Director of Supply Chain Career Guide,
Salary, Licence & Jobs 2026

Directors of supply chain are reported within Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (SOC 11-3071), whose OEWS May 2025 median is $107,230 a year, or $51.55 an hour, ranging from $65,120 to $194,900. Because that code pools front-line supervisors with executives, a true director role generally sits above the median, often in the $146,770–$194,900 upper band.

A director of supply chain runs the operation end to end: keeping plan, source, make and deliver synchronised across plants and distribution centres, executing the S&OP plan into capacity and inventory decisions, and managing service, cost-to-serve and resilience. The role is operational leadership of the whole flow rather than ownership of any single function.

You set your career intent, target role, location, salary, credentials, and timeline, in 3 minutes. Our recruiters benchmark your pay against BLS data and live employer requirements, then bring matching permanent job opportunities directly to you. No applications. No job boards. We verify your credentials so employers see a complete, credible profile. After placement, we pay your licence renewal fees. Permanent, full-time, direct-hire only.

SCOR is the Supply Chain Operations Reference model, which structures a supply chain into the processes plan, source, make, deliver and return, each with standard metrics. Directors use it as a common language to diagnose where the chain is failing, benchmark performance, and prioritise improvement across the end-to-end flow rather than within a single silo.

The titles overlap and both file under SOC 11-3071, but in practice a director of supply chain tends to lead the operational, end-to-end flow — fulfilment, S&OP execution and network operations — while a supply chain director often leans commercial, toward sourcing, supplier strategy and cost. Employers use them loosely, so the actual remit matters more than the word order.

Most rise through plant, distribution and logistics operations management, demonstrating they can keep the whole chain flowing across sites. BLS notes work experience in a related occupation is required for the management code; a bachelor's is expected and an MBA common. An ASCM CSCP or CSCMP SCPro plus a record of end-to-end service and cost results is what earns the title.

Not strictly, but a bachelor's in supply chain, operations or engineering is effectively expected and an MBA is common, especially for the strategic network and resilience parts of the role. BLS notes the management code requires related work experience; the degree opens the shortlist while a demonstrated record of running operations end to end earns the promotion.