A supply chain manager makes sure the right product is in the right place at the right time at the lowest sensible cost. You will forecast demand, plan inventory, buy from suppliers, choose freight routes, and run warehouses, then measure all of it with numbers. Most people (about two thirds) hold a bachelor's degree, but employers hire on proof of skill: Excel and SQL fluency, a working grasp of an ERP like SAP, and a few real projects where you cut cost or improved service. No license is legally required. This roadmap builds in order: first the core ideas (flow of goods, inventory math), the
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Stage 1 of 4 · about 12 weeks
Understand how goods flow from supplier to customer and learn the core math: inventory turns, days of supply, safety stock, economic order quantity (EOQ), and service level (fill rate). Get comfortable in Excel with pivot tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, and basic charts. Practice by taking a public sales dataset and calculating turns and reorder points yourself.
How goods flow from supplier to customer
Every decision a supply chain manager makes (what to buy, where to store it, how to ship it) makes sense only if you can see the whole flow. Without that picture, numbers are just numbers.
Excel for supply chain: lookups, pivots, and charts
Excel is the tool you will use almost daily, and the O*NET data lists it first among software. Most junior and manager-level analysis starts in a spreadsheet before it ever reaches SAP or SQL.
Inventory turns, days of supply, and carrying cost
These are the first numbers any boss will ask about. They tell you whether cash is trapped in stock and how long you could keep shipping if supply stopped.
Safety stock, reorder point, and EOQ
These formulas turn forecasts into buying decisions: when to order and how much. They are the heart of inventory planning and what interviewers test for.
Service level, fill rate, and reading performance
Inventory exists to serve customers. If you only cut stock, you will hurt service; if you only chase service, you will bury the company in inventory. Managers balance both with clear measures.
Then 3 more stages (about 90 weeks in all) with lessons, drills, projects, 10 interview questions with strong answers and free resources.