APICS Operations and Supply Chain Management Career Paths and Patterns

Professionals use many resources to plan their next career moves, establish longterm professional goals, or get started in new disciplines.

These range from peers and mentors to networking events, educational institutions, and professional associations: A successful career path is not developed independently.

In the Operations and Supply Chain Management Career Paths and Patterns report, APICS The Association for Operations Management provides a collection of more than 6,000 operations and supply chain management professionals’ experiences, career directions, and educational achievements into one document to help you compare your path, consider your next steps, and establish milestones.

Included in this report are data on operations and supply chain management professionals from a variety of job functions and career levels. Operations and Supply Chain Management Career Paths and Patterns provides information on length of time in each job role, education level and certification status, primary skills responsible for promotions, and more.

In 2009, APICS developed and introduced new tools to help members manage their careers: APICS Supply Chain Competency Model, Operations Management Employment Outlook index, and the APICS Operations Management Body of Knowledge Framework industry and job role appendices.

Each of these tools touched aspects of a career path, identifying the training, skills, and knowledge operations management professionals should develop to advance in the profession. However, a direct assessment of operations management professionals’ career paths had not been undertaken.

In January 2010, APICS developed a survey to gain an overview of operations management professionals’ career paths.