Logistics and supply chain managers direct movements of business products and information. Develop your career in this field with an online university course.
Demand is high for professionals who are able to coordinate the smooth, efficient operations of businesses. Choose the right university course to establish or further your career as a logistician or supply chain manager.
A logistics and supply chain management course will prepare you for interesting roles. Students explore topics such as customer relations, global networks, inventory control, operations management, and procurement. Study online for a bachelor or master's degree, or other postgraduate qualification.
Types of Courses
Develop a Skillset in High Demand
Almost every business fits within a complex supply chain. Even within a business, you often have sophisticated interactions between different parts of the operation. Analysts and managers are needed to coordinate business processes to achieve maximum efficiency.
By studying logistics and the management of supply chains, you'll build skills to potentially help any business improve performance. Demand is growing for professionals with the right analytical and coordination skills.
As a graduate, you'll be in demand to support industry to manage complex flows of goods, information and finances. You'll help meet the challenges of globalisation and customer-centric e-commerce. And your skills will be called for to lower the costs of storing and transporting products.
Study Logistics and SCM Online
Logistics and supply chain management is a valuable business major. Every business can benefit from the effective management of internal operations as well as interactions with external parties. Graduates are therefore highly employable.
Studying online allows you to develop skills and gain a qualification in a convenient way. Most online students maintain a career while studying. These courses are designed with working professionals in mind.
As an online learner, you'll consider: how to frame and solve logistical problems; transportation of inputs and products; business logistics in a digital environment; each business entity's place within value chains; strategic marketing channels; and global logistics management.
You'll study management with a focus on optimising operations. The best online courses train you to form strategies from strong technical foundations. Students develop a scientific/engineering approach to business administration.
Bachelor of Business Degree
A limited number of online universities offer Logistics and Supply Chain Management as a major for undergraduate business students. To achieve the major, you need to complete a sufficient number of prescribed units towards the end of the degree (2nd and 3rd years).
Alternatively, you can construct a logistics-heavy program yourself. Australia's best online BBus degrees offer many electives, including units relevant to logistics and SCM. You can favour subjects covering topics such as international business, quantitative methods and microeconomic decision making.
Swinburne Bachelor of Business (Logistics and SCM)
Swinburne Online offers a Logistics and SCM major as part of its external Bachelor of Business degree. The program is taught by industry professionals. Students learn how to plan and manage goods and resource flows in a global marketplace. The course aims to build skills in project management, negotiation, procurement, and process management. Fit study within your busy lifestyle with a course designed for online learners.
Graduate Certificate Online Course
If you already have a uni degree of some kind and want to learn about business operations management, a Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain and Logistics Management (or similar) is a good option. The course is also suitable for experienced professionals without a degree. You essentially complete four subjects from a master's program, with the option to continue studying for a master's degree. Doing the course gives you foundational skills and a university qualification in the field.
UTS Graduate Certificate in Operations and Supply Chain Management
UTS Online’s Graduate Certificate in Operations and Supply Chain Management is an excellent primer course for careers such as inventory analyst, operations manager, production manager, and supply chain manager. Students explore business operations principles, problem-solving in tech-using business operations, risk and disruption management, and strategic supply chain management. You can complete the course over 8 months of part-time, online study. The program at UTS Online has been designed to develop practical, industry-relevant skills that employers seek.
Specialist Masters Degree Online
A Master in Logistics and Supply Chain Management could help you stand out in a competitive job market. Graduates have better access to advanced or higher paying positions in the field. Earn your degree without needing a career break. These programs are designed for online learning by working professionals.
RMIT Master of Supply Chain and Logistics Management
RMIT University offers a 100% online, fully accredited Master of Supply Chain and Logistics Management. The program is designed for part-time, year-round study and suits full-time workers. Students do one subject at a time, with each taking 7 weeks. You can complete the program in 2 years without ever having to sit a long exam. Assessment relies on research reports, case study analysis, and pop-up quizzes. If you lack a business degree, you can start with the graduate certificate component. Subjects include business analytics, distribution and freight logistics, e-Business, managing supply contracts, and strategic operations.
UTS Master of Supply Chain Management
UTS Online’s Master of Supply Chain Management will prepare you to hit the ground running as an expert in logistics and managing supply chains. The 12-subject program has been developed in consultation with industry practitioners. As well, students receive guest instruction from business professionals on the practicalities of this kind of work. Topics you'll explore include artificial intelligence and cloud computing, logistics network analytics, risk and disruption management, and global distribution. Online learning is made easy, with each subject completed from start to finish over a 7-week study period. The program aims to capture growth in demand for cutting-edge analytical skills.
What You'll Study (Program Structure)
In a degree program, you'll study diverse topics about managing the flow of goods, services, and information within and between organisations. Some examples are strategy and design, logistics and transportation management, procurement and sourcing, inventory management, international trade and logistics, and data analysis and decision making.
In addition to technical skills, students develop leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, which are essential for success in the field.
Here are example subject descriptions from the RMIT master's program.
This course teaches the concepts, fundamentals, and tools of business analytics. It covers how data can be used for decision-making through statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive modeling, and fact-based management. It also develops, evaluates, and analyses core analytic techniques and skills commonly used in business. The course is relevant for anyone, regardless of their business focus, as they or their business will likely use analytics in the future.
This subject assesses the practice of project management and the responsibilities of a project manager. It prepares students to work in industries where projects are used to deliver new products and processes and introduce change.
Students explore multi-disciplinary processes, techniques, and tools used across industries. Students will use these to develop a project proposal as part of a team. They'll also evaluate industry practices using project management standards and support their recommendations with relevant research.
This course teaches students a problem-solving approach to tackle wicked problems in contemporary business environments. It helps them frame solutions within a business model framework and pitch them to peers and industry partners.
Students will identify assumptions within their business model, develop a research proposal to address a fundamental assumption, and turn the assumption into a research question, choosing the appropriate ontology, epistemology, method, and methodology to address it.
The course also includes a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience where students apply and assess their knowledge and skills in a real or simulated workplace context and receive feedback from industry.
This course explores the role of transport and freight distribution in supply chains and logistics. It covers the interrelations between freight distribution components and the role of transport in improving operations and logistical performance. It focuses on strategic functions of four elements in freight logistics: retailing, distribution and marketing channels, city logistics, and transportation management. The subject discusses issues such as distribution planning, delivery postponement, marketing channel selection, and transport mode selection, and their impact on transport and physical distribution of goods.
This course introduces the significance of e-supply chain in business logistics, providing concepts and techniques in e-supply chain design and implementation from a managerial perspective. It discusses various technologies in the field and emphasises the use of case studies to illustrate e-supply chain design and implementation concepts and approaches.
This course covers the changing face of international logistics in the 21st century, including transport modes, nodes and hubs, corridors, and the contemporary context of international logistics, such as global trade production and distribution, global outsourcing, changing patterns of international trade, and developments in transportation and logistics technologies and competencies. It also examines the international trade regulatory environment and its impact on global logistical systems, facilities, and processes, as well as the challenges and opportunities in the emerging international logistics environment.
This course aims to provide knowledge and skills for successful work in a global business context, enabling students to negotiate, establish, and manage complex contractual relationships in contemporary global supply chains.
It covers supply contract management in the context of growing complexity in value chains due to globalisation and outsourcing of production. Activities are included such as literature reviews, case study analyses, lectures, industry guest talks, workshops, and seminars. You'll develop an understanding of frameworks, systems, and processes for contract creation and management, as well as skills for anticipating and avoiding contractual risks.
Supply chain performance has a significant impact on all stakeholders and can differentiate a company from its competitors. Therefore, companies must develop strategies to maximise value along their value chains. This subject builds on the introductory studies, focusing on developing organisational strategy. Using local and international case studies, we cover three critical areas: operations, integration and collaboration, and virtual supply chains. This course provides a capstone experience that allows students to integrate, reflect on, and consolidate their learning from the program.
This course covers concepts, theories, skills, and processes related to strategic procurement management, including activities such as supplier selection, supplier relationship management, pricing and terms negotiation, supplier performance management, and other strategic issues. It also offers a capstone experience to integrate, critically reflect on, and consolidate what has been learned in the program.
This course covers key theories and practices in logistics system design and management, preparing students for logistics management positions in manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, and distribution firms. It covers specific areas such as distribution, warehousing, transportation, logistics, integration, performance indicators, and discusses the use of analytical techniques and mathematical models in these areas.
Case studies illustrate the types of decision-making problems faced by managers and practitioners in contemporary business environments.
SCM involves a network of businesses working together to bring a product or service to market. It involves managing the flow of goods, services, and information from suppliers through intermediaries to end users and consumers. This course covers the basic concepts and principles, with a focus on operational excellence, integration and collaboration, and virtual supply chains.
Using case studies, students explore inventory management, just-in-time, and e-supply chain techniques, along with the issues of integration, coordination, and collaboration across organisations and throughout value chains.
One way to achieve sustainable growth is to increase the amount of product materials recovered from the waste stream. On the one hand, environmental regulations are forcing companies to be responsible for their waste, and on the other hand, waste disposal costs are increasing.
In light of this changing business environment, many world-class companies have realised that reverse logistics practices combined with source reduction processes can give them a competitive advantage. This course focuses on the relationship between supply chain planning and environmental impact, introducing students to the basics of sustainability, reverse and lean logistics practices such as reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing, and green supply practices.
We discuss product take-back policies, life cycle assessments, corporate social responsibility, and international environmental standards such as ISO 14000, and their impact on supply chain practices and reverse logistics network design.
Career Opportunities
Career opportunities in Logistics and SCM are plentiful. Business is increasingly inter-connected and complex, making logistics a growing field. Every company and organisation has a demand for logistical expertise, even if they don't employ or contract a logistician or supply chain manager as such.
The skills you learn from Logistics and SCM courses can be applied in many different roles. Job options include junior roles for recent graduates through to high-level executive positions.
Job title examples
Jobs you could be doing after graduating include the following.
- Analytics Manager
- Business Development Manager
- Category Manager
- Chief Supply Chain Officer
- Consultant
- Distribution Manager
- Global Supply Chain Manager
- Inventory Manager
- Logistics Analyst
- Logistics Coordinator
- Logistics Manager
- Operations Manager
- Planning Manager
- Procurement Manager
- Production Manager
- Project Manager
- Purchasing Manager
- Quality Manager
- Supply Chain Analyst
- Supply Chain Consultant
Admission Criteria
Logistics and supply chain management courses are available to people from different backgrounds. For undergraduate study, you typically need to qualify for the university's Bachelor of Business program.
For postgraduate study, any type of degree may enable you to gain entry. You may also qualify based on professional experience. A business degree can be an advantage, potentially guaranteeing entry into a full master's program. Previous business studies can also shorten the length of course where credit for prior learning is offered.
Here are example entry requirements.
A. Year 12 entry
The guaranteed entry ATAR is 60.
You should have successfully completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or equivalent, such as an interstate or international Year 12 qualification.
Minimum scores for English subjects may apply.
B. Non year 12 entry
Full or part completion of an approved tertiary may be acceptable. Consideration will be given to diplomas, advanced diplomas, associate degrees and degrees. Further performance criteria and entry requirements may apply.
Applicants lacking a formal qualification but having significant, relevant work experience may be considered. You must be able to demonstrate a reasonable prospect of success, including having minimum English language skills. An appropriate Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) result could be a positive factor.
Credit transfer
Students can receive credit towards their course in recognition of previous academic or professional experience. This allows them to receive advanced standing in their program. Each application for credit is evaluated individually. If you are interested in applying for credit, you can speak with a Course Consultant for more information.
Students who have completed a related diploma program may be eligible for credit of up to 8 units, which is equivalent to one-third of the course. Those who have previously completed tertiary studies that meet part of the academic requirements of the course may be eligible for up to 16 units of academic credit.
Recognition of Prior Learning
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process that allows students to receive credit (advanced standing) towards their course based on skills and knowledge they have acquired through work experience, life experiences, and/or formal training. Each application for RPL is evaluated individually. If you are interested in applying for RPL, you can speak with a Course Consultant for more information.
To be eligible for the Graduate Certificate in Operations and Supply Chain Management, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:
- Successfully complete a UTS-recognised bachelor's degree or an equivalent or higher qualification.
- Have a minimum of four years full-time (or equivalent) relevant post-secondary work experience and the ability to undertake tertiary education. Relevant work experience must be demonstrated through a resume and a Statement of Service that includes the dates of employment and the position held within the organisation.
Please note that satisfying the eligibility requirements does not guarantee an offer of a place in the program.
Upon successful completion of the Graduate Certificate in Operations and Supply Chain Management, students may be eligible to continue their studies in the Master of Supply Chain Management program.
FEE-HELP
If you are an eligible full-fee paying student, you may be able to use FEE-HELP to cover all or part of your tuition fees. FEE-HELP is a government-supported loan program that is designed to help students pay for their education.
Tuition fees
At last check, course fees were $4,250 per subject.
Key dates: Intakes are available in Jan, Mar, May, July, Aug and Oct.
English language requirements
Local applicants who hold international qualifications must meet the English language requirements for the program, which include an overall IELTS score of 6.5 with a writing score of 6.0.
If you do not have an Academic IELTS score, you can refer to the UTS Register of English Language Requirements Proficiency to find other ways to demonstrate your English language proficiency for the course.
For more information about the English language requirements for the program, you can schedule a 15-minute call with a Student Enrolment Advisor.
To enrol in a postgraduate program at RMIT Online, students must meet certain academic requirements.
General entry to the 16-subject masters
You'll need an Australian bachelor degree or equivalent from a recognised tertiary institution. Any discipline for your degree is acceptable.
Qualified entry to the 12-subject masters
To be eligible for the shortened program, applicants should have either:
- A bachelor degree in business or a related discipline;
- A bachelor degree, or equivalent or higher qualification, in any discipline with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 1.0 (out of 4.0) plus at least two years of relevant work experience; or
- The RMIT Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain and Logistics Management.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
RMIT offers Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which allows students to receive credit for previous study or learning. This means that you can apply to have some of the required courses in your program waived, based on your prior knowledge or experience. Each RPL application is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in applying for RPL, you can speak with our Enrolment Advisors for more information.
International students
International students must also demonstrate proficiency in English to be eligible for admission. You can provide results from one of three options: (1) an accepted English language proficiency test, or (2) an accepted English language provider, or (3) a recognised qualification.
Please note that the online Master of Supply Chain and Logistics Management program at RMIT does not meet the requirements for an Australian student visa. If you are an international student seeking a student visa to study in Australia, you will need to enroll in an on-campus program of study to meet the visa requirements.
Tuition fees
At last check, program fees were $3,960 per course / subject. FEE-HELP loans are automatically available for eligible students to cover fees.
Key dates
Intakes are available in Jan, Mar, May, July, Aug and Oct.
To be eligible for the Master's course, applicants must have successfully completed a Bachelor's degree or an equivalent or higher qualification. Satisfactory completion is defined as passing more than 75% of all subjects (conceded pass not included).
Please note that satisfying the eligibility requirements does not guarantee an offer of a place in the program.
If you do not meet the entry requirements for the Master's course, you may still be eligible to enrol in the Graduate Certificate in Operations and Supply Chain Management as a pathway, provided you meet the specific entry requirements for that course.
FAQs
Various qualifications can be helpful for those interested in pursuing a SCM career. Examples of qualifications that may be relevant include:
- A bachelor's degree: Many jobs require at least a bachelor's degree, and many employers prefer candidates with a degree in a field such as business, engineering, logistics, or operations management.
- A master's degree: A Master of Supply Chain Management is a common advanced degree in this field. The programs typically include coursework in areas such as logistics, operations management, and business strategy.
- Professional certifications: Professional certifications available include the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) certifications, and the Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) and Certified in Logistics, Transportation, and Distribution (CLTD) designations. The certifications can help to demonstrate expertise and credibility to employers.
- Work experience: Many jobs require some level of work experience, and gaining experience in internships or entry-level positions can be helpful in preparing for a career in the field.
- Soft skills: In addition to specific technical skills, professionals often need strong communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills. Developing these skills through coursework, internships, or other experiences can be beneficial.
The qualifications required vary depending on the specific role and the employer. Some jobs may require more specialised technical skills or advanced degrees, while others may place a greater emphasis on work experience or soft skills.
Professional associations in Australia offer membership and networking opportunities, namely the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA) and the Australian Institute of Management (AIM).
Logistics is a field that involves the movement and storage of goods and materials from one location to another, and it often involves the use of mathematical concepts and techniques. For example, logistics professionals may use mathematical tools to optimise routing and scheduling, to model and forecast demand, and to design efficient storage and distribution systems.
Some areas of mathematics that may be useful in logistics include optimisation, probability and statistics, geometry, and linear algebra. However, the extent to which mathematics is used in logistics can vary depending on the specific role and responsibilities of the individual working in the field.
In a Master of Logistics and Supply Chain Management degree, mathematical requirements can vary depending on the focus of the program and the background of the students enrolled in it. Some programs may place a heavier emphasis on certain areas of mathematics, while others may cover a broader range of topics.
Machine learning can be used in logistics to improve various aspects of the movement and storage of goods and materials. For example, machine learning algorithms can be used to optimise routing and scheduling, to forecast demand, and to predict equipment failures. Machine learning can also be used to improve the efficiency of warehouses and distribution centers by identifying patterns in data and making recommendations for process improvements.
Production management and SCM are closely related fields that both involve the coordination of resources and processes to ensure the efficient flow of goods and materials. However, production management tends to focus on the internal processes of an organisation. SCM involves the coordination of activities across multiple organisations.
