Description

Distribution management is the analysis, planning, and control of activities concerned with the procurement and distribution of goods, as well as coordinating activities of the firms in the supply chain.  Typical activities include transportation, warehousing, forecasting, order processing, inventory control, production planning, site selection, and customer service.  Logistics management involves analyzing the combined costs of various activities, across firms, to obtain the most satisfactory level of customer service at the lowest total cost.

Career Opportunities

Careers in distribution management provide an individual with the potential for rapid advancement within a firm. Distribution managers must, by necessity, interact with managers in all other functional areas of the firm and with outside firms. This broad exposure to business provides many opportunities for career advancement.

Entry Level Positions

Distribution firms are increasingly looking to hire individuals at both the undergraduate and MBA levels. Entry-level positions dealing primarily with distribution logistics include:  physical distribution manager, inventory control manager, traffic manager, distribution planning analyst, category manager, and customer service manager. Distribution management positions are also available in the transportation industry in the areas of transportation marketing and operations management.

Requisite Personal Qualities

Distribution management positions typically require the interpersonal leadership skills for effectively dealing with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Also useful are strong analytical and communication skills, and the ability to take a broad systems viewpoint of management.

Academic Preparation

Distribution management requires a broad background in the core functional areas of business, with particular emphasis in distribution-related topics such as logistics, transportation, purchasing, and negotiation.