The name is a dead giveaway for what the job is all about, materials management. Materials Management deals with the buying, stocking, supplying into the production chain and output from the production line of materials. What materials you ask? Well, raw materials and intermediary materials that are required by the manufacturing processes running in a factory. The timely delivery of these raw materials can’t ever be enough emphasized on because for obvious reasons if it misses the mark even by a day the supply doesn’t meet the demand of the target demographic, the factory doesn’t produce the product, nothing to ship out to distributors and the business itself comes to a halt.
Another aspect of materials management that is often overlooked is that it deals with the procurement of these raw materials as well. There will be no materials management if they aren’t bought in the first place. Stack this problem statement on the growing population of India where meeting resource needs seems to be always out of reach with high consumption rates. This has greatly increased the scope and growth of Materials Management as a job. This field is very dominant on its own, being a complimentary domain of Supply Chain Management and Operations Management- India’s sheer numbers add to its value. While it’s not a niche field, it certainly has a very specific or in other words specialized goal and thus requires a special skill set paired with appropriate studies. It’s safe to say that Materials Management Jobs are plenty in India.
The specialization limits the degree to a post-graduate course and MBA in Materials Management is offered by almost every management institution in India. Some of them are Indian Institute of Material Management, Mumbai, Indian Institute Of Material Management, Bangalore, All India Institute of Management Studies, Chennai, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management [IISWBM], Kolkata, College of Material Management, Jabalpur and Balaji Institute of Management Studies, Pune among others. Post Graduate Diploma in Management can also be pursued in this field and is of standard duration of two years. Even distance learning programs are available for this course. The fees in the IIMs is between 17-24Lakhs while a distance learning course is just about 45k a year, there are plenty of disparities in tuition and even the course content. Only after careful consideration should one of the above options should be taken.
Work in the Departments of Purchasing, Sales, Supply and Inventory in sectors like Railways, Public transport, Supply Chain industries, etc. is accessible to the postgraduates. Companies like Mahindra and Mahindra, Aditya Birla Group, Tata Group of Companies, Sun Pharma, Reliance Group, etc and many MNCs are active hirers in this stream in India’s private sector and lucrative salary packages are being offered all around. This field is an overarching stream that runs from the public sector all the way to the deep end of the private sector. Inventory Planner, Inventory Manager, Materials Manager, Manager of Purchase, Supply Manager, Materials Requirement Planner, Procurement Manager, SAP materials Manager, etc. are the most sought after Materials management jobs that professionals in India can bag. These profiles come with the challenge of maintaining the rhythm of the workflow and ensuring the grade and quality along with the appropriate choice of the raw materials fed into the supply chain. As the productivity of the firm is directly dependent on this job, it is very crucial and this calls for a constant demand for skilled professionals in this stream.
Analytical thinking, in-depth knowledge of materials and grading schematics along with statistical analysis abilities are encouraged in this domain, relationship building is also very important to run and maintain inventories. The more comfortable a candidate is around numbers the easier the job becomes. While freshers might not be offered jobs of ample responsibilities from the get-go, even as management trainees in the materials management department the average fresher salary is 3.5-4LPA while mid-career salaries range from 8 to 9.5 LPA and long term career growth ensures higher pay in the vicinity of 20LPA and above. There is smooth career progression almost promised with the job and given that it is everything but monotonous, there is ample opportunity for learning new skills and honing old ones to perfection.
