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

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

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

Your concerns are valid but more workable than they feel.

On language, you are right about Germany. Without German, entry to mid level roles are tough because client work happens in German.

English-friendly markets in Europe:

Netherlands is the strongest bet. Amsterdam and Rotterdam are deep supply chain hubs and English is the working language.

Switzerland, Zurich and Geneva, many multinational HQs and strong ops practices.

UK, London by default. Visas are harder post-Brexit but doable for MBA profiles.

Ireland, Dublin has grown fast with US multinationals.

Nordics, Sweden and Denmark, English-friendly but smaller markets.

On age, do not let people talk you out of it. 35 post-MBA with 8 years of supply chain is a normal profile. You enter as consultant or senior consultant, not analyst. Your experience is an asset.

For SAP IBP, Kinaxis, and o9 roles, look beyond MBB. Deloitte, Accenture, Capgemini, PwC, and EY hire heavily in these tools. Boutiques like Argon and Camelot are worth a look too.

Good luck.

The language is indeed the limiting factor. 

The advantage is your deep industry expertise.

I recommend you look for specialist roles across Europe OR in the geography where you're originally from. 

If it's within your means, do consider an additional degree, though that can be costly and time-consuming, and in most cases it's not a guarantee for a job.

Best,
Cristian

hey there :)

Germany without German will stay tough, especially for client-facing consulting roles, so it’s not just you. age is usually less of an issue than firms make it sound, your 8 years of experience is actually a plus if you position it well.

more realistic markets in Europe where English works well are the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Ireland. also the United Kingdom is very open, especially for roles around tools like SAP IBP, Kinaxis RapidResponse, or o9 Solutions.

your best angle is not to go for generic entry-level consulting, but position yourself as a specialist in supply chain planning + tech. that way your experience offsets both language and age concerns.

best,
Alessa :)

Hi,

I had a few coachees / friends who managed to find roles in Amsterdam without speaking dutch. You can consider that. 

Reality is that many markets have some sort of local language requirement. There are only a few markets in the world that are truly 'global' in that sense (where English is sufficient). 

On the age question you may read my article for more insights on the age dynamics in consulting: 

Am I Too Old for Consulting?

All the best!

Yup, don't even try for a country/office where you don't speak the local language (and they need you to).

For your purposes you can basically target the UK + Ireland and potentially the "greater" Nordic countries. Amsterdam/Netherlands and Belgium should work as well.

That said...NETWORK. You'll find out where you best fit that way.