At the end of the course, delegates will have the premises to equip their organizations with global best practice strategies in supply chain management and effectively contribute to the profitability of their organizations.

By the end of this course delegates will be able to:

• Appreciate the impact of supply chain and inventory upon the profitability of the organization
• Effectively record, manage and measure inventory costs
• Apply category management thinking
• Understand and apply: MRP, JIT, Kaizen, Kanban strategies
• Harness data to: manage and influence demand curves, plan effective resource utilization and reduce cost
• Effectively optimize resource planning and overall efficiency
• Establish effective inventory management controls
• Implement and report on KPI performance
• Appreciate the importance of audit trails and transparency
• Apply risk management techniques to supply chain and inventory management
• Take away specific action plans to further develop their role and organizational benefit

Logistics Consultants, Logistics and Financial Managers, Accounting and Operations Managers, Third-Party Logistics Providers, Supply Chain and Logistics Managers and Professionals, Operations Managers, Logistics Professionals, Logistic Providers, Logistic Administrators, Logistics Planning and Inventory Managers, Supply, Buying, Purchase, Logistics, Materials and Supply Chain Professionals, General Services Personnel, Purchasing and Procurement Managers, Retailers, Warehouse Personnel, Transportation and Distribution Managers/Personnel, Inventory and Warehouse Control Professionals, Freight Forwarders and Linear Specialists, Production Managers, Production Planners, Financial Managers, Project Managers, Distribution Center Supervisors, Line Managers, Fleet Managers, Fleet Supervisors, Fleet Operators, Fleet Inspectors

Role and Importance of Supply Chain

• Overview of supply chain functions within the organization
• Supply chain structures and reporting
• The supply chain compass, strategic assessment & improvement toolkit
• Engaging with stakeholders

Procurement: The Gateway to the Supply Chain

• Defining the role and responsibilities of the procurement function
• Spend area analysis: strategic v tactical
• Whole life cost analysis
• Defining organizational standards for optimum efficiency within the supply chain – including bar-coding, RFID, pack size
• Supplier contract management, contracting with the supply chain in mind (full templates will be provided to enable delegates to measure and manage: contracts, service and quality levels, spend and volumetric)
• Global standards

The Strategic Warehouse

• Defining the role and responsibilities of the warehouse function
• Utilizing the supply chain compass within the warehouse
• Space allocation and product driven category management strategies
• Inventory management strategies including optimum stock levels, obsolete/slow moving stock
• Effective forecasting and planning

Strategic Logistics

• Defining the role and responsibilities of the logistics function
• Utilizing the supply chain compass within logistics
• Establishing optimized logistics – journey planning, use of technology
• Hub strategies
• Multi modal logistics – opportunities and challenges within shipping, road, air, rail
• Environmental management and contribution opportunities

Inventory Classification and Audit

• Effectively classifying inventory – strategic v tactical, rotation speed
• Aligning inventory classifications with organizational and stakeholder needs
• Ensuring accurate records of inventory
• The Inventory management roadmap – full end to end process map
• Establishing effective audit trails and processes

Effective Forecasting and Peak Demand Planning

• Effectively forecasting demand – utilizing supply chain data mining and category management approaches
• Peak demand planning – seasonalization, moving average, exponential smoothing
• Influencing and controlling demand to maximize operational and financial resource efficiency
• Establishing process controls – including: min max, minimum order quantity, safety/buffer stock control
• Effective value judgment – cost benefit analysis of volume discount v internal cost/operational impact

Inventory Cost Reduction Techniques

• Establishing strategic inventory cost reduction – step targeting + continuous improvement
• Implementing leading edge strategies – MRP, JIT, Kaizen, and Kanban
• Obsolete & surplus stock management – establishing data driven business cases
• Establishing key cost reduction enablers within the supply chain – pack sizing, identification criteria, process cost reduction
• Effectively managing inventory risk

Performance Management

• Establishing key performance metrics – Operational, Financial, Compliance, and Environmental
• Effective KPI reporting
• Engaging staff colleagues in progress reporting – including cascading, visuals, team motivation
• The effective inventory specialist

CDGA attendance certificate will be issued to all attendees completing minimum of 75% of the total course duration.