Applied Supply Chain Innovation

  • Overview
  • Course Content
  • Requirements & Materials
Overview

Applied Supply Chain Innovation

Course Description

Gain a clear, practical overview of modern supply chain management (SCM) practices and tools. This supply chain training course covers fundamentals like how products and materials flow, key engineering concepts, and why supply chains matter. Learners then gain insights on process-improvement-oriented logistics and performance management techniques that help supply chain management professionals measure and improve outcomes. Next, participants learn to leverage business intelligence (BI)—dashboards, basic reporting and visualization, and decision-support methods—to turn raw data into actionable insights. The final two sessions focus on emerging technologies, including AI’s role in planning, design, optimization, and operations as well as the steps to build data-driven business cases that demonstrate value to leadership and stakeholders.

Course Content
  • Foundations of Supply Chain Management and Engineering
    • End-to-end flow of materials, information, and finances
    • Basic network design and process‐engineering concepts (e.g., facility location, throughput calculations)
    • Key terminology (lead time, safety stock, order patterns) and why supply chains matter in today’s economy
  • PI-Oriented Logistics
    • Applying process-improvement (PI) tools—Lean, Six Sigma, Value-Stream Mapping—to logistics operations
    • Diagnosing and eliminating waste in receiving, storage, picking, and shipping
    • Balancing cost, speed, and service-level trade-offs in warehouse layouts and transportation
  • Performance Management in Supply Chains
    • Selecting and calculating critical KPIs (on-time delivery, inventory turns, fill rate, days sales outstanding)
    • Building simple scorecards and “traffic-light” dashboards to surface underperforming areas
    • Root-cause analysis techniques for when metrics dip—drill-down approaches and corrective-action frameworks
  • Business Intelligence and Decision Making
    • Fundamentals of BI reporting: pivot tables, basic visualizations, and summary charts in Excel (or any BI tool)
    • Designing dashboards to spot trends, outliers, and exceptions at a glance
    • Using “what-if” and sensitivity analyses to test scenarios (e.g., demand spikes, lead-time changes) before making a recommendation
  • AI in Supply Chain Planning, Design, Optimization, and Operations
    • Common AI/ML use cases: demand forecasting (time-series models), network-optimization algorithms, dynamic routing, inventory-replenishment engines
    • Evaluating data maturity and ROI: when to rely on a spreadsheet versus when to pilot an AI tool
    • High-level overview of model performance metrics (forecast accuracy, mean absolute percentage error) and cautionary tales (garbage in, garbage out)
  • Data-Driven Decision Making and Business Cases
    • Building simple ROI/payback/NPV models to quantify cost savings or revenue improvements
    • Structuring a business case: linking financials to strategic objectives and stakeholder priorities
    • Crafting a concise story—data plus narrative—to win buy-in from finance, IT, or executive teams
Requirements & Materials

Prerequisites

RECOMMENDED:

  • Basic Supply Chain Knowledge
    You should understand fundamental concepts like inventory, lead time, and flow of goods. If you’ve taken an introductory supply chain management training or operations course, you’ll be ready to dive into the material.
  • Comfort with Spreadsheets
    You’ll be using Excel (or a similar tool) to build simple dashboards, calculate KPIs, and run basic “what-if” analyses. Participants should be able to filter, pivot, and create basic formulas independently.
  • Familiarity with Key Performance Metrics
    It helps to know what on-time delivery, fill rate, and inventory turns mean. You don’t need to be an expert, but you should recognize those terms and how they’re calculated.
  • Basic Statistical or Analytical Skills
    If you’ve run simple averages, calculated percentages, or plotted trends before, that’s enough. We won't employ advanced statistics, but you need to interpret charts, understand variance, and evaluate forecast accuracy.

 

Materials

REQUIRED (Students will provide):

  • Laptop with Microsoft Excel (and Optional BI Software)
    You’ll need a laptop capable of running Excel. It is helpful, though not required, to have access to Power BI, Tableau, or another business intelligence platform. The instructor will demonstrate concepts in Excel, and you can follow along regardless of your chosen tool.

Session Details

Who Should Attend

This supply chain course is designed for supply chain managers and directors, logistics or operations coordinators, business or data analysts, industrial/process engineers, Six Sigma practitioners, mid- to senior-level leaders, and anyone responsible for shaping or optimizing end-to-end supply chain management strategy.

Supply chain professionals learning in classroom

What You Will Learn

  • Mapping and analysis of core supply chain flows
  • Application of process-improvement principles to logistics
  • Development and tracking of performance metrics
  • Leveraging business intelligence for better decisions
  • Understanding AI’s role in supply chain planning and optimization
  • Creation of data-driven business cases
Three logistics professionals collaborating over computer in warehouse

How You Will Benefit

  • Drive cost savings and efficiency.
  • Make faster, more confident decisions.
  • Speak the language of leadership.
  • Evaluate and adopt emerging technology.
  • Align cross-functional teams around metrics.
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  • Taught by Experts in the Field icon
    Taught by Experts in the Field

TRAIN AT YOUR LOCATION

We enable employers to provide specialized, on-location training on their own timetables. Our world-renowned experts can create unique content that meets your employees' specific needs. We also have the ability to deliver courses via web conferencing or on-demand online videos. For 15 or more students, it is more cost-effective for us to come to you.

  • Save Money
  • Flexible Schedule
  • Group Training
  • Customize Content
  • On-Site Training
  • Earn a Certificate
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