If you want to get a general business degree, that can take you far in life. What you’ll find when you start taking business courses is that they include many concepts that your professors will cover, either to a lesser or greater extent. They will likely focus on everything from human resources to managerial accounting, from marketing to various financial topics.
You can get degrees in more specific business areas, though. For example, you might elect to get one in logistics management. In this article, we’ll talk a little about what logistics management is and why you might want to make it your career.
What Precisely is Logistics Management, and What Does It Entail?
If you want to get a logistics management degree, you should first understand the concept fully. Logistics management is part of the typical supply chain process.
If you are in charge of logistics management, then you plan, implement, and control an effective flow and storage method concerning goods. In other words, you’re instrumental in getting things from point A to point B.
You might not only transport goods, though. You may also deal with services and related information. You have to get it from its origin point to the consumption point while also meeting specific customer standards.
Why Does this Field Need to Exist?
If you’re unsure why this job or field even needs to exist, think about it in this way. You might create something, like computer parts, for example. Your company then has to ship those parts to where an assembly line adds them to laptop motherboards.
It might be tremendously complex to get those computer parts from where you make them to where they need to go. You must figure out how to box them up so that nothing damages them while they’re on their way. You’ll also have to think about whether trucks, planes, or some other transportation method is cheaper.
As someone in charge of logistics, there is a lot on your plate and plenty of daily responsibilities with which you must contend. You might be responsible for getting millions of dollars in goods across the country or even around the world. If you screw it up, you might cost your company an untold amount, so this job isn’t for the faint of heart.
What Classes Would You Take to Get a Logistics Management MBA?
Many universities offer logistics management MBAs, and your path to that degree will vary depending on where you go to school. However, there are some universal concepts that you’ll need to master to get this degree, so you can expect to take at least a few particular classes.
You are going to need to take strategic management classes. They will allow you to learn how to think on your feet when you’re in the process of product movement that should take up the majority of your days if you land a senior logistics management job.
You will have to take managerial accounting and corporate finance classes. They will give you some background on how businesses operate from a monetary standpoint.
You will likely need to take organizational behavior, global business, and legal management classes. They will put you in a much better position to understand a company’s inner workings if you find that a large, multifaceted corporation wants to hire you.
What Sort of Person Would Do Well in this Job?
If you want to get a logistics management degree and land a position in this area, you’ll need to perform well under pressure. One thing that you’ll probably find out very quickly in this niche is that things seldom go according to plan. You might have to deal with product component availability issues or a natural disaster that’s holding up your shipment schedule.
You must be able to think on your feet, making real-time decisions that will make a significant impact. You need leadership skills, and you’ll also need people skills because you need to establish good team member relationships quickly.
You have to have a head for numbers and a superb memory. You must have tremendous drive and flexibility. In short, if you’re the sort of person who likes to fade into the background, this is not the career path for you.
One other thing you ought to know about this career is that it can pay very well. You might command six figures if the right company hires you. That fact alone might be enough to attract you.
