Introduces the key concepts of supply chain management. Effective Supply Chain Management has become an important component in an organizations ability to stay competitive. Learners examine planning and demand management, supplier management, operations management, customer relationship management, and logistics management. Learners explore the integration and best practices that occur in these supply chain operational areas to deliver a product or service to the customer.

Examine the concepts, principles, problems and practices of operations management. Effective management of operations includes: managerial processes, informational systems and technologies that are relevant in goods and service producing organizations such as facility and process design, product design processes, design and capacity planning, supply chain management, quality assurance and customer service management.

Gain an operational knowledge of the principles of demand planning and inventory management. The planning side of operations is examined including master scheduling, requirements planning, capacity management, shop floor control and forecasting. Inventory management involves controlling the flow of materials and information to effectively manage an organization's material resources, minimize costs, and provide high levels of customer service. The course provides practical exercises in effective inventory techniques and concepts culminating in creating an inventory control plan for an organization.

Examines the logistics, transportation and distribution functions of supply chain management. These functions plan, implement, and control the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services, and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements. Learners will examine practical management perspective in the following areas: order management, distribution, transportation, international logistics, inventory control, warehousing facility location, sustainable logistics practices, key performance indicators and supply chain finance.

Identify techniques purchasing professionals utilize to effectively evaluate requirements, manage supply, work with vendors and evaluate the quality of goods. Contractual law and ethical issues facing the procurement professional are examined. Identifying and assessing the variables in negotiations, developing sound negotiation planning techniques and gaining an understanding of various strategies and tactics to resolve conflicts, contractual and interpersonal differences are explored. Additionally, learners will develop an understanding of the supplier/buyer relationship and the benefits of high-quality supplier management systems.

In Lean Organizations, learners apply the skills and tools necessary to enhance company performance and profitability by identifying and eliminating waste throughout all business processes. Lean is a work smarter, not harder, approach that allows an organization to produce more while utilizing fewer resources. Many traditional approaches to business processes require excessive inventory, repetitive tasks, wasted materials, scrap and rework and misappropriated human and other resources. Each learner will: identify and practice Lean Solutions by completing learning plans that cover Lean Operations, Value-stream Mapping, 8 Wastes, 5S Workplace Organization, Set-up Reduction, Cellular Flow Design, Lean Culture Development, Value Chain Management, Kanban Systems and Total Productive Maintenance.