Learn how to apply the essentials of supply chain management (SCM). Discover the finer points of SCM including manufacturing strategy, inventory budgeting and management, lean manufacturing, total quality management (TQM), Six Sigma, total employee involvement (TEI), the theory of constraints (TOC), manufacturing technology, and facility selection. Add increased value to your organization by applying these innovative concepts and improving company processes. Learn how to supplement existing supply chain management fundamentals, such as S&OP, MPS, and MRP with cutting-edge, progressive methods. In this six-week online course, you will learn everything you need to improve quality and satisfy customers.

You'll learn about enterprise and distribution resource planning (ERP and DRP), discover statistical process control (SPC), and find out why ISO and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award are so important. You will also learn how to reduce manufacturing set-up time and how to make an effective facility layout.

This course will help you prepare for the internationally-recognized Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) exam offered by APICS®.

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

An organizational strategy does two things: satisfy customers and generate profits. In this lesson, you'll learn all about the strategic planning process and see how corporate, business, and manufacturing strategies all come together. We'll also explore the elements that make up manufacturing strategy and discuss manufacturing strategy alternatives.

Friday - Lesson 02

Today, you'll discover that managing inventory is similar to walking on a high-wire at the circus. If you lean too much to the left or right, you'll fall into the safety net. The same applies to inventory. If you decrease it too much, you can't supply customers. If you increase it too much, you create excess inventory. One of the goals of this course is to help you keep enough inventory to make everyone happy. To achieve this, we'll discuss the purposes and types of inventory, and how to apply costs to them.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

A wise person once told me that managing inventory was as easy as ABC. Since I was struggling to meet my inventory goals, I didn't believe him. But he was right. In today's lesson, you'll learn how the ABC classification can enable you to get on top of your inventory game. We'll also take time to examine the economic order quantity (EOQ) approach to balancing inventory costs.

Friday - Lesson 04

Lean manufacturing is intriguing because it is both a philosophy (a way of thinking) and a methodology (a way of doing things). Today, we'll talk about lean manufacturing basics, examine its benefits, and discuss the mechanics. We'll touch on many of the highlights of lean manufacturing including kanbans, pull system, quality at the source, group technology, and mixed-model scheduling.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In this lesson, we'll continue to paw through our lean manufacturing toolbox to find out what we still need to examine. We'll also discuss how many firms struggle with lean manufacturing because they don't follow a sound implementation process. You'll see what it takes to implement and successfully use lean manufacturing, and discover the role that suppliers play in it.

Friday - Lesson 06

Today, we'll examine the world of quality. We'll look at why quality is important, define it, discuss what makes up a quality philosophy, and examine quality objectives. Next, we'll examine total quality management (TQM) and get acquainted with its concepts. Finally, we'll cover Six Sigma—discussing its define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC) structure that gives it its power and purpose.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

An organization won't get too far with lean manufacturing and quality if it doesn't have people who display the right attitudes and behaviors. So, in this lesson, we'll examine total employee involvement (TEI) as a means of achieving organizational excellence. We'll discuss the nature of TEI, look at its origin, identify the benefits, and review management's responsibility. You'll learn the mechanics of TEI and identify what it takes to propose ideas and make suggestions. Then we'll wrap things up by considering what it means to be a team and by going through the stages of team development.

Friday - Lesson 08

Today, we'll tackle the theory of constraints (TOC). TOC is a relatively new arrival to supply chain management. Although it has a unique identity, TOC shares concepts with lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. We'll cover the nature and history of TOC, how to define a constraint, and see how TOC uses financial and operational performance measurements. You'll discover some new terms such as drum, buffer, and rope, and tools such as the reality tree and the evaporating cloud. You'll also find out how to implement TOC and see how it compares to lean manufacturing.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Statistical process control (SPC) has helped many firms enhance quality. It preceded Six Sigma in terms of applying statistical methods to understanding and improving quality. In this lesson we'll look at its origins and examine how it's used. Next, we'll switch gears and explore two ways to create a quality system: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA). While both were created in 1987, they differ in their approach and also, their focus—one is international while the other is used only in the United States. By the end of the lesson, you'll understand why firms that embrace SPC, ISO, and the MBNQA outperform those that don't.

Friday - Lesson 10

Today, you'll learn all about technology and how it affects manufacturing operations. You discover the nature of technology and determine how to implement it. We'll look at a number of technologies including computer aided design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), flexible manufacturing system (FMS), and bar coding.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and distribution resource planning (DRP) are powerful software choices. While ERP has made a few software companies wealthy, many firms struggle with its implementation and use. Nevertheless, ERP is one of the most visible industrial software products in the world. By contrast, DRP is not as visible, especially as stand-alone software. Today, we'll look at the origin of ERP, its challenges, and a plan for implementing it. Then we'll review DRP and use a case study to illustrate how it works.

Friday - Lesson 12

Finding the right facility, and designing and implementing a layout are essential to making sure you have sufficient capacity. So in our final lesson, we'll take a detailed look at these issues. To help you make the right choices, we'll look at the factors that you need to consider and examine tools that will help you with the process.

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This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Tony Swaim.

Tony Swaim has helped many clients, colleagues, and students reach their professional and personal goals. He has been an online instructor since 1998 and has taught at colleges and universities across the United States since 1981. His focus areas are project management, purchasing, continuous process improvement (CPI)/Six Sigma, and supply chain management. Tony manages a successful consulting firm, and his industry experience includes 20 years of supply chain management. He earned an MBA from California State University, Long Beach, and holds professional certifications in six disciplines, including the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

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Requirements:

Completion of Tony Swaim's Supply Chain Management Fundamentals course. Internet access, e-mail, and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser.

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