can design efficient production strategies, without compromising the quality of the end product.
USA has some of the premier schools offering an MBA or MS program in Logistics and SCM. Here is a list of the top ten business schools, as per US News Rankings & Reviews, their admission requirements and approximate tuition costs.
| University | Program Type | GMAT or GRE?/
Average GMAT or GRE Score
|
TOEFL | App.
Fee |
Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
MBA Available
Masters Available MIT Supply Chain Management (SCM) Master’s Program |
Either/
No minimum GMAT : 716* GRE : 324 -330 (Magoosh)
|
iBT: 100
IELTS: 7 |
$75 | $67, 938 |
|
Michigan State University (Broad)
|
MSSCM
Minimum of 2 years work experience in relevant field required
|
Either/
No minimum GMAT: 670 (Broad)
|
iBT: 100
CBT: 250 IELTS: 7 |
$85 | $51,600 |
| Pennsylvania State University – University Park (Smeal) | Masters
Minimum of 2 years work experience in relevant field required |
Either (GMAT Recommended)/
GMAT: 636* GRE Q: 155 V: 158 |
IBT: 80
Speaking : 19 PBT: 550 IELTS: 6.5
|
$65 | $1,055 per credit
(Tuition)
Total ~ $40,000 (US News Rankings and Reviews) |
| Arizona State University (Carey) | MS in Global Logistics | Either/
GMAT: 682 GRE: 311 |
iBT:80
PBT: 550 |
$90 | $50,700
(Tuition) |
| University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (Ross) | MSCM | Either/
No minimum GMAT: 650-740 GRE: Q 155 |
iBT: 100
PTE: 70 |
$75 | $55,000
(Tuition) |
| Stanford University (GSB) | MBA
MSx Program needs 8 years experience |
Either/
No minimum GMAT: 733* GRE: 328 – 332 (Magoosh) |
iBT: 100
PBT: 600 IELTS: 7 PTE: 68 |
$275 | $66,540
(Tuition) |
| Ohio State University (Fisher) | MBLE
Masters of Business Logistics Engineering |
Either/
No minimum 80 percentile or above |
iBT: 100
PBT: 600 IELTS: 7.5 |
$70 | $45,722
(Tuition) |
| University of Tennessee – Knoxville (Haslam) | MBA | Either/
No minimum specified |
iBT: 100
PBT: 600 IELTS: 7.5 |
$60 | $70,486
(Tuition) |
| Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | MBA | Either/
No minimum GMAT: 690* GRE: ** Q 156 V 161
|
iBT: 100
PBT: 600 CBT: 250
|
$200 | $61,440 |
| University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | MBA | Either/
No minimum GMAT: 720 GRE: 326 – 330 (Magoosh) |
iBT: 110
PBT: 633 |
$265 | $125,900 including rent
(Tuition) And may we please say OMG! |
*Average GMAT from MBA Crystal Ball, ** Average GRE from MBA Crystal Ball
In conclusion, we hope that this article gave you all the necessary information to bring together your abstract ideas and place them in neatly packed brain cells for your next step, namely management and allocation of your resources for a successful degree. The logistician in you should have recognized what we did there!
Good Luck!
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– MBA in Retail Management
Also read about other Specialized Masters Programs
Hi Sameer,
I would also include Purdue’s Krannert School of Business for its SCML program.
Thanks,
SiD
Can you enlighten me about RoI after MSc Global supply chain & Logistics from HEC Montreal, CANADA?
Hi,
Could you please enlighten about the premier institues in CANADA offering specialising in SCM and logistics. Thanks !