Materials management is one of the important steps in the supply chain. Therefore, the role of Material Manager – Head of Materials Department is also very focused.

If you are interested in this position, inquire with Ms. Uptalent What is Material Manager as well as the promotion path from Material Manager to Supply Chain Manager through the following article.

CONTENTS
1- What is Hardware Manager?
2- Promotion path from Material Manager to Supply Chain Manager
2.1- Professional knowledge
2.2- Build a career development roadmap
2.3- Skills
2.4- Flexible response
3- Difference between Material Manager and Supply Chain Manager
4- What skills are IDE companies looking for as a Material Manager?

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1- What is Hardware Manager?

Material Manager or The head of the materials department is the head of the materials department in a company. Their responsibility is to plan, direct and manage the purchase of necessary supplies, products and services. They also monitor the usage of supplies and control all activities related to the company’s supplies.

The main purpose of Material Manager is to monitor, coordinate inventory, plan and carry out purchases. They will need to research and negotiate to get the best price, while monitoring inventory levels and distributing materials correctly.

The main missions of the Head of the Materials Department include:

– Effectively plan and control the use of materials.

– Research quality materials and purchase according to business needs.

– Monitor and control inventory to quickly fill shortages and determine safe inventory levels.

– Organize the distribution and transportation of materials quickly and efficiently to be able to properly control the quantity and condition of materials, avoiding loss and damage.

– Manage the materials and equipment used in the company’s production activities.

– Manage the staff of the materials department, assign work to employees and supervise and motivate them in their work.

2- Promotion path from Material Manager to Supply Chain Manager

Material Manager is one of the middle management positions in a company’s supply chain. From this position, you will have the opportunity to progress to a senior management position of Supply Chain Manager.

The promotion journey from Material Manager to Supply Chain Manager typically lasts 3-5 years. The duration of the promotion will depend on the capacity and characteristics of each specific company and sector of activity.

During the process of becoming the head of the materials department, you will need to work hard and strive to accumulate the necessary skills and professional experience of a supply chain manager. At the same time, you must also set specific objectives for yourself to quickly improve your abilities and access the position you want.

Here are the factors you need to accumulate and continually practice to move from materials manager to supply chain manager.

2.1- Professional knowledge

The Supply Chain Manager must have at least a university degree in a related discipline and must have at least 3 years of experience in a management role in the supply chain field.

Today, a good Supply Chain Manager must have knowledge of IT and automation. You need to learn and effectively use application software such as WMS, TMS and ERP to be able to analyze and manage the supply chain effectively.

Next, you need to clearly understand market trends and developments to be able to quickly predict and capture rapid changes in consumer buying and selling behavior.

The Supply Chain Manager’s decisions have a major impact on a company’s profits. Specifically, businesses will earn large profits when customers are satisfied. Therefore, you need to equip yourself with financial knowledge, increase your money awareness to bring benefits to customers and increase business profits.

2.2- Build a career development roadmap

Supply chain management is always very complex and comes with many challenges. Therefore, if you want to become a Supply Chain Manager, loving challenges and wanting to find optimal solutions to solve problems is what you need.

To be able to solve difficult and complex problems, you must continually equip yourself with knowledge of logistics and supply chain management. At the same time, you also need to determine a specific development roadmap so that training and capacity improvement are optimally effective.

2.3- Skills

By analyzing the requirements for the Supply Chain Manager position, Uptalent found that you must ensure the following skills to take on this role:

– Contract management capabilities

– Skills in business planning, production planning, human resource planning

– Supply chain management capabilities

– Knowledge of procurement and purchasing

– Knowledge of accounting, SAP

– Ability to improve processes

– Can withstand work pressure

– Excellent work organization skills

– Mastery of foreign languages

2.4- Flexible response

Supply chain managers don’t need to be creative. But you need to have an innovative mindset and be able to implement innovation. And what you need is to be able to respond flexibly.

Additionally, the supply chain is constantly evolving. Even if you plan, things don’t always go the way you planned. Flexibility is therefore an important factor that helps you become a good supply chain manager.

3- Difference between Material Manager and Supply Chain Manager

Material Manager and Supply Chain Manager have the following fundamental differences:

+ Roles and responsibilities

Material Manager is responsible for managing issues related to the company’s material resources. Their role is to ensure that the quality and quantity of materials always meet the requirements of production activities. At the same time, it also monitors the use of materials to achieve optimal efficiency.

Meanwhile, Supply Chain Manager is responsible for managing the entire supply chain activities from ensuring the source of raw materials until the product is completed and consumed in the market. This process includes purchasing, managing raw materials and delivering them to consumers.

+ Management level

In companies, the Supply Chain Manager belongs to a higher level of management. This position will make decisions and direct the Material Manager in his work. The Materials Manager will follow the directions of the Supply Chain Manager and report to him on the results of the work.

+ Scope of work

The work of the materials manager is mainly related to purchasing and monitoring the use of materials in the company. Meanwhile, the Supply Chain Manager has to manage the entire supply chain, including raw materials, production and distribution of products to the market.

You can understand that Supply Chain Manager has a wider scope of work and Material Manager manages only one stage of the entire supply chain.

4- What skills are IDE companies looking for as a Material Manager?

To become a Material Manager in FDI companies, you need the following skills

4.1- Professional skills and practical experience

The head of the materials department must have at least a bachelor’s degree in economics, business administration or a related field to be able to apply it in the work process. If you don’t have good basic knowledge, you will find it difficult to solve the problem. Additionally, as a manager, you must have good professional knowledge to answer questions and lead your subordinates.

Apart from knowledge, you must also have practical experience in purchasing materials and managing inventory. If you have experience working in an FDI company and have worked in the same area of ​​business operations, you will have an advantage.

4.2- Foreign language skills

This is a required skill for the head of the materials department of an FDI company. Because in the working environment of these companies, you will have to communicate with superiors, colleagues and foreign supplier partners.

4.3- Decision-making skills

Material Manager is responsible for managing and guaranteeing the materials necessary for the company’s production activities. Therefore, you must be able to make the right and timely decisions to choose products that align with the company’s strategic business objectives every time.

4.4- Planning skills

Whatever work you do, you must have a precise and clear work plan. As a material manager, you must be able to plan and determine the number of products to produce to meet the necessary material needs. The more detailed your materials planning, the smoother and more successful the production process will be.

4.5- Analytical skills

This skill will help you accurately assess the capability of suppliers and the quality of materials to make the best decision. From there, you can bring optimal benefits to your business in terms of price, quality and many other factors.

4.6- Communicative skills

Communication is an essential skill for managers. Therefore, to take on the role of head of the materials department, you must have the ability to communicate fluently and have the ability to persuade and negotiate to bring benefits to the company during negotiations with suppliers.

Additionally, communication skills also help you build and maintain relationships. With this, you can ensure a stable and quality supply of materials for your business.

4.7- Risk management

Risk is something no one wants. But it remains a reality that everyone faces. Therefore, you must anticipate possible material risks in order to have effective strategies and preventive measures to ensure the continuity of the production process.

With the above shares from Ms. Uptalent, readers are sure to understand what Material Manager is and understand the path of promotion from this position to Supply Chain Manager. I hope you have some useful information and can create your own career path. Good luck!

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