Operations Excellence

Overview

Supply Chains are made up of a network of companies from the initial raw materials to the ultimate consumer of the finished product. Within this network of companies, there are three ongoing flows: products, information, and finances. To properly understand and manage the supply chain, you need to understand all the flows. If you do not consider all of the flows, you will miss opportunities or sub-optimize parts of the supply chain. The third of five courses in this specialization will focus on Operations Excellence. You will learn how the internal flow of products, information, and finances into the company facilitates the supply chain. It will consist of four modules, which will cover the following topics: internal product flow; internal information flow; internal financial performance; and finally the capstone case study. You will have lectures, readings, and discussions with your peers for each topic, as well as a practice quiz in each lesson. At the end of each module, you can put your knowledge to the test and take a graded quiz. The Capstone Analysis module contains a real-life case analysis, as well as a supply chain management project that will enable you to be an expert on a company of your choosing.

Syllabus

Module 3: Core Manufacturing Elements

Manufacturing Excellence facilitates the transformation of products through the manufacturing system of the firm. To achieve manufacturing excellence, the firm must be able to produce items efficiently and effectively to the highest specifications at the lowest possible cost. The module is made up of the following two lessons: 1. Manufacturing Efficiency, 2. Contract Manufacturers

Module 2: Internal Information Flow

This module will focus on internal data and mostly highlight how companies can use data within the manufacturing environment. Specifically, we will introduce the Industry 4.0 concept. Afterwards, we have one more forecasting topic to cover. It will involve trends and seasonality.

Module 3: Internal Financial Performance

This module focuses on how Supply Chain Management can contribute to the internal financial performance of the company. Specifically, the concept of Supply Chain Capital is explored, which is often the cheapest form of funding that a company can use. In addition, we discuss the importance of inventory to the financial standing of a company, but we also view it from the perspective of customer service.

Module 4: Operations Excellence Capstone

Now that we have reached the end of this course, it is time to put all of your new knowledge to the test. Not only will you be able to take a second attempt at your SCM project by improving your original submission and adding a new section on information flow. Finally, you will perform a quantitative analysis of a real-life business case and suggest improvements.