Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Supply chain manager to project manager

A supply chain manager already meets 31% of what the project manager role asks for. The move turns on 24 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From supply chain manager
31 % overlap
Distant match
To project manager
20 You already bring
24 Still to learn
68 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

76.2/ 100

1 How much of what a project manager is expected to do is already part of a supply chain manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the project manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A project manager role treats 12 of its required skills as things a supply chain manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ensure equipment availability
  • estimate duration of work
  • follow company standards
  • liaise with managers
  • manage budgets
  • manage logistics

What stands in the way is 24 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A project manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a supply chain manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held manage standard enterprise resource planning system working with computers
  • already held apply change management management skills
  • already held manage logistics management skills
  • already held estimate duration of work information skills
  • already held analyse business plans information skills
  • already held perform resource planning information skills

All 20 carried skills, including the 12 the project manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 48 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 management skills 7 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn create project specifications required
  • still to learn customise project methodologies required
  • still to learn ensure equipment maintenance required
  • still to learn establish daily priorities required
  • still to learn manage project changes required
  • still to learn organise project meetings required
  • still to learn supervise daily information operations required
  • optional, not held design wayside signalling interlockings optional
  • optional, not held develop business plans optional
  • optional, not held find a replacement for stage manager optional
  • optional, not held manage several projects optional
  • optional, not held plan schedule optional
02 information skills 7 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn manage project information required
  • still to learn control of expenses required
  • still to learn identify legal requirements required
  • still to learn manage project metrics required
  • still to learn perform PESTEL analysis required
  • still to learn perform risk analysis required
  • still to learn provide cost benefit analysis reports required
  • optional, not held create a financial report optional
  • optional, not held maintain a central project repository optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn apply conflict management required
  • still to learn build business relationships required
  • still to learn draft project documentation required
  • still to learn negotiate with stakeholders required
  • still to learn write work-related reports required
  • optional, not held use communication techniques optional
04 business, administration and law 3 required, 14 supplementary
  • still to learn internal risk management policy required
  • still to learn project management methodology (PM²) required
  • still to learn project management principles required
  • optional, not held program management optional
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held Prince2 project management optional
  • optional, not held crowdsourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held legal studies optional
  • optional, not held office administration optional
  • optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held total quality control optional
  • optional, not held business processes optional
  • optional, not held project configuration management optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
  • optional, not held risk identification optional
05 assisting and caring 1 required
  • still to learn ensure compliance with legal requirements required
06 generic programmes and qualifications 1 required
  • still to learn communication principles required

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a project manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 20 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ensure equipment availability skill
  • already held estimate duration of work skill
  • already held follow company standards skill
  • already held liaise with managers skill
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held manage logistics skill
  • already held manage staff skill
  • already held manage supplies skill
  • already held perform project management skill
  • already held perform resource planning skill
  • already held project management knowledge
  • already held train employees skill
  • already held analyse business plans skill
  • already held apply change management skill
  • already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
  • already held manage standard enterprise resource planning system skill
  • already held recruit employees skill
  • already held statistics knowledge
  • already held strive for company growth skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
08 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held mathematics optional
24 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held program management optional
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held Prince2 project management optional
  • optional, not held create a financial report optional
  • optional, not held crowdsourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held design wayside signalling interlockings optional
  • optional, not held develop business plans optional
  • optional, not held find a replacement for stage manager optional
  • optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held legal studies optional
  • optional, not held office administration optional
  • optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held total quality control optional
  • optional, not held business processes optional
  • optional, not held maintain a central project repository optional
  • optional, not held manage several projects optional
  • optional, not held mathematics optional
  • optional, not held plan schedule optional
  • optional, not held project configuration management optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
  • optional, not held risk identification optional
  • optional, not held use communication techniques optional
79 held skills the project manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accurately estimate work hours skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on sustainable management policies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse economic trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse logistic changes skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse logistic needs skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain trends skill
  • not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
  • not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
  • not needed by the target role assess supplier risks skill
  • not needed by the target role assist in planning production scheduling skill
  • not needed by the target role attend trade fairs skill
  • not needed by the target role business strategy concepts knowledge
  • not needed by the target role calculate purchasing levels of raw materials skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out statistical forecasts skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out tendering skill
  • not needed by the target role conflict management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role control financial resources skill
  • not needed by the target role control trade commercial documentation skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate purchasing activities skill
  • not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
  • not needed by the target role direct logistical functions skill
  • not needed by the target role economics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure cross-department cooperation skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate costs of required supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
  • not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role forecast dividend trends skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast economic trends skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast future levels of business skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast production quantities skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast products' demand skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast sales over periods of time skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
  • not needed by the target role geographical routes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role human resource management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify key processes of traceability systems skill

39 further entries not listed here

20 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn internal risk management policy required
  • still to learn communication principles required
  • still to learn project management methodology (PM²) required
  • still to learn project management principles required
  • optional, not held program management optional
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held Prince2 project management optional
  • optional, not held crowdsourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held legal studies optional
  • optional, not held office administration optional
  • optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held total quality control optional
  • optional, not held business processes optional
  • optional, not held mathematics optional
  • optional, not held project configuration management optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
  • optional, not held risk identification optional
Index

Other moves recorded from supply chain manager

Full index of moves from supply chain manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a supply chain manager become a project manager?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A supply chain manager already covers 31% of what a project manager is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 12 of which the project manager role treats as required.

What skills does a supply chain manager need to become a project manager?

24 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is internal risk management policy.

How hard is the move from supply chain manager to project manager?

Its learning distance is 76.2 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.