Businesses are more connected than ever before. We source supplies from around the world to produce and deliver the latest and greatest gadget, widget and thingamajig. I'm talking about things as complex as 3D printing and driverless vehicles, to smaller scale logistics for your local craft brewery. With that comes an even greater need to an efficient supply chain management division in today's businesses.

Here are a few facts about how real the demand is in supply chain management:

• The 2016 MHI Annual Industry Report, developed in collaboration with Deloitte, identifies a major workforce shortage in the manufacturing and supply chain industry – with an estimated 600,000 manufacturing positions in the United States not being fulfilled because of a lack of qualified workers.
• The Materials Handling & Logistics U.S. Roadmap predicts that by 2018 there will be 1.4 million new supply chain jobs in the United States.

That is 600,000 jobs that need to be filled RIGHT NOW and, 1.4 million new jobs that will need to be filled by 2018 by qualified supply chain management professionals.

As this demand for manufacturing and supply chain management workers increases with the ever-evolving technology, that means the need for people who have a graduate degree with a supply chain management concentration also increases.

An MBA with a concentration in supply chain management should focus on the specific demands of logistics, manufacturing and supply chain management in the real world. It should help people make an impact at their current job and also set them up for advancement in future roles.

Unfortunately, some MBA programs are over 100 years old and haven’t evolved. They either don’t offer a concentration in this rapidly growing field, or the program takes years to complete which means it takes longer for students to see the benefits of their MBA.

At Texas Wesleyan, we have created an online MBA program that can be completed 100% online in as little as a year. We offer a concentration in supply chain management that provides our students with the technical and analytical skills employers seek.

The facts are the facts: supply chain management is in demand and will be for the anticipated future. Getting your supply chain management MBA with Texas Wesleyan could be the fast and convenient program that will get you ahead of the competition to snag one of those 1.4 million jobs on the horizon.