Logistics Manager: Job Profile and Role

Getting goods from a manufacturer to a store and/or an end customer involves a multitude of experienced and trained personnel. Be it warehouse operatives, supply chain managers, or customer service experts. Their collaboration ensures that goods eventually arrive at their designated location, and ideally, on time. One person responsible for the smooth delivery of said goods is a company’s logistics manager who we will focus on in this blog. 

Who knows – maybe this is a career worth pursuing for you? We are sure you will come to your right decision after you have found out all there is to know – including the needed qualifications, skills, which salaries to expect, and who will employ you. Our insights into the working day and tips for thriving as a logistics manager round off this article. 

Short Summary

• As a logistics manager, you are responsible for organising, distributing, and monitoring goods leaving your company’s warehouse in the most cost-effective way possible. 
• As a logistics manager, you must ensure that all goods leaving your warehouse arrive at their designated location on time. 
• As a logistics manager, you may be in charge of other logistics operations, such as stock control.

Job description

It is your job and responsibility as a logistics manager to organise and distribute goods, starting at their proper storage and finishing at delivering them to their designated destination. This logistics process involves further tasks, for example, ensuring that goods are being delivered at the correct time. It is also your job to monitor shipments arriving at and leaving your warehouse, meaning that you may be involved in the daily warehouse running and stock control as well.

Responsibilities

• Order Processing
• Customer Service
• Risk Management
• Team Management
• Budget Management
• Inventory Management
• Data Analysis/Reporting
• Warehouse Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Transportation Management

Different types of Logistics Managers

• Inventory Manager
• Warehouse Manager
• Distribution Manager
• Supply Chain Manager
• Logistics Operations Manager

Salary

Your annual salary in logistics management starts at ￡19,000 to ￡25,000. With work experience, more responsibilities, and completed further training, your annual salary in this profession can increase to between ￡33,000 and ￡50,000. These numbers are typically paid to senior logistics managers and may also wait for you if you work for a large company. The same can apply to your location which tends to be an important salary factor. Keep in mind that shift work and potential bonus programs can affect your annual wages positively.

Working Hours

Working in logistics management requires up to 60 working hours per week. Make sure that you are happy with that workload since it will hardly leave time for a healthy work-life balance. This is further affected by the possibility of shift work if you work for a company that operates 24 hours a day. Evening and weekend work are, in this case, part of your working hours which can contribute to further disruptions in your private life. 

If full-time employment is too full-on for you, you can potentially look into part-time employment or freelance work. The latter gives you more flexibility when it comes to your weekly workload. However, it can also affect your yearly income, and not necessarily in a good way.

Employers

Logistics managers are needed in both the private and government sector, meaning that you can start looking for a job in either one of them. Within these categories, you can find employment with retail, grocery, and e-commerce businesses, the healthcare, pharmaceutical, aviation, and rail sector. 

These are only some of the possible employment options when you want to work as a logistics manager in the UK. We recommend that you define your interests in this profession before you apply for your first job. As with the needed skills, this will make your working life easier.

One important tip for you: currently, the best employment chances are in the Midlands which are regarded as one of the “inland hubs” in the United Kingdom. Therefore, looking for jobs in and around Birmingham can quickly lead you to your first job in logistics management.

Logistics as the Main Contributor to UK Economy

As a follow-up to our employment tip, we would like to add a few more interesting job facts. Logistics are one of the most important economy factors in the UK, the sector is currently worth around ￡55 billion, meaning that 5 % of the UK’s GDP are comprised of this industry. If you have any doubts about your job and career chances, these numbers should help dispelling them. 

Qualifications

When it comes to qualifications, you may want to consider undertaking an undergraduate degree. Although it is not always a requirement, a lot of employers prefer candidates who have successfully completed a Bachelor’s degree, for example, in information systems and/or business. Other employers may prefer applicants who have finished an apprenticeship since this comes with the first practical experience. 

Regardless of which educational choice you make, you certainly need high GCSE pass grades, typically 9 to 4 (A* to C) which you should have sat in English, maths, geography, and science. The same emphasis lies on the equivalent A levels if you should sit them after your GCSEs. Note that GCSEs may also be a requirement if you want to get into logistics management through work.

Skills

Every job requires certain soft skills that enable you to both perform your job well and make your life easier. What your future employer may need in terms of competencies is something any job post will tell you – which is why you always need to check the relevant section. With this tip in mind, we now let you in on three skills a logistics manager in the UK and, therefore, you, will likely need.

Budget Management

Being a logistics manager not only means that you are in charge of all operational processes when it comes to shipping and delivery. You also need to be skilled in budget management since every process needs to be performed as cost-effectively as possible. This includes staying within the projected budgets as well as cutting costs where possible. Your budget management skills should be accompanied by strong financial analysis that helps you further when it comes to budget management and cost saving.

Risk Management

It is highly likely that you will encounter the odd disruption in the running of a warehouse and the management of logistics. Unfortunately, the connected supply chain is vulnerable to outside factors, such as temperamental weather and geopolitics that can and will affect shipments arriving at a warehouse. As a logistics manager, you need to be aware of these factors and weigh the potential risks. With the necessary knowledge at your disposal, you come up with emergency plans that become effective when needed.

Problem-Solving Skills

Strong risk management needs a skill partner: problem-solving skills. Even before you encounter a problem, you need to identify possible disruptions – the risk management side of things. You then brainstorm viable solutions with your team that are implemented in case of an emergency. Your problem-solving skills are not only needed for preventing potential hiccups. They are also needed for unexpected warehouse and logistics trouble occurring suddenly and without notice.

Career Path

Education, entry level, further training, more senior roles – step by step, you can advance on your career path as a logistics manager in the UK. Currently, your job and career prospects in logistics management are excellent. And so is progressing in this profession if you invest time and effort into your professional development. With this mindset, you can easily advance to high managerial roles, such as CLO (Chief Logistics Officer) or CSCO (Chief Supply Chain Officer).

Educational Background

As mentioned above, an undergraduate degree can be a requirement for most employers in logistics. Viable options are a Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, or even geography. Equally, you can look into appropriate apprenticeships, such as a Level 6 supply chain and procurement degree apprenticeship or a transport and warehouse operations supervisor advanced apprenticeship. If you already know that your career is in logistics management, we recommend that you check which requirements are the most common prior to embarking on your educational path.

Entry Level

Before you advance to the actual role of a logistics manager, you need to “get through” your entry-level position in this profession. Typically, you will start as either an assistant logistics manager, a freight forwarding assistant, or a logistics coordinator/trainee. During this time, you should not only learn as much as you can from a more senior mentor. You should also start looking into further training to fast-track your career.

Continuous Learning

This brings us to your professional development options in UK logistics management. Your continuous learning should include further training and qualifications connected to certificates and software knowledge. 

Fast-tracking your career is very likely if you strive for becoming a Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) or look into courses offered by the CILT, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. Another interesting option is an MSc (Master of Science) which you can do online and which is offered by the University of Hull. Your postgraduate degree is accredited by the CILT and will likely impress future employers. 

Besides, you can benefit from software qualifications which are offered by Oracle, for example. This makes sense since you will be using various Oracle software like TMS (transportation management software) and supply chain management systems. Moreover, you should deepen your knowledge of ERP, WMS, and CRM systems, to name but a few of the most important ones for logistics management.

A Day in the Life of a Logistics Manager

Your day as a logistics manager in the UK can present you with various and exciting tasks, from solving problems to ensuring quick and efficient deliveries. In this section, we will explore some of your typical daily tasks in more detail.

Shipment Planning

Planning the arrival and consequent further shipment/delivery of goods is an integral part of your working day. This task involves meticulous analysis of shipment routes, ETAs at your warehouse – including potential disruptions en route – and having contingency plans at hand in case of problems. During your shipment planning, you need to keep all involved costs in mind and ensure that all processes run as effectively as possible.

Improving Processes

Improving processes can be either a follow-up task or one you perform while planning shipments. Here, you check all workflows involved and figure out where there may be room for improvement. Which processes can run even more smoothly? Where can you reduce costs in shipping to and from the warehouse? Where can you adjust time windows to ensure that deliveries can be done in an even shorter time? This important task not only contributes to hitch-free workflows, it also supports a successful career.

Supplier and Team Meetings

Meetings with both your suppliers and your team are another part of your daily to-do list. Regarding your suppliers, you address and discuss future shipments, costs, and potential quality issues that need swift solutions and solving. Some of these things you also discuss with your team that needs to be up-to-date on any potential issues and – of course – the expected shipments. In meetings with your team, you furthermore brainstorm ideas and delegate daily and weekly tasks listed by their urgency.

Tips for Thriving as a Logistics Manager

Improving your skills and investing time into your professional development are important for fast-tracking and advancing your career as a logistics manager. Besides, there are other factors you must be aware of and keep on top of if you want to succeed in this profession. Three of the most important tips follow in this section:

• Regulations knowledge
• Inventory management
• KPI monitoring 

Regulations Knowledge

Be it transportation, customs, or sustainability – logistics and distribution is among the most heavily-regulated sectors in both the UK and worldwide. If you want to succeed and thrive in your job, you need to be aware of all regulations in place and any updates and changes made to them. For logistics management, these can include environmental regulations issued by the DEFRA and the Environment Agency, road transport regulations, and customs regulations issued by HM Revenue & Customs and the Border Force. Here, major changes have happened in the last eight years due to Brexit and the UK’s leave from the EU.

Inventory Management

Implementing effective inventory management in your work processes is another way to thrive. By using your ideas, initiative, knowledge, and software – for instance, ERP, WMS, and IMS – you can minimise costs, avoid stock shortages or stock surplus, and improve workflows and a warehouse’s/company’s overall performance. This will automatically result in a better customer experience.

KPI Monitoring

The customer experience also depends on our third tip for thriving as a logistics manager: monitoring your warehouses’ KPIs (key performance indicators). They enable you to track and measure everything from your inventory turnover to your delivery times and speeds, and the accuracy of every order shipped and delivered. Reading your KPIs furthermore enables you to make adjustments and improvements where necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions