In today’s competitive business world, finding ways to stand out as a competitive job candidate is essential. An online MBA is the perfect next step for those looking to strengthen their resumes. When considering the popularity of the advanced business degree, many would agree that a specific area to emphasize is an intelligent decision. One of the most in-demand areas of specializations is within supply chain management and logistics. This field is hugely popular and features significant growth potential. It also provides a great way to enhance one’s business knowledge and makes a resume stand out from the rest. Supply chain management consistently remains one of the best careers to pursue by the U.S. News & World Report and is expected to have healthy growth rates over the next decade by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If you are considering a career in supply chain management or are curious about what an online MBA in supply chain management might look like, take a look at the top ten online MBA supply chain specializations available.
Aerospace Logistics
Business graduate students can watch their opportunities soar with a fully online MBA in aerospace logistics. Distance learners gain the necessary experience and fundamental skills in program management, aerospace logistics, and practical applications of systems acquisitions strategy—all with a particular emphasis on business in the aviation industry. Core courses include fundamentals in behavioral management, finance, accounting, economics, research, and data analysis.
This program is designed to provide the essential elements critical to identifying, developing, and implementing an aerospace safety program. Critical measures are presented and emphasized as integral parts of a comprehensive safety program with stress on identifying and preventing unique safety issues in aerospace. Interaction between state and national government, corporate, and local regulations are usually examined in detail supplemented with relevant case studies. Courses within an aerospace logistics online MBA are also designed to acquaint students with the modern requirements for logistics as a strategy for success in aviation and aerospace leadership. This specialization has it all.
Digital Supply Chain Management
Success in today’s global marketplace requires that organizations and businesses deliver services and products that showcase easily identified value for consumers. The digital supply chain management graduate program draws on strengths within multiple departments to integrate source (supply management and strategic procurement), production (service operations and manufacturing), and delivery processes (fulfilling demand), with an emphasis on the use of information technologies as the essential enabler of supply chain responsiveness and efficiencies.
An online MBA concentrating on digital supply chain management gives distance learners the tools and ideas that help define and develop the various components of value creation. Graduate students gain skills and knowledge in the full spectrum of supply chain activities, including supplier relationships, information technology, purchasing management, quality management, operations and inventory management, and logistics and transportation. This is excellent degree helps students attain skill sets to help them manage and enhance today’s complex supply chains, and you can find one available at the Missouri University of Science & Technology.
Energy Finance, Accounting, and Logistics
Most energy finance, accounting, and logistics jobs include contract or legal-based learning rather than theoretical knowledge with an emphasis on negotiation through written and verbal communication skills. While there are some energy commerce programs available today, most business graduate students specialize in accounting, marketing, management, etc. To help online MBA students distinguish themselves in the marketplace, some of the nation’s best business schools offer a core energy education through an online MBA in energy finance, accounting, and logistics.
Graduate students interested in the fields of energy finance and lending, logistics, commodity trading, and negotiations will appreciate all this program has to offer. The program at Texas A&M University-Kingsville includes courses in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Crisis Communication, Energy Finance, and International Trade & Logistics. This program examines the essential components of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, the effect of efficient material flow, information, and financials within organizations, and the analytical foundations related to crucial concepts like capacity, inventory, quality, and customer service. Opportunities and challenges related to sustainable development and technology implementation are also addressed. This high-powered degree is an excellent choice for today’s online learners.
International Trade & Logistics
An online MBA in international trade and logistics program features an in-depth look at import procedures, customs regulations, international trade terms and applications, operations management, and global government control. Distance learners also learn about international transportation, foreign freight forwarding, warehousing, and distribution. Many programs in this field include core curriculums with seminars in marketing management and management concepts, covering wide-ranging topics like human resource management, theoretical management perspectives, organizational behavior and theory, and leadership and ethics. Attaining the tools offered in this rigorous MBA program enhances general business competencies in financial management, business research methods, strategic management, managerial economics, and financial statement analysis.
Potential MBA students lacking an undergraduate degree in business or who haven’t taken many business courses will want to find a program with prep-module classes that prepare them for MBA studies. An MBA is an excellent degree for future business leaders needing training in finance, marketing, economics, accounting, management, information systems, and international trade & logistics.
Logistics Management
A logistics management online MBA is a business management degree that prepares graduate students for employment in the sectors of total supply chain management, including transportation, inventory control, and materials management. The field of logistics management features professions like managers and supervisors of warehousing, transportation, and materials management. Skilled labor in logistics-related areas like administration support, materials handling, and equipment operators play an equally vital role. Logistics is widely recognized as an essential driver of customer service, operational excellence, and cost reduction to an organization’s bottom line.
An MBA in logistics management prepares students for leadership in today’s global economy with advanced accounting, finance, marketing, and management tools. Enrolled students master the art of reducing organizational costs while enhancing fiscal outcomes and customer service through supply chain management. Courses can include Lean Logistics Operations, Integrated Logistics Strategy, and Risk-based Logistics Networks. This online MBA prepares tomorrow’s business leaders for success.
Operations and Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain Management deals with the network integration and relationships of transportation, procurement, manufacturing, inventory, and distribution when creating consumer value in a global market. Topics include forecasting, purchasing, warehousing, and quality. An online Master of Business Administration with an Operations and Supply Chain Management concentration is designed to develop future and current leaders for industry, business, and government while giving distance learners the flexibility to select courses that best enhance their career plans. This online program helps business students develop skills relevant to all industries. The core MBA courses prepare students for leadership in any business role. They benefit from in-depth exposure to quality control, supply chain management, lean management, and other relevant topics in today’s rapidly growing global market. All online students pursuing an operations and supply chain management focus can cultivate a focused career path.
Supply Chain Analytics
Some of the nation’s best business schools feature a long-term commitment to excellence in online graduate education by offering degrees like the online MBA in supply chain analytics. Graduates of this program pursue careers in a broad spectrum of industries. A Supply Chain Analytics-focused online MBA supports growth and development from two perspectives. One, for graduate students who have an established career path, the program provides them the opportunity to gain the broader, more general perspective needed for promotion to leading managerial positions. Two, if they are preparing for the business world, the pairing of a bachelor’s degree with an MBA specialization in Supply Chain Analytics provides a solid foundation for future career opportunities. Students holding this type of degree work as distribution managers, industrial engineers, fleet operations managers, inventory managers, operations research analysts, transportation managers, and warehouse managers.
Supply Chain Global Integration Management
An online MBA in supply chain global integration management prepares students for successful careers in the field. It is designed to deliver the best practices for alignment, selection, development, and enhancement of integrated global supply chains, stressing both efficiency and effectiveness. The learning outcomes are specific to organizations that need the knowledge resources to design a best-in-class supply chain characterized by flexibility, agility, and reliability to meet all supply chain stakeholder needs.
Online supply chain management students typically study Strategic Supply Chain Integration, Dynamic Risk Modeling and Quality Initiatives, Integrated Global Systems and Sustainable Initiatives, Competitive Advantages through Reverse Logistics and Strategic Relationships, and Best Practices in Supply Chain Global Integration. The enhanced bottom-line consists of total supply chain alignment resulting from higher customer satisfaction levels and increased efficiency. A supply chain global integration management online MBA delivers relevant learning based on the managerial best practices toward better performance through an integrated global supply chain.
Supply Chain Management
A Supply Chain Management online MBA allows students to evaluate and mitigate risk and implement operational strategies within global supply chains by utilizing information technologies, the case method, and optimization techniques. Students often take a minimum of three courses to fulfill a Supply Chain Management specialization. They may be required to complete classes like Principles of Management Science and Supply Chain and Logistics Management. Other credits within this program may include Business Analytics, Project Management, and Lean Six Sigma.
As part of a Lean Six Sigma course, distance learners examine case studies of a real company or organization to get relevant and current business knowledge. In addition to completing course content on their own time, students will work on a real-world case during the live classes to reinforce their lessons. Some online business master’s degree programs with a Supply Chain Management concentration can be completed in as few as two years.
Supply Chain Management & Lean Logistics
Organizations need to incorporate ‘lean thinking’ processes to achieve the benefits of lean logistics. Lean thinking aims to eliminate organizational inefficiencies from all functions, and inventory processing is at the apex of its agenda. Its focus is eliminating any inventory that does not support customer and operational needs. While the concept of lean thinking originated in the manufacturing methods employed by Japanese car manufacturers, brands like Toyota used manufacturing processes that focused on minimizing waste. The technique was soon engaged in all manufacturing areas, product development, and supply chain management.
Courses found within an online MBA in supply chain management and lean logistics could include Sustainable Operations, Reverse Logistics, Transportation Management, Logistics Management, and Supply Chain Management. Graduate students enrolled in these excellent programs acquire the technical skills and strategic savvy they need to procure materials, distribute products, and perform successful supply chain management on a global scale.
Action Plans
One of the best characteristics of supply chain management as a field of study is that the principles apply to all types of businesses, whether they feature a physical product or not. All organizations need streamlined, efficient processes to ensure customer satisfaction, so there is a high demand for supply chain management professionals in all types of businesses. Here are three plans to consider when trying to choose a top online MBA supply chain specialization:
- Read Up on the Topic
A quick online search or trip to your local library will reveal many titles on business leadership and how vital supply chain management is today. There is no substitute for quality supply chain oversite no matter how good a product or how clever a marketing campaign is. - Discover how Your Interests Rely on Supply Chain Management
It is possible to work in various fields of business that involve the supply chain. Industries like music, manufacturing, fashion, and sports all depend on high-quality supply chain management. Consider how your interests or hobbies interact with supply chains and watch your career take off. - Discover the Right School for You
There are currently well-respected and robust online MBA in supply chain management programs offered all over the country. Many of these programs offer scholarships, attractive tuition rates, and specific programs which help distance learners find the degree of their dreams. The optimal business program is out there; all it takes is some research and investigating to find it.
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