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Managers · code 1324

Supply, distribution and related managers

Supply, distribution and related managers plan, direct and coordinate passenger transportation systems and facilities and the supply, transportation, storage and distribution of goods, either as the manager of a department or as the general manager of an enterprise or organization that does not have a hierarchy of managers. Tasks include - (a) determining, implementing and monitoring purchasing, storage and distribution strategies, policies and plans; (b) preparing and implementing plans to maintain required stock levels at minimum cost; (c) negotiating contracts with suppliers to meet quality, cost and delivery requirements; (d) monitoring and reviewing storage and inventory systems to meet supply requirements, and control stock levels; (e) overseeing the dispatch of road vehicles, trains, vessels or aircraft; (f) operating recording systems to track all movements of goods, and ensuring reordering and restocking at optimal times; (g) liaising with other departments and customers concerning requirements for outward goods and associated forwarding transportation; (h) overseeing the recording of purchase, storage and distribution transactions; (i) establishing and managing budgets, controlling expenditure and ensuring the efficient use of resources; (j) establishing and directing operational and administrative procedures; (k) planning and directing daily operations; (l) overseeing the selection, training and performance of staff. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Bus station manager - Logistics manager - Purchasing manager - Railway station manager - Railway station master - Supply and distribution manager - Supply chain manager - Transport company manager - Urban transit system manager - Warehouse manager Note Chief executives of major airports, railway companies, urban transit systems and other transportation corporations that have hierarchies of managers are included in Unit Group 1120: Managing Directors and Chief Executives.

A few tasks are affected, but the heart of the job isn't. It ranks 318 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • railway station manager
  • move manager
  • airport director
  • air traffic manager
  • logistics and distribution manager
  • pipeline superintendent
  • movie distributor

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

61.5
Holds up
against AI Minimal Exposure

AI could take on 38.5 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 38.5 = 61.5

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

30.2
How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, averaged across 2 US jobs

12.1
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 18.8 · hand skill 7.2 · cramped spaces 10.4 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on under 50 Less than half hands-on

Less than half of this job is hands-on. Robots still matter, but for a smaller part of the work, so we don't sort it any further.

estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

What this number leaves out This job rates 30.2 out of 100 for how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools, not robots, but for work this far from the physical that matters less.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 45.8, while the average is 38.5. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  1. 45.8

    Overseeing the recording of purchase, storage and distribution transactions

    Low
  2. 44.5

    Monitoring and reviewing storage and inventory systems to meet supply requirements and control stock levels

    Low
  3. 44

    Determining, implementing and monitoring purchasing, storage and distribution strategies, policies and plans

    Low
  4. 43.5

    Liaising with other departments and customers concerning requirements for outward goods and associated forwarding transportation

    Low
  5. 41

    Preparing and implementing plans to maintain required stock levels at minimum cost

    Low
  6. 38.5

    Establishing and managing budgets, controlling expenditure and ensuring the efficient use of resources

    Low
  7. 37

    Overseeing the dispatch of road vehicles, trains, vessels or aircraft

    Low
  8. 37

    Establishing and directing operational and administrative procedures

    Low
  9. 35

    Operating recording systems to track all movements of goods, and ensuring reordering and restocking at optimal times

    Low
  10. 32.5

    Planning and directing daily operations

    Low
  11. 31.8

    Overseeing the selection, training and performance of staff.

    Low
  12. 31.5

    Negotiating contracts with suppliers to meet quality, cost and delivery requirements

    Low

12 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

3 Australian jobs match this one, and we've simply averaged them. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

AI helps you
73.3
AI does it for you
50.3

Helping wins by 23 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 1333, 1336, 1494

Compared with similar jobs

There are 30 jobs in the “Managers” group, averaging 64. This one is below that.