Transitioning into Supply Chain Consulting at 36 years old and Without Local Language Skills

Question

I’m 35 years old and currently pursuing an MBA at a top-tier European university, with about 8 years of experience in supply chain and operations. My goal is to transition into consulting, especially in supply chain planning or functional consulting roles (for example SAP IBP, Kinaxis, o9, or similar platforms).

However, I’m finding it difficult to enter consulting in Germany, partly because I don’t speak German beyond a basic level. During networking conversations, a few professionals also mentioned that my age could be a consideration for entry-level consulting roles post-MBA.

I wanted to ask the community: which European countries are more realistic to target for planning or supply chain consulting roles where English is sufficient as a working language? I’m especially interested in markets that are open to international candidates without strong local language skills.

Any suggestions based on your experience would be very helpful.
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Good question; you’re targeting a different segment of consulting than typical strategy consultancies (McKinsey, BCG, Bain), which changes a few things.

First, your role is going to be quite specialized and more “operational”, not purely strategic. Because of that, local language becomes much more important than in firms like McKinsey, BCG, or Bain, where English is often enough. In supply chain / planning roles, you’re more likely to interact with operational teams who may not be fully comfortable in English, and that can be a real constraint.

On geography, the UK and Ireland are the most straightforward options. Beyond that, the Netherlands and the Nordics are probably your best bets, as they tend to be more open to English-speaking profiles. Outside of these, it becomes significantly harder without the local language.

On the age point, I wouldn’t worry too much in your case. Age can be a concern for generalist, entry-level consulting roles, but for specialized roles like yours, expertise matters much more than age. In fact, your 8 years of experience is likely a competitive advantage, not a drawback, compared to younger candidates with less hands-on exposure.

So overall, I’d focus on:

targeting the right geographies (UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Nordics)
positioning yourself clearly as a specialist, not a generalist switcher

Hope this helps.
Franco

Answer 2

Hi there!

It's a great question! Let me address your two points (+ one):

Age: I don't think 36yo is too old for most firms. Although, the expectation is that you are able to come in as someone that can be presented as the subject matter expert to the client. It might be helpful if you clarify if your MBA is Full Time or Part Time -- because the FT MBA hiring is indeed more catered to younger folks with a generalist approach (i.e., someone that can be molded, rather than someone with already a clear professional identity) :)
Location: UKI aside, I'd say Netherlands first, then the Nordics, then it gets tough. In general, consulting is a fairly local business, where most of your work is done for companies in your country (the McKinsey staffing model is slightly different in that, but they still often require local language knowledge). Offices do have international employees, but the hiring pipeline is definitely different and often on a case-by-case basis
Functional/Expertise focus: Just FYI in case you are new on PrepLounge, most of the content on this platform is catered towards folks that apply to strategy consulting (either MBB or the strategy / business consulting arms of the Big4). Your focus is pretty different, and your target companies have very different hiring and interviewing processes. The SC/Planning consulting world is also much more fragmented, and so logically less 'structured' (or coherent) in how they hire.

Hope this helps! Happy to do an intro call to see whether I can help you -- I helped a few MBA folks in the US get into more niche consulting roles, and I know the SC/Planning world in Europe.

Best,

Tom