Supply and Distribution Manager
What the work is
Plans, organises, directs, controls and coordinates the supply, storage and distribution of goods produced by an organisation.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Determines, implements and monitors strategies, policies and plans for purchasing, storing and distributing goods
- Monitors inventory systems to meet supply requirements and control stock levels
- Tracks movements of supplies and goods
- Liaises with other departments and customers regarding outward goods and transportation
- Oversees the recording of purchase, storage and distribution transactions
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a large fictional distribution centre that supplies groceries to supermarkets across a region. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- Every store gets its order on time on a day when everything could have gone wrong
- A new layout for the warehouse floor cuts walking time and the pickers notice
- Peak season passes and the team is tired but proud of what it got through
Hard days
- A refrigeration fault and a tight window to save the stock
- Long hours before a holiday, while the whole region wants its orders at once
- Stores that blame the warehouse for mistakes that started earlier in the chain
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 133331, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.