50 Supply Chain Interview Questions

Supply Chain Managers play a vital role in the manufacturing process. From the time a company begins the new product development process to the time they ship the finished product. Here are some supply chain interview question to prepare you for your Supply Chain Managing career.

Supply Chain Managers oversee and manage the company’s overall supply chain and logistics strategy and operations to maximize process efficiency and productivity.

Supply Chain Managers must be able to assess data and processes, devise innovative solutions, create reports, and deliver results to higher management and other departments.

They also communicate with external suppliers and purchasers, understand legal paperwork, and build long-term partnerships with others.

Supply Chain Interview Questions

1. What is a Supply Chain?

2. I know we have several ways to understand MRP. As a newcomer to the procurement & supply chain, what technical skills are needed?

3. What training can you recommend to improve managers’ professional skills and capabilities?

4. Is there a fix for SKUs that a person can manage, directly or indirectly? Can you also gauge the capacity to work under pressure, a tight timeline, sense of urgency and priorities, and how do you deliver cross-functional projects and capacity to influence stakeholders?”

5. How can you add value to a business with your experience and competencies?

6. What are the different materials and capacity planning levels you have been involved with and how?

7. How do you leverage conflicting Manufacturing/Planning/Financial objectives in experiences?

8. What can you say about technology development projects, and are the results considered effective enough?

9. Have you contributed to innovating in either the products or services supply chain to speed up your company’s sales growth?

10. Do you have experience with both downstream (customer/client) and upstream (supplier), and what did you do when visited?”

Supply Chain Interview Question on Past Experience

11. How have you supported your company’s improvement in cost efficiency through long-term supplier relationships?

12. Does every professional require a basic knowledge or two about MS Excel and SAP?

13. Why do we need supply chain management?

14. What is your insight on how to determine approved vendors/ suppliers/ manufacturers and how they would measure quality?

15. Why forecasting is important and what type of forecasting methods do candidates know?

16. What are the criteria for slow-moving and non-moving stocks analysis being used in the previous company?”

17. What was the last Supply Chain book/article you read? What was it about, and what did you take away from it?”

18. What type of distribution network have you worked on? What are the challenges? And, what improvements have you done by you on this network?”

19. What can you say about Sourcing Methods? Types of Raw Materials you have sourced? Have you ever gone with imports or has he been managing local purchases? “

Supply Chain Interview Question on Professional Knowledge

20. Do you use an ERP or are you proficient with MS Excel? What type of logistics methods are involved in transporting the materials, and how do you ensure timely deliveries of supplies?”

21. “How would you help control procurement spending?”

22. Tell us about a time when you improved a process. How did you do it? What impact did this have?

23. How have you used your presentation skills to sell your ideas?

24. Have you ever worked with contracts? Explain your experience.

25. Talk about your accounting experience. What software did you use?

26. How would you build relationships with suppliers here and abroad?

27. How would you deal with a situation if you ran out of stock?

28. What specific skills do you need to be a successful supply chain coordinator?

29. Share an experience in which conferring with supply chain planners helped you accurately forecast demand or create a successful supply plan to ensure the availability of products.

30. What is the most challenging part of budgeting for you?

Supply Chain Interview Question on Field Experience

31. Provide an example of when you set expectations and monitored the performance of subordinates. What guidance and direction did you find most effective?

32. Share an experience you had in dealing with a difficult person and how you handled the situation.

33. Share an experience in which you successfully shared a tough piece of information. (Make sure the candidate has open lines of communication.)

34. Tell me how you organize, plan, and prioritize your work.

35. What are some long-range objectives that you developed in your last job? What did you do to achieve them?

36. Share an experience when you applied new technology or information in your job. How did it help your company?

37. Give me an example of when you thought outside of the box. How did it help your employer?

38. Tell me about an experience in which you analyzed information and evaluated results to choose the best solution to a problem.

39. Share an effective approach to working with a large amount of information/data. How has your approach affected your company?

40. Share an example of a time you had to gather information from multiple sources. How did you determine which information was relevant?

41. Provide a time when you could identify a complex problem, evaluate the options, and implement a solution. How did the solution benefit your employer?

42. What have you found to be the best way to monitor the performance of your work and/or the work of others? Share a time when you have to take corrective action.

43. Name a time when you identified the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions to problems. What was the impact?

44. Provide an example of a time when you could demonstrate excellent listening skills. What was the situation and the outcome?

45. Share an experience in which your ability to consider the costs or benefits of a potential action helped you choose the most appropriate action.

46. Provide an example when you could prevent a problem because you foresaw the reaction of another person.

47. Please share the experience in which you presented to the group. What was the situation and how did it go?

48. Share a time when you have accepted additional responsibilities or challenges.

49. How did you successfully meet all the demands of these responsibilities? (Make sure the candidate is a self-starter and can show some initiative.)

50. Describe a time when you successfully persuaded another person to change his/her way of thinking or behavior.

So, if you are one of many individuals preparing for an interview in this profession, you should be aware that it is quite competitive. This is why reviewing the supply chain management interview question may help you stand out and secure an in-demand profession.

CSN Team.