Supply chain management and logistics encompasses all the activities involved in getting products to consumers including planning, storing, moving, and accounting for inventory. Inventory availability is the most important aspect of customer service, and the cost of inventory is one of the most important entries on a company’s balance sheet.

Recognition of the balance sheet implications of inventory in supply chain management has launched a variety of industry-wide inventory reduction initiatives. Despite all these initiatives to reduce inventory in the supply chain, inventory levels for most companies have remained the same or increased. This course is focused on understanding how to efficiently provide the inventory necessary for good customer service while minimizing the inventory resulting from poor supply chain management.

• Executives and managers responsible for supply chain and logistics
• Supply chain management professionals
• Supply chain engineers and analysts
• Inventory planners and analysts
• Manufacturing and process engineers
• Industrial engineers and systems analysts
• Production and warehouse supervisors and team leaders
• Supply chain and logistics consultants
• Purchasing managers
• Transportation managers and engineers

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Understand the use of inventory throughout the supply chain
• Develop inventory strategies to support business strategies
• Analyze tradeoffs between inventory costs and customer service levels
• Determine how to measure and improve inventory performance
• Understand and manage variability that impacts inventory
• Evaluate how to tradeoff transportation and inventory costs
• Determine how to optimize inventory levels to meet service requirements
• Understand the basics of inventory and forecasting technology

• Inventory fundamentals
• Information requirements for inventory
• Inventory replenishment
• Inventory positioning and determining what to stock
• Inventory rationalization
• Forecasting and demand sensing
• Forecasting and inventory management technology
• Improving inventory performance
• Inventory planning trends and innovation

Attendees will each receive a course notebook.

Student Requirements

Attendees should bring a laptop computer for use in this class.

This course may be applied toward the Supply Chain & Logistics Certificate.