Logistics manager: features of the profession, responsibilities and requirements

As you read job advertisements in the newspapers, it's easy to see that many companies are constantly looking for different managers. One of the varieties is a logistics manager. If this is what you are looking for, then it is important to understand what are the features of this profession, to represent the responsibilities and requirements in such work. In addition, you need to find out where such a specialist can get a job, and what are his career prospects.

A logistics manager, as the title suggests, oversees the movement of goods. He needs to make sure that all material values ​​hit the road and arrive at the place in strict accordance with the schedule. You also need:

• look for companies that will provide good conditions for transportation;
• draw up and conclude contracts;
• coordinate the work of the organization with customs, warehouses and other external structures.

Strictly speaking, people have been interested in transport logistics since ancient times. True, then (and for a very long time afterwards) it existed only as an application to trade and the supply of troops. Later, supply departments appeared in various organizations. Nowadays, the relevance of logistics procedures is greater than ever. Therefore, specialists who deal with them are also in demand.

However, one should not think that a logistics manager and a logistician are one and the same. Their work is radically different. And positions in the classifier of professions in Russia should not be confused either. The manager has a broader profile.He is entrusted with completely different tasks. We have to delve into the peculiarities of transportation by cars and trains, water and air transport. It will be necessary to study routes and be able to build them from scratch. So, take into account applied and physical geography.

Logistics managers are in high demand. The commercial success of many structures directly depends on the organization of transportation. And if we also take into account the constantly increasing competition, then the importance of optimal transport of goods is only increasing... Logistics specialists have a need to alternately go to objects and plan everything in documents, write reports. Changing seats will not allow you to sit up in the office or suffer from bad weather.

The growing demand for all professionals associated with logistics makes it possible to count on maintaining the real level of wages in the near future, or even on its growth. As the skills grow, the credibility of the logistics manager will only increase. It will be possible to apply the same skills when planning a move or (indirectly) when solving a difficult life problem.

However, not everything is so rosy:

• the consequences of any mistake can turn into multimillion-dollar losses;
• despite the real level of wages, work in a warehouse and in transportation is still not prestigious enough, and will remain so for the foreseeable future;
• the likelihood of stress is high (and problems in the logistics area are an integral part of the profession).

The easiest way to describe the functions of a logistics manager and what he does is by referring to a typical job description. Of course, in each organization, such documents are developed individually. However, they are still based on the general requirements of everyday practice. Because of the importance of such a position, the appointment and removal of logistics managers is the prerogative of CEOs.

Responsibilities include:

• thorough knowledge of national, regional and industry regulations;
• possession of key information on the creation of logistics schemes and their adjustment as needed;
• possession of the current logistics situation in the company as a whole and especially in its area of ​​responsibility;
• knowledge of the principles of logistics forecasting and their skillful application;
• knowledge of the basics of management, time management, corporate psychology and corporate culture;
• knowledge of marketing and the nuances of production (if the company is production or production and trade);
• knowledge of the features of the transported goods and taking this into account when selecting transport and personnel for transportation, thinking over routes, determining delivery times and costs for it.

All this must be known and monitored in real time. Sometimes, due to a change in the situation, it is necessary to interrupt the delivery or correct the route of transport right on the road.... Or, to designate a different point of arrival, the date of arrival at the final and intermediate points.

Logistic forecasts and plans are what the logistics manager works on as often as possible.... If he does not draw up these documents at some point, then, in any case, he uses them. The manager will have to develop a budget for logistics costs and monitor how this budget is executed. He is involved in procurement and procurement.

The specialist also:

• analyzes supply contracts;
• helps to plan production;
• helps to plan the volume of stocks in the warehouse, determines the costs of their storage and formation;
• is engaged in the inventory of stocks;
• determines what kind of warehouse equipment is needed and in what quantity;
• optimizes the movement of goods within the company, including inside warehouses and production facilities;
• liaises with customs to ensure efficient documentary procedures for cross-border shipments;
• coordinates the work of lower-level logistics personnel.

So, in general terms, it is clear what exactly in most companies does a logistics manager. However, it is clear that he will be able to fulfill these duties. only if certain requirements are met.

These include:

• higher professional education;
• fluency in computer, office programs, 1C program, special software;
• knowledge of the basics of document flow, a foreign language (English, German, Chinese are preferred);
• knowledge of regulations governing foreign economic activity in general and in a particular state in particular;
• ability to interact with customs, tax authorities;
• ability to work closely with international shipping companies;
• willingness to deal with warehouse accounting using special software packages.

A cargo transportation manager is, first of all, an optimal combination of the qualities of a strategist and a tactician. He must clearly see the most distant consequences of his actions. But at the same time, the immediate development of the situation should not elude attention. The analysis of a specific situation must be carried out through the prism of both the economy and the practical organization of transportation. To fully fulfill their duties, you will have to maintain continuous contact with a large number of people.

That's why such positions will only accept those who are very sociable and easily make new acquaintances... The ability to find contact with the right person in logistics sometimes means even more than a timely selected type of truck, a well-thought-out route or foreseeing a difficult situation at a certain transport terminal. Logistics Manager attentive even to small details. He should be able to quickly switch attention between different processes as needed. Resistance to the stresses that this field of activity generates at every step is also useful.

Decent trucking manager:

• does not lose his head, even if something goes fundamentally wrong, and it is not possible to turn the situation around (he brings other work processes to the end);
• acts as a first-class organizer;
• knows how to take responsibility in the most difficult situation;
• always disciplined himself and keeps other people within the bounds of strict discipline.

When looking for a job, a logistics manager does not have to be limited only to companies involved in the transportation of goods as such. Similar specialists are needed in other areas as well. They are waiting in airlines and shipping companies, in factories and factories, in the military department and in supermarket chains.

It is also worth looking for a job in:

• agriculture;
• bus fleets;
• construction companies;
• trade;
• housing and communal services system;
• organizations involved in sports events, exhibitions, film festivals and the like with the participation of a large number of people;
• catering system, catering;
• bodies of state power and local self-government;
• police, as well as customs.

Most logistics managers in the Russian Federation receive from 30 to 40 thousand rubles a month. But it must be borne in mind that Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region account for at least 50% of all domestic vacancies of this kind... It is curious that in the Amur Region the average wage rate is another 10 thousand rubles higher, the Russian capital is also confidently ahead of Sakhalin and Komi (40-43 thousand).

People who have just received an economic or even a specialized education should not immediately count on serious career success. The position of assistant manager becomes the beginning of the journey. Experience is gained in it, but large profits cannot yet be expected. To succeed and get to the next level, you will have to constantly engage in self-study.

Professional training of logisticians is carried out in any university where there is a faculty or department of economics (with rare exceptions). Higher economic education of a different profile will make it possible to get by with retraining courses. The Graduate School of Business at Moscow State University will become a good base. It is also worth taking a closer look at the suggestions:

• National Research University Higher School of Economics;
• Voronezh Technical University;
• Novosibirsk University of Economics and Management;
• Moscow MIIT;
• South Ural State University;
• Kemerovo Technical University.