Is there a career coach for supply chain professionals in pharma?
Yes. I coach supply chain, planning and distribution professionals who work in regulated life-science companies: pharma, biotech, CDMOs, pharmaceutical wholesale and medical devices. I recruited for the Bayer AG site in Berlin for nine years, including a six-month campaign for Product Supply Berlin that delivered 120 specialist hires. My supply chain work stays inside regulated life sciences. General logistics, retail and automotive are outside my field.
What sets pharma supply chain apart
The whole chain runs inside Good Distribution Practice. In Germany the wholesale rules under § 52a AMG, the Medicinal Products Act, sit on top of the EU GDP Guidelines, and serialisation under the EU Falsified Medicines Directive rides on almost every movement. A planner who can't explain a deviation or a temperature excursion will struggle in the interview, however strong the planning record is.
Drug shortages have changed the job. BfArM, the German medicines regulator, logged over 560 active entries in its shortage register in early 2026. Demand planning, safety-stock strategy and supplier risk now reach the boardroom. The main employers are pharma manufacturing sites and sponsors, CDMOs such as Lonza, Vetter and Siegfried, specialised logistics providers, and pharmaceutical wholesalers running their own GDP-licensed distribution.
Roles and pay, from Planner to Head of Supply Chain
On DACH job portals in 2025/26, a Demand or Supply Planner is typically advertised at €60,000 to 78,000, a Supply Chain Manager at €92,000 to 122,000 and a Supply Chain Director at €150,000 to 195,000. Head of Supply Chain seats at regional or global level are advertised at €195,000 to 260,000 and above. The full ladder, with entry routes, is in my pharma supply chain jobs guide.
One niche has its own rules. Wholesale distribution of medicines in Germany needs a licence under § 52a AMG, and the licence requires a named responsible person for Good Distribution Practice. I've written a separate career guide to that role.
What a supply chain CV has to show
Numbers and scope. Which sites, which product types, how many markets. Name the planning system and the S&OP cycle you ran or fed. Say what you did during a shortage, a recall or a tech transfer, because those weeks show how you work under pressure. For senior roles, show the span: budget, headcount, and the network of plants and CDMOs you were responsible for.
How I help supply chain professionals
You get a CV and LinkedIn rewrite that puts GDP, planning and supplier terms where recruiters search for them, coaching programmes for a planned move, interview preparation and salary negotiation coaching. For roles in Germany there's reverse recruitment: I search, you approve each role, and I submit the application in your name. Directors, Heads and VPs usually start with executive career advisory.
Prices depend on your career stage. They're listed for students and academia, professionals and managers and directors and executives.
Frequently asked questions
Do you coach supply chain professionals outside pharma?
I work inside regulated life sciences: pharma, biotech, CDMOs, pharmaceutical wholesale and medical devices. General logistics, retail and automotive supply chain are outside my field.
What does a pharma supply chain role pay in DACH?
On DACH job portals in 2025/26, a Demand or Supply Planner is typically advertised at €60,000 to 78,000, a Supply Chain Manager at €92,000 to 122,000 and a Supply Chain Director at €150,000 to 195,000. Head of Supply Chain seats at regional or global level are advertised at €195,000 to 260,000 and above. These are advertised ranges, and my pharma supply chain jobs guide has the full ladder.
Can I move into pharma supply chain from another industry?
It can work. The gap to close is the regulatory layer: Good Distribution Practice, cold chain, serialisation and how deviations are handled. A CV that shows you understand those gets further than one that rests on planning results alone.
What is the responsible person under § 52a AMG?
Wholesale distribution of medicines in Germany needs a licence under § 52a AMG, the Medicinal Products Act. The licence requires a named responsible person who answers for Good Distribution Practice. It is a small niche with its own pay logic, and I've written a separate career guide to it.
Do you find and apply for supply chain roles on my behalf?
For roles in Germany, yes, through reverse recruitment. I search LinkedIn, Google Jobs and company career pages, share each role with my assessment, and once you green-light a role I write the tailored application. Once you approve it, I submit it in your name through the employer's own application system. This is application support only. It is not job placement and not a recruitment agency service, and I don't contact employers on your behalf. For roles outside Germany I coach the search and you send every application yourself.