As a supply chain professional, the responsibility is to secure opportunities that could improve the company's bottom line.
The career reaches far beyond just moving goods or taking care of your customers' logistics needs, professionals need to have business acumen in order to identify potential lucrative customers.
Constantly up skill yourself
The key to building a truly sustainable supply chain career is to avoid staying stagnant in a single job position for an extended period of time as it would lock a person into a narrowly defined role that lacks exposure. You are reduced to a mundane position where you are simply taking orders instead of becoming an innovative thinker who generates progressive solutions for the company and its shareholders. This will not only limit your career choices, but also results in you having much less to offer your employer in terms of skills and diversity.
Vietnamese expertise, global mind-set
Vietnam’s current position as one of the region’s top multinational hub has increased the necessity for companies to align themselves with global standards. Hence, it has become far more important for workers to have an employable set of skills that has both depth and breadth. Although rising to a senior position indicates specialisation in a single area of expertise, this will come at the expense of you challenging your limits and moving out of your comfort zone. Keep yourself well-informed and ahead of development in supply chain in order to maintain top industry knowledge in the Vietnamese and global markets.
Think beyond your role
In addition to securing the opportunities with clients to strengthen your company's bottom line, you must gently guide them in the right direction so as to create a mutually beneficial relationship for both the customer and your firm. In this respect, past experience across other disciplines will definitely come in handy as it gives you a sharper perspective to judge individual situations and tailor your approach accordingly. Even if you are not from the sales or finance department and feel that you may not have the requisite skill sets, there is a lot of information available out there that you can make use of to upgrade your existing skills and acquire the needed skill sets to excel in a supply chain position.
Ensure reliability
Another common trait of high performers is the ability to do the job right. Often they are not clueless, they know exactly what is expected of them and will go about accomplishing their project goals in as efficient a manner as possible. Their reliability does not just end in the office either. Their customers can trust them to carry out all promised tasks. Real supply chain superstars are aware that their company's reputation is at stake and will take the initiative to set up effective communication channels with both customers and vendors.
