Retail Supply Chain Coordinator
Impact: Ensuring the right products are available in the right places at the right time to support retail sales and customer satisfaction
Coordinate the flow of products from suppliers to retail stores and customers, managing purchase orders, delivery schedules, and stock availability across a retail supply chain. Liaise with suppliers, logistics providers, and store operations teams; track and expedite orders; manage delivery discrepancies and returns; and analyse supply chain performance data. Develop expertise in a specific retail category or supply chain function such as import logistics, vendor management, or stock replenishment.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 60% Team / 40% Solo
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- Low
- Travel
- 10-20% travel to suppliers and distribution centres
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 38-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $40,000
- Entry-level
- $24,000 - $34,000
- Senior
- $62,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 5% (supply chain complexity growing; e-commerce driving demand for supply chain expertise)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High -- 80-160% growth from supply chain coordinator to supply chain manager or head of logistics
- Typical student debt
- $20,000 - $50,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Purchase order management
- Delivery scheduling and tracking
- Import logistics (Incoterms
- customs)
- Stock replenishment
- ERP systems (SAP
- Oracle)
- Supply chain performance analysis
Soft skills
- Attention to detail
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Supplier relationship management
- Analytical thinking
Technical complexity: Moderate
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Bachelor's Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 6-12 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
- Retail Merchandiser
- Logistics Coordinator
Where you can go from here
- Supply Chain Manager
- Head of Logistics
Typical progression
- Supply Chain Assistant
- Supply Chain Coordinator
- Supply Chain Manager
- Head of Supply Chain / Logistics Director
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 30% -- order management and tracking are increasingly automated but supplier relationship management remains human
- AI disruption risk
- High
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 6.8/10
- Meaning
- 6.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 7/10
- Prestige
- 5.5/10
- Social perception
- Moderate