Great opportunities for ambitious fresh graduates

Traditional, a career in logistics has been associated with low educated people, long working hours, and dirty warehouses and black smoking trucks. These times are far gone. You will see in the coming years a migration from paper to digital, from fire fighting to supply chain control towers with traffic controllers, and from continuous improvement to radical innovations. With the fourth industrial revolution, logistics will enter a new phase of automation, where supply chain networks are interconnected and using advanced information technology network solutions (e.g.: blockchain), advanced automation (e.g.: drones), as well as green technology. Future distribution centres will be far larger than what we see today and highly automated. In time diesel trucks will be replaced by electric vehicles. This transformation will require both distribution centres and vehicles to be harvesting and using solar energy.

The logistics industry is in dire need for a new generation of top talents, that are well educated and can lead this transformation of the logistics industry.

What are key characteristics of a logistics professional?

Logistics professionals are first of all specialists, with preferably a technical background like logistics, transportation, supply chain management, industrial engineering, chemical technology, or mathematics.

Logistics professionals have in-depth knowledge in areas such as purchasing, materials management, category & inventory management, transportation, distribution, and supply chain management.

Logistics is dealing with complex goods flows like dangerous goods, medical products, agriculture products that ripen, cool chains, halal supply chains, etc. This needs in-depth product knowledge and understanding of channel management requirements and hands-off management to avoid any breakage in the supply chain.

Logistics professionals are analytical, thinking in processes, and able to visualise & simplify complex problems.

A logistics professional needs next to hard also soft skills. People skills are important with a great diversity of people working in logistics operations. Second, relationship management with suppliers and customers is key in an effective an efficient management of supply chain networks. Many of these supply chain partners are located in foreign countries that speak a different language. Third, next to collaboration within their own supply chain, logistics professionals will need to seek collaboration with similar, often competing supply chains, in order to exploit synergy advantages.

According to the international recruitment firm Hays, the top logistics jobs of the future are logistics programmer/planner, supply chain data-analysis, auditor circular logistics, and transport traffic controller. Logistics has entered the boardroom of large companies under the function Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO). From a traditionally chief operating officer, focused on the tactical operations of moving products between two points, today’s CSCOs must deal with a great level of complexity and risk in supply chain operations.

Malaysia is destined to be the preferred location for supply chain control centres, leveraging on the economic growth of Southeast Asia. This requires well- educated ambitious logistics professionals in Malaysia to manage the next generation of mega distribution centres and supply chain control centres.

Salaries and career prospects in logistics are extremely good for the years to come. As a result there are great opportunities for ambitious technical fresh graduates to choose a career in logistics. My advise for ambitious technical students: get familiar with the logistics industry through a practical training or graduation project for a real jumpstart in your professional career.