Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study
Introduction
Many organisations still run purchasing, production, warehousing, transport and customer service as separate functions, each optimising its own budget while excess stock, long lead times and service failures accumulate between them. This Core Concept course gives supply chain staff a shared, end-to-end view of how materials, information and money flow, and the standard methods used to plan, measure and improve those flows. Participants work through case material from manufacturing, retail, healthcare and public services and produce a Supply Chain Diagnostic and Improvement Plan for a product or service flow in their own organisation.
Course Objectives
- Map an end-to-end supply chain for a product or service using SCOR Digital Standard processes and a SIPOC diagram
- Explain how supply chain strategy follows product and demand characteristics, using Fisher's efficient and responsive model
- Apply basic forecasting, supplier segmentation, inventory replenishment and Incoterms 2020 rules in daily supply chain work
- Measure supply chain performance with SCOR metrics such as perfect order fulfilment, order cycle time and cash-to-cash cycle time
- Identify the common causes of poor supply chain performance, including the bullwhip effect, and select suitable improvement methods
- Produce a Supply Chain Diagnostic and Improvement Plan for a flow in their own organisation
Target Audience
- Supply chain and logistics officers moving into an end-to-end role
- Purchasing staff who place orders and follow up suppliers
- Planning and inventory control staff maintaining stock levels and replenishment
- Warehouse and distribution supervisors responsible for daily material flows
- Customer service and order management staff who commit delivery dates
- Finance, quality and project staff whose work depends on supply chain data
Course Outline
Day 1: Supply Chain Foundations and Current State
- Supply Chain Definitions and Porter's Value Chain
- Material, Information and Cash Flows Across Supplier and Customer Tiers
- Supply Chain Cost and Service Trade-Off Curve
- SIPOC Diagram for an End-to-End Product Flow
- Current-State Supply Chain Map and Pain-Point Log
Day 2: Supply Chain Frameworks and Standards
- SCOR Digital Standard: Orchestrate, Plan, Order, Source, Transform, Fulfill and Return
- Fisher's Efficient and Responsive Supply Chain Model
- Push, Pull and Decoupling Point Strategies
- Incoterms 2020 Rules and Risk Transfer Points
- ISO 9001, ISO 28000 and ISO 20400 in Supply Chain Operations
Day 3: Core Supply Chain Processes
- Demand Forecasting with Moving Averages and Exponential Smoothing
- Supplier Segmentation with the Kraljic Matrix
- Inventory Replenishment with EOQ, Reorder Point and Safety Stock
- Transport Mode Selection and Freight Cost Comparison
- Order-to-Cash Process and GS1 Barcode Data Standards
Day 4: Performance Problems and Improvement Methods
- SCOR Metrics: Perfect Order Fulfilment, Order Cycle Time and Cash-to-Cash Cycle Time
- Bullwhip Effect Analysis Using the Beer Distribution Game
- Supply Chain Risk Register and Single-Source Dependency Review
- Lean Waste Identification with Value Stream Mapping
- Supply Chain KPI Dashboard Design
Day 5: Case Work and the Supply Chain Improvement Plan
- Consumer Goods Case Study: Stock-Outs Alongside Excess Inventory
- Hospital Supplies Case Study: Lead Time and Service-Level Failures
- SCOR Process Map and KPI Baseline for an Own Supply Chain
- Supply Chain Diagnostic and Improvement Plan Drafting
- Peer Review and Plan Presentation
Skills You Will Gain
- End-to-End Supply Chain Mapping
- Cost and Service Trade-Off Analysis
- Basic Demand Forecasting
- Inventory Replenishment Planning
- KPI Interpretation
- Cross-Functional Coordination
- Supply Chain Problem Diagnosis
Why Attend This Course
- Return to work with a Supply Chain Diagnostic and Improvement Plan built on your own product flow and performance data
- See how decisions in your function affect stock, cost and service elsewhere in the chain
- Use the shared vocabulary that suppliers, carriers, planners and customers work with
- Learn from participants in other sectors and countries who face the same stock, lead-time and service problems
Conclusion
A supply chain performs only as well as the weakest hand-off between its functions. This course builds from the core definitions and flows, through the SCOR Digital Standard and the principal strategy models, to the everyday forecasting, sourcing, inventory and transport methods and the measures that show where performance is lost. The final day applies these methods to case material and to each participant's own flow, producing a Supply Chain Diagnostic and Improvement Plan to take back to their manager and team.