How To Become A Distribution Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a distribution analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Joel Stevenson

If a business's sales operations are like a web, then the distribution analyst is like a spider at the center of the web (except less gross.) They keep track of the current sales operations and identify areas of improvement to help the business grow in the future.

A good distribution analyst has an excellent analytical brain and a head for logistics since they have to keep track of warehouse stock, product sales, and more. They may also need to know hard data skills, such as the programming language SQL. A distribution analyst knows how to manage data and then turn it into a story about the company's performance.

In addition to managing logistics in the present, the distribution analyst knows how to find insights into the future. No, they do not need a crystal ball, but they use current data trends to identify problem areas and plan changes. A good distribution analyst will probably not have a hard time finding work as the field is expected to grow by 20% in the nearest future.

What general advice would you give to a Distribution Analyst?

Joel Stevenson

Founding Director USC Columbia Technology Incubator, Associate Director Faber Entrepreneurship Center, Senior Lecturer Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management, University of South Carolina

I would not enter the job market at this time. I would apply to the Masters of Human Resources Program at U of SC. If I could not get into the program, I would take an HR job and apply again to the Master's Program. Reason...with a Master's in HR, the starting salary is right at $85,000 per year. Cost and amount of time it takes to get your Master's, $25,000, and 15 months.

ScoreDistribution AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,299

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.9

Growth Rate 19%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.13%

Asian 11.06%

Black or African American 5.22%

Hispanic or Latino 12.49%

Unknown 5.01%

White 66.08%

Gender

female 52.60%

male 47.40%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress Level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.2

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a distribution analyst

Explore distribution analyst education requirements

Most common distribution analyst degrees

Bachelor's

76.6 %

Associate

10.3 %

Master's

8.9 %

Start to develop specific distribution analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Supply Chain	17.98%
Logistics	17.50%
Data Analysis	6.80%
SQL	6.75%
Process Improvement	4.59%

Complete relevant distribution analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New distribution analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a distribution analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real distribution analyst resumes.

Research distribution analyst duties and responsibilities

Implement and manage contract renewal process through SalesForce.
Perform daily data queries using SQL to analyze magazine distribution.
Monitor order status, modifications, cancellations, order approval & EDI issues.
Create and execute SQL queries in the production environment to fix data issues that are business critical.

Prepare your distribution analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your distribution analyst resume.

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