From meal planning to organizing and cleaning to budgeting, running a household is no simple task. The equation grows even more complex when kids come into the picture, adding new moving parts for you to manage.
Life is busy, but somehow, you do it all. You take care of your kids, keep your home in working order and (every so often) get a good night’s sleep. Let’s face it, you’re pretty great at what you do!
The home is a great place to earn an education that will prepare you for success in life. As a parent, you have developed many valuable skills that translate well into a working environment. A supply chain management job is one example of a role that leverages skills you already possess as a parent, creating a seamless transition for you from the home to the working world.
Keep reading to learn why you just might be better equipped than you thought.
But first … what do supply chain management jobs entail?
What is a supply chain manager job all about, and what does it have to do with parenting? At the baseline, a lot. Supply chain management is working to understand customer needs and then meeting them, much like you do for your kids every day. Supply chain managers oversee the life cycle of a product as they analyze and coordinate the supply chain of businesses, ultimately moving products along from supplier to consumer.
“The bottom line goal for any supply chain management job is to develop a process to deliver service excellence to the customers to give them what they want, when they want it at the maximum profitability for your business,” says Scott Bouvat, supply chain analyst at Bemis North America.
Sound familiar, mom and dad? Now that you’re a bit more familiar with the field, let’s explore five reasons why parents are perfect for supply chain management jobs.
Parents make perfect supply chain management professionals because…
1. They are great collaborators
To be successful in a supply chain management job, it’s crucial to communicate and collaborate well from a product’s planning stages to final distribution. To ensure a successful product, supply chain management professionals work with many other departments, including manufacturing operations, procurement, customer service, marketing and sales, quality assurance and finance.
In other words, it takes a village, just like parenting. You frequently partner with teachers, coaches, health professionals, friends and family members to give the best to your child. Even though you may have what it takes to do the job well on your own, having a few extra hands around to help surely allays some of your stress as a parent.
2. They know how to handle multiple moving parts
“I liken a supply chain management job to the hub of a wheel that deals with all of the spokes on a daily basis,” Bouvat says. “Many departments rely on the supply chain organization for guidance and input into their processes to achieve effective overall business results.”
Because supply chain management jobs oversee the entire lifecycle of multiple products at one time, there is a naturally a lot happening at once--think ever-changing, real-time demands. If you are a parent to multiple children, you know the feeling all too well. Each child has a different role in the family, a different personality and different needs, and you are the one they look to for guidance and support.
3. They’re always proactive
Have you ever seen that look in a toddler’s eye? The mischievous one that indicates they are probably up to no good and potentially about to do something dangerous? Parents are programmed with a built-in intuition that allows them to notice needs before they exist and prevent hazardous happenings.
Though it might involve product development and not a sneaky toddler, a supply chain management professional has a similar role. Since the position encompasses several simultaneously moving pieces, perceiving needs leads to saving time and money by preventing problems before they happen.
4. They are extra efficient
Supply chain management professionals are also responsible for creating strategies to minimize the cost or time required to transport goods. This helps ensure the customers are getting what they need, when they need it. To do this well takes a great amount of efficiency as well as time and resource management.
You know what it’s like to juggle multiple responsibilities and needs. If one thing gets off track, the entire day can go awry. Keeping things moving on schedule (and on budget) is key for supply chain managers and parents alike.
5. They thrive in fast-paced environments
The kids are in bed, the house is clean and everything is set for the next day. You know that feeling at the end of the day where you can finally take a deep breath? That’s because there’s probably no job more fast-paced than parenting. From packing lunches at the last minute to driving kids across town during rush hour for soccer practice, no one knows how to manage a fast-paced lifestyle better than you.
Whether your kids are toddlers are teenagers, you know exactly what it takes to get things done and get them done efficiently. The same is true of a good supply chain management professional. To oversee the production goods from raw material to consumer with excellence takes great attention to detail and accuracy, but also speed--just like parenting.
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