- The core task: maintain databases of logistics information. It heads the task list in the next section.
- Typical entry education: bachelor's degree. 64% of survey respondents say a new hire needs a bachelor’s degree.
- Related work experience at entry: none. On-the-job training: none.
- 2 certifications apply: CPIM, CSCP. CPIM is from Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM).
- Median pay for logisticians: $82,320. The 10th to 90th percentiles run $50,890 to $133,160.
- Projected change through 2035: 17.6%. Annual openings: about 26,600.
A supply chain analyst is the data side of logistics. The job is maintaining the databases that record shipments, inventory and supplier performance, tracking product from origin to delivery through web-based logistics systems, and keeping watch on the carriers, freight forwarders and customs brokers the operation depends on.
The output is interpretation: reading availability, reliability and supplier data and telling planners and managers what it means. That makes the role a common first job out of a supply chain degree, and a route toward planning, logistics and supply chain management roles.
The tasks O*NET rates most important for logistics analysts:
- Maintain databases of logistics information.
- Remotely monitor the flow of vehicles or inventory, using Web-based logistics information systems to track vehicles or containers.
- Communicate with or monitor service providers, such as ocean carriers, air freight forwarders, global consolidators, customs brokers, or trucking companies.
- Track product flow from origin to final delivery.
- Interpret data on logistics elements, such as availability, maintainability, reliability, supply chain management, strategic sourcing or distribution, supplier management, or transportation.
- Recommend improvements to existing or planned logistics processes.
Job titles in the same O*NET occupation: Global Logistics Analyst, Logistics Analyst, Logistics Management Analyst, Material Supply Planner, Supply Chain Analyst and Transportation Analyst. Source: O*NET
OnLine, 13-1081.02, read 2026-09-23.
O*NET files supply chain analysts under logistics analysts, and its task list for them is the clearest picture of the job: keeping databases of logistics information, remotely monitoring vehicles and inventory through web-based logistics systems, and tracking product from origin to final delivery.
The rest of the week is watching the partners the operation depends on, including ocean carriers, air freight forwarders, consolidators, customs brokers and trucking companies, and turning what the data shows about availability, reliability and supplier performance into something planners can act on.
Because the job sits inside the logisticians occupation, the Handbook’s description of that occupation applies as well: fast-paced work, systems that plan and track product movement, and a liaison role between the organization and its suppliers or customers.
Main Responsibilities
- Maintain logistics databases and the reports built on them
- Monitor the flow of vehicles and inventory in web-based tracking systems
- Track product from origin to final delivery
- Communicate with and monitor carriers, freight forwarders and customs brokers
- Interpret data on availability, reliability, sourcing, supplier management and transportation
Who They Work With
The Handbook says workers in this occupation may work under supply chain managers and project management specialists.
Carriers and freight forwarders outside; inside, the planners, buyers and managers who act on the analysis.
Where And When They Work
Mostly office and systems work. The logisticians profile notes that most work full time, some more than forty hours, and that manufacturing settings can mean evening or weekend shifts.
The biggest employers of logisticians, by the Handbook's count:
manufacturing (22%), professional, scientific, and technical services (15%), federal government (14%), transportation and warehousing (11%) and wholesale trade (11%).
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Logisticians, What They Do and Work Environment. Employer shares are of the occupation's jobs in 2025, from Employment Projections data, and include the self-employed. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS has no wage series for supply chain analysts. O*NET files the title under logistics analysts, part of the logisticians occupation, so the pay and growth figures here are the same ones on our logistician pages.
That is the same figure our logistician career page shows, because it is the same occupation in BLS data.
Among logisticians working in management of companies and enterprises, the corporate and regional head offices that are the occupation’s largest private-sector employer, the median is
$94,170 a year across 29,300 jobs, with the 10th to 90th percentile running
$63,340 to $133,840.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific
estimates. The figure is for logisticians working in that
industry, not for the job title alone. Read 2026-09-23.
Across all industries, the median for logisticians is $82,320 a year. The middle half
earns $64,440 to $106,190, and the full range runs from $50,890 at the 10th percentile to $133,160 at the 90th, across
251,040 jobs. The logistician salary page breaks that down by state, metro area,
industry and employer type.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national. Read 2026-09-23.
A bachelor’s degree is the usual entry point, though a meaningful share of O*NET’s respondents said an associate degree is enough to be hired. The task list is heavy on databases and tracking systems, so the analytics courses in a program matter as much as its name. A STEM-designated master’s in supply chain management adds the quantitative depth some analyst roles ask for.
What BLS Says Entry Takes
Typical entry requirements for Logisticians, BLS Employment Projections | Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree |
|---|
| Related work experience | None |
|---|
| On-the-job training | None |
|---|
A bachelor’s degree is the typical entry education BLS lists for the occupation, though O*NET’s respondents for logistics analysts named an associate degree more often than the logisticians figure does. Employers often prefer related experience, and internships are one way to get it.
Majors
Logistics and supply chain management, business, or a related field, the fields the Handbook names for the logisticians occupation.
Degree Levels That Lead In
What O*NET's respondents in the occupation said a new hire needs:
Education a new hire needs, O*NET 13-1081.02, top three answers | Education Level | Share Of Respondents |
|---|
| Bachelor’s degree | 64% |
|---|
| Associate’s degree or other 2-year degree | 23% |
|---|
| Some college, no degree | 5% |
|---|
Sources: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 (entry
requirements); O*NET OnLine, 13-1081.02, education section, top three
answers. The O*NET figures are survey responses from workers in the occupation, not a legal requirement.
CPIM covers the planning and inventory work analysts support most directly. CSCP is broader and fits analysts heading toward management.
Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
CPIM: Certified in Planning and Inventory Management
Planning and inventory inside the operation: supply chain strategy, sales and operations planning, demand, internal and external supply, inventory, detailed schedules, distribution, and quality and continuous improvement.
- Who It Is For
- ASCM names the people it is for by task: ERP users and IT staff, planners at any level of the planning hierarchy, sales and operations planning teams, and anyone doing master production scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity planning or manufacturing inventory control.
- Eligibility
- None. ASCM sets no education or experience requirement; anyone can buy an authorization to test.
- Exam
- One exam of 150 questions (130 scored, 20 unscored pretest) in 3.5 hours, scored from 200 to 350, with 300 or more passing. It is taken at a Pearson VUE center or online. The content runs across nine modules.
- Cost
- ASCM lists the exam at $1,265 for members with its certification upgrade and $1,755 for everyone else.
- Renewal
- Stays valid while you earn 75 professional development points every five years. Holders aged 62 or older can convert a current certification to a lifetime designation, which ends the five-year maintenance cycle.
Source: ASCM, CPIM page, exam details, FAQs and exam handbook, read 2026-09-23.
The CPIM guide: the exam module by module, the full cost and how to keep it.
Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
CSCP: Certified Supply Chain Professional
The end-to-end supply chain: demand management and forecasting, global networks, sourcing, internal operations and inventory, forward and reverse logistics, supplier relationships, risk, and optimization, sustainability and technology.
- Who It Is For
- ASCM pitches it at people responsible for the supply chain end to end: sourcing strategy and supplier selection, inventory visibility, demand forecasting, and designing a network that scales.
- Eligibility
- None. ASCM sets no education or experience requirement; anyone can buy an authorization to test.
- Exam
- One exam of 150 questions (130 scored, 20 unscored pretest) in 3.5 hours, scored from 200 to 350, with 300 or more passing. It is taken at a Pearson VUE center or online. The content runs across eight modules.
- Cost
- ASCM lists the exam at $1,450 for members with its certification upgrade and $2,015 for everyone else.
- Renewal
- Stays valid while you earn 75 professional development points every five years. Holders aged 62 or older can convert a current certification to a lifetime designation, which ends the five-year maintenance cycle.
Source: ASCM, CSCP page, exam details, FAQs and exam handbook, read 2026-09-23.
The CSCP guide: the exam module by module, the full cost and how to keep it.
ASCM membership is optional, though members pay less. You buy an authorization to test, which expires six months after purchase (12 months when bought in a bundle), and ASCM recommends about 100 hours of study per exam. A candidate who fails must wait 14 full days before retaking the same exam.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One; titles from
O*NET OnLine and the Handbook.
The qualities the Handbook names as important for logisticians:
- Analysis. Interpreting logistics data on reliability, sourcing and transportation.
- Organization. Keeping databases and records accurate while many shipments move at once.
- Communication. Explaining what the data shows to planners, suppliers and carriers.
- Problem-solving. Spotting delivery problems early and adjusting the plan.
O*NET lists the software the occupation uses and flags the technologies employers name most often in their job postings. For
logistics analysts, the ones it marks as in demand are Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Microsoft Access, Structured query language SQL, Microsoft Outlook, SAP software, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel.
Source: O*NET OnLine, 13-1081.02, Software Skills. "In demand" and "hot" are
O*NET's own flags, based on how often employers name the technology in job postings. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS projects employment of logisticians to grow 17.6% over 2025 to 2035,
from 255,100 to 300,000 jobs. That is faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations.
BLS expects about 26,600 openings a year. Of those, 6,200 (23%)
replace people leaving the labor force, 15,900 (60%) replace people
moving to other occupations, and 4,500 (17%) are new jobs. The
logistician salary page sets out what BLS says is driving demand.
Sources: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35;
EP Table 1.10. New jobs is total openings minus
separations. Read 2026-09-23.
What Degree Do You Need To Be A Supply Chain Analyst?
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry education for logisticians. In O*NET's survey of the occupation, 64% of respondents said a new hire needs a bachelor’s degree, and 23% said an associate’s degree or other 2-year degree.
How Long Does It Take To Become A Supply Chain Analyst?
BLS lists no related work experience as typical for entry, so the degree is the main time cost.
How Much Does A Supply Chain Analyst Make?
BLS has no wage series for supply chain analysts. O*NET files the title under logistics analysts, part of the logisticians occupation, so the pay and growth figures here are the same ones on our logistician pages. The median for logisticians is $82,320 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with the 10th to 90th percentile running $50,890 to $133,160.
Is Supply Chain Analyst A Good Career?
On the federal numbers: a median of $82,320, and BLS projects the occupation to grow 17.6% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 26,600 openings a year.
Is Supply Chain Analyst An Entry-Level Job?
It is one of the common first jobs after a supply chain degree. O*NET’s respondents for logistics analysts most often named a bachelor’s degree as what a new hire needs, and a meaningful share named an associate degree.
What Is The Difference Between A Supply Chain Analyst And A Logistician?
In BLS data, none: both are counted in the logisticians occupation. In practice the analyst title leans toward data, tracking and reporting, and the logistician title toward planning and coordinating the flow itself.
Does A Supply Chain Analyst Need To Know SQL?
O*NET lists SQL, Microsoft Access and SQL Server among the database software logistics analysts use, and flags SQL as an in-demand technology in employer postings.
Pay for logisticians by state, metro area and industry.
Plans how products, parts and people move and where they are stored, and holds carriers and subcontractors to the plan.
Programs read from each school’s own page, with tuition where the school states it.
Programs read from each school’s own page, with tuition where the school states it.
