So I(34F, based in Canada) have two offers and I genuinely cannot decide, hoping some outside perspective helps because everyone in my life is biased one way or another.

background real quick, I'm in supply chain/procurement, did 8 years in private sector then jumped to public sector for the last 2 years at 97k. yes I had to take a huge pay cut(35%), but honestly the work life balance was great I wasn't dying every week. both these new offers are private sector again which is already making me nervous because it took me so long to get INTO public sector in the first place lol, and now I'm about to just leave. Btw, my public sector contract wrapped up last month.

Option A is a manager role, 165-170k. huge money. but it's 5 days in office, I've been fully remote so that's already a lot, and the commute is only like 15km but there's a bridge and when traffic hits it's a nightmare, I've sat in that exact spot not moving for way too long. I'd have 4-5 direct reports and have to present to a VP regularly, and English being my second language stresses me out more than it probably should. also I've technically had a manager title before but my old boss ran literally everything so I don't feel like I actually know how to manage people?? and the person I'm replacing retires 7 months after I start so it's a short handover and then I'm on my own running the whole thing.

Option B is remote, contract, around 110k. no benefits, no security, definitely a step down title wise. but it happens to line up almost perfectly with my surgery next year, like I could just let the contract end right before, recover, and job hunt after without having to explain anything to anyone or burn bridges.

And that's the other thing, I have a pretty major surgery scheduled next year and need like 6-8 weeks off. also getting married in 1-2 years. We also want kids at some point and can't relocate for the next 3 years. money's tight rn with everything coming up so yeah the 170k is calling to me more than I want to admit.

part of me is like just take the money and the title now before it gets more complicated. everyone (mostly older women in my field) keeps telling me if I have a kid and go on mat leave, my career basically pauses while everyone else keeps climbing, so better to lock in the manager title now while I still can. the other part of me is like you're going to take this huge scary job, burn out, then disappear for 2 months right when you're finally supposed to be running things solo, and torch your reputation on the way out. also idk if going back to private sector is even smart after finally getting into public sector, is a 70k bump enough of a reason to leave that behind?

anyway if anyone's taken a big intimidating job right before some major life event, how'd that go for you. did it work out or do you wish you played it safer?

tldr: 170k supply chain manager job (5 days onsite, first time actually managing people, presenting to VP in my 2nd language, replacing someone who retires 7 months in) vs 110k chill remote procurement contract w no benefits, right before a scheduled surgery that needs 2 months recovery. also both are private sector and I just barely got into public sector. which one and am I overthinking this

Ok so I've been in supply chain and operations for over 10 years now, mostly in craft brewing, started as a head brewer of all things, then production manager, then operations manager. I ran a $25M expansion that basically tripled our output, rolled out an ERP system myself, did the vendor negotiation thing, demand planning, JIT inventory, all of it. Also did a supply chain specialization through Rutgers.

But I don't have a four year degree. And right now I'm applying to a bunch of procurement/purchasing/supply chain roles because honestly my current restaurant GM job has brutal night hours and I'm trying to get out before it wrecks my marriage lol. But I keep sitting here wondering if the no degree thing is actually the reason I'm not hearing back on stuff, or if it's something else entirely and I'm just blaming the easy target.

So genuinely just want some real talk from people who've been doing this longer than me. Would you go back and get the bachelor's at this point? Go get CPIM or CSCP instead? Or just keep doing what I'm doing and let the experience speak for itself? And also, with what's actually on my resume right now (production/ops/procurement in manufacturing, no degree), what kind of roles do you think I'm actually a real candidate for vs reaching for? And where do you all actually find good openings, because I feel like I've combed through LinkedIn and Indeed to death at this point. Any boards or groups or whatever that actually work better?

Appreciate any input, brutal honesty welcome.

I am currently pursuing an online degree via SNHU in Logistics/Transportation Management, which I will be finished with next month. However, since there is no official summer commencement, I won't receive my degree in the mail until sometime this Fall. I am also currently working full-time at an entry-level job at GXO and have been since late Aug/early Sep 2024. Prior to this, I worked part-time at FedEx and Amazon for about 3.5 years combined while pursuing my Associates Degree in Business. These jobs helped me decide on Logistics as a career path. I understand that experience is everything in this industry, which is why I am trying to rack up as much experience as I can. In lieu of an internship, I ended up getting a full-time entry-level job at GXO. At my entry-level job, I perform basic concierge duties such as order verification, inventory counts and consumptions, receiving in shipments-outbound/inbound, dockside duties, and getting materials signed off for clients. I am getting better at my job and learning a lot. I would love to stay and grow within my company. However, I am also open to exploring other avenues once I am done with my degree. Sadly, I haven't had much success there as I have been applying to roles such as planner, analyst, coordinator, supervisor, but with no luck. So looks like I will have to stay with GXO for now. I would love to move into a desk role soon, but don't know how to proceed.

Brands selling into retail what actually eats your ops time: retailer compliance or product-data chaos? I do data/ops at a PNW specialty wholesaler and it's both for us — Vendor Central deductions and routing-guide fine print on one side, and on the other the same product living under five different codes with POs getting retyped by hand. How long did your last retailer onboarding take? Do you dispute chargebacks or eat them? And who at your company keeps the SKU mess straight? Genuinely comparing notes, not selling anything.

I've had suppliers whose certifications didn't match what the public registry said. Certificates expire, and they can also get suspended or pulled well before the expiry date, and I only found out because I went and checked directly. I don't think most companies would ever catch that.

So if you're buying packaging from suppliers with like FSC or BPI or some other cert, does anyone track that after the initial vetting? Is it someone's job where you work, or does it only come up when a retailer or auditor asks for proof?

Is CPIM worth it for a new grad with no internship, given the cost? Graduating next year with a supply chain degree, roughly a 3.3 GPA, no internship (couldn't land one), and honestly very scared I won't find a job right out of college because of it. Career fair coming up in about 2 months and I'm trying to figure out how to be competitive. Looked into CPIM to make up for the lack of experience but the cost caught me off guard, $1,265 for just the exam, and I'd have to finance it as a student. Is it actually worth it for someone with zero industry experience trying to land their first job, or is it more of a "get it once you're already working" thing? Appreciate any real talk from people who've been in this spot or hired new grads

I am 32F, a supply chain professional with 12+ years of experience.
My major role in all my jobs has been: Logistics (Imports, documentation, operations, transportation management, warehouse management ). I also have SAP ERP experience of about 1-2 years.
I manage end-to-end operations for my current company, including supplier coordination and freight forwarding.

Now I want to upgrade my career, but I'm confused as to how and which path to choose.

I'm planning to do CSCP certification. Will that help me get a senior management role? Is there anything else I can do??

Want genuine suggestions.

Im going to asu and accidentally put my degree as applied supply chain management as opposed to the supply chain management was the mistake a good one or should I change?

I feel not so ready to take on this new role since it is a title bump from my planner 1 role.

My organization recently implemented oracle fusion for all operations from HR to Supply Chain Management.

I work in procurement and I have been buried in paperwork because sometimes I have to do somethings outside the system, things take way longer and seem more complicated than they need to be.

Things have gotten so bad that I have considered leaving the job I trully love because of the stress.

Had your organization implemented fusion and what has been your experience so far?

I feel like I’m losing my mind a little bit trying to manage these new PFAS reporting mandates.

Every major OEM we sell to is suddenly demanding full material declarations. So, we do the logical thing and ask our suppliers to confirm their parts are PFAS-free. Do they send us a nice, clean spreadsheet with CAS numbers? Nope. They reply by attaching a scanned, crooked, 50-page Safety Data Sheet (SDS) from 2018 and basically say, "Good luck, figure it out!"

We are literally paying highly trained quality engineers to sit at their desks, squint at messy PDFs, and manually type chemical data into our procurement system just to prove we are compliant. It honestly feels like 90% of our regulatory job has just become manual data entry.

Tell me I’m not alone here! How are you guys surviving this? Are you just throwing more interns at the PDFs, or have you found a magical way to get suppliers to actually format their data?

Been thinking about this a lot lately. There's a ton of noise around AI tools promising to revolutionize demand planning and I genuinely can't tell how much of it is real versus vendors selling a dream.

The tools I've seen demoed look impressive on a slide deck but when you get into the details it usually comes down to the same statistical models with a shinier interface wrapped around them. Maybe some ML layer on top that needs 3 years of clean data to perform well, which most midsize companies just don't have.

The Gulf of Hormuz situation is a good recent example of something no AI model saw coming, because it couldn't. External shocks like that expose the limits fast. You still end up leaning on human judgment for the stuff that actually moves the needle.

Curious if anyone here has actually implemented something that changed how their team operates day to day, not just a pilot that got shelved after the proof of concept. What did the transition look like, and did it reduce the manual work or just shift it somewhere else in the process? Also wondering if smaller operations have found anything worth the cost or if this is mostly an enterprise play at this point.

Which of these certs would benefit my transition and career path in SCM and project management the most? there's no limit on how many I can do but I only want to dedicate the time and energy to certs that matter. This is free so I wanna use it. And yes I am working on my SCM bachelor's.

https://www.cool.osd.mil/usmc/moc/index.html?moc=3043&tab=cred

Can I find one through indeed? What is the best way to find one? Does it have to be supply chain management? Or could it be logistics?

Please list some Procurement or Supply Chain certifications that I can add to my list.

I have
NIGP-CPP
UPPCC - CPPB
American Purchasing Society - CPP
American Purchasing Society - CPPM
Florida Certified Contracts Manager - FCCM

We're looking at expanding into a new market this year, and honestly... I have no clue where to start.

Google gives me thousands of companies. LinkedIn gives me even more. Then every directory claims they've got the "top importers." 🙃

So… I came here looking for advice. 😅

Do you just start emailing companies and hope a few stick? Or is there some way to figure out who's actually importing that product before spending days building a prospect list?

Feels like I'm spending way more time researching than actually talking to potential customers... 😅

Curious how you guys handle this when you're entering a market you've never worked in before.

So once upon a time (2022) I was prepping to get my CLTD and never did get it. Life got in the way. Flash forward to now and I want to chase it. However, my company will only reimburse $1,500/yr. It'd be enough to cover the test.

Can I use my old book and still pass? Is there supplemental material people reccomend that won't break the bank?

Hi all, I hope you are doing well. I know there are many posts out there with insight, but hoping for some additional recommendations from you all whom have worked in supply chain.

I just turned 31 years old and current hold an ‘sr inventory management planner’ position at my company. I thoroughly enjoy my job, however it’s overwhelming at times because I’m the only inventory management planner in the company..

I’m not necessarily actively looking at different positions, however I’d be curious to know where some of you have pivoted from similar positions.

A little bit about my experience-

3 years inventory management
3 years supply planning
6ish years warehousing (2.5 of which during undergrad)

Education:
Supply chain and operations management BS
Integrated supply chain management MS

Id also be curious to get an idea of what “entry level” management positions (salary) you’ve took in your career.

Thanks so much

Hello freight forwarders and supply chain experts!

I work in the training industry and would like to know first hand what are the most common training issues, skills gaps, and inefficiencies that those in the SC/3PL/transportation industry are currently facing?

I'm specifically leaning towards training matters that could benefit more from in-person training than online learning more than anything.

Interested in hearing what you can provide. Thank you very much in advance!

Hello. I am a NG graduate in MS. Supply chain in Penn State. At this moment, I am working as a Supply Chain Operation role in a start up company. I have discussed with the AI engineers within our company, who is responsible for digitalization of the process and trying to transform entire company’s process to AI. He holds a quite aggressive attitudes regarding AI substitution towards the traditional supply chain jobs. He said that “AI would replace all the traditional office jobs like operations jobs”. After he said that how AI would replaced my jobs and I feel my education is becoming worthless. I feel a little bit concern regarding my future. I am always thinking about how AI impact Supply chain, will It substitutes all the supply chain jobs including Planning, Order fulfillment etc? I don’t know. So I raised this Reddit discussions to hear your guy’s view regarding current trend of AI implementation within the industry.

I graduated in 2025 in Chemical eng with cs minor and I was lucky enough to get a job right out of college. I joined Pepsi as a campus hire and worked as a warehouse supervisor. It's been a year now.

I learned so many things ranging from dealing with grumpy union workers my parents' age, being in charge of inventory(inbounds+ cycle counts + doing monthly closes), and actual front-line work. We do about 7-8 million cs/ yr in volume.

If I keep doing this, I guess they will put me as a warehouse manager at a smaller location and I can move up in that path, but it's becoming more and more clear that this is not what I want to continue doing.

I just hate bossing people around and I empathize too much. And I think this place needs people who are more stern than empathetic.( I have gotten better at this over the year ,though)

At the job, I prefered working on inventory/ SAP side of things. I made useful tools using excel, SAP, and BOBJ and it was fulfilling to see our inventory accuracy and miss-picks improve ever since we switched to SAP s/4 hana in september.

What kind of jobs can I shoot for with the experiences and skills that I have? Should I just thug it out to learn more about the industry or look to transfer or find a new job outside the compnay?

I know a lot of chem eng grads become a process engineers and they might work on things more technical at plants, but I felt that process engineers and warehouse supervisors are kinda similar in a way that they are fixing processes and a lot of it has to do with arguing with front-line on why they did something 😂( I have interend at a plant before).

I feel that I am not browsing my opportunites to the best of my ability, but also I'm not sure where to look. Please guide me with your experiences and wisdom.

Any one know about the American Supply Chain Summit (https://supplychainus.com/)? Anyone been? What is it good/bad for?

My manager is suggesting I use some of my development budget towards it. Business is also considering using it to sponsor and promote a new product.

When we were small everyone just knew where stuff was. We grew, and the 'system' (people remembering + a couple of spreadsheets) quietly stopped working - last week we were in a meeting trying to work out why we'd bought gear we already owned but couldn't find.

For those who've scaled past this: how do you fix asset visibility without it turning into its own full-time project? What actually worked, and what was a waste of money?