Business and Financial Operations · Holland code CEI

Logisticians

Analyze and coordinate the ongoing logistical functions of a firm or organization. Responsible for the entire life cycle of a product, including acquisition, distribution, internal allocation, delivery, and final disposal of resources.

Also called: Client Services Administrator, Logistician, Production Planner, Supply Management Specialist.

O*NET 13-1081.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $82,320; Middle half earn $64,440 to $106,190. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 75% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +17% · Much faster than average; 241,000 jobs in 2024, projected 281,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Logisticians".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Maintain and develop positive business relationships with a customer's key personnel involved in, or directly relevant to, a logistics activity.
Develop an understanding of customers' needs and take actions to ensure that such needs are met.
Manage subcontractor activities, reviewing proposals, developing performance specifications, and serving as liaisons between subcontractors and organizations.
Develop proposals that include documentation for estimates.
Review logistics performance with customers against targets, benchmarks, and service agreements.
Direct availability and allocation of materials, supplies, and finished products.
Redesign the movement of goods to maximize value and minimize costs.
Explain proposed solutions to customers, management, or other interested parties through written proposals and oral presentations.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.5 / 5

Knowledge areas

Transportation4.8 / 5
English Language4.0 / 5
Administration and Management4.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.7 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.6 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic23
Investigative47
Artistic2
Social22
Enterprising67
Conventional74

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

logistics and distribution manager · DE Logistik- und Vertriebsmanager/Logistik- und Vertriebsmanagerin · FR responsable logistique et distribution
distribution manager · DE Vertriebsleiter/Vertriebsleiterin · FR responsable de la logistique distribution
intermodal logistics manager · DE Führungskraft für intermodale Logistik · FR responsable logistique intermodale
supply chain manager · DE Supply-Chain-Manager/Supply-Chain-Managerin · FR responsable de la logistique approvisionnement
logistics analyst · DE Logistik-Analyst/Logistik-Analystin · FR analyste logistique
logistics engineer · DE Logistikingenieur/Logistikingenieurin · FR ingénieur logistique/ingénieure logistique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Purchasing managers and directors (1134)61,700 employed
Directors in logistics, warehousing and transport (1140)30,300 employed
Managers in logistics (1243)34,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.30. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1081).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test