Supply Chain Excellence

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Rutgers the State University of New Jersey

Supply Chain Excellence

This course is part of Supply Chain Excellence Specialization

Instructor: Rudolf Leuschner, Ph.D.

27,098 already enrolled

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

493 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

92%

Most learners liked this course

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

493 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

92%

Most learners liked this course

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Inventory Management System

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

13 assignments

Taught in English

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Supply Chain Excellence Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

Supply chain leaders manage products, information, and finances to create an efficient, effective supply chain. With this online certificate program, you’ll study at the graduate level to gain the knowledge you need to advance in your career.

You’ll gain a thorough understanding of the three distinct flows that create supply chain excellence in any company. Learn from lectures, readings, discussions and quizzes designed by faculty from the Department of Supply Chain Management at Rutgers University. You’ll also benefit from graded feedback from the instructor and live sessions with groups of high-caliber peers. This course will provide you with an introduction and head-start to the Supply Chain Excellence MasterTrack.

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 the supply chain and manage it, you need to understand all of the flows. The first of five courses in this Specialization will focus on the flow of products, information, and finances in the Supply Chain. This module will cover not only the introduction of the course but also the overall product flow goals that supply chain executives are trying to accomplish when building a supply chain.

What's included

15 videos6 readings5 assignments3 discussion prompts

15 videos Total 47 minutes

Welcome to Supply Chain Excellence 1 minute
How do products flow in Supply Chain? 3 minutes
Product Flow goals - efficiency 4 minutes
Product Flow goals - flexibility 3 minutes
Product Flow goals - resiliency 2 minutes
Lean Principles Overview 4 minutes
The Seven Wastes 4 minutes
Just-in-Time 5 minutes
Jidoka (error proofing) 2 minutes
The Agile Supply Chain 3 minutes
Implement Agility 3 minutes
Agile versus Efficient 2 minutes
The Resilient Supply Chain 3 minutes
Supply Chain Risk Factors 4 minutes
Risk vs. Efficiency, can we afford it? 4 minutes

6 readings Total 80 minutes

Logistics Managers Index 15 minutes
Lean Thinking Reading by Womak and Jones 20 minutes
Zara's Supply Chain 10 minutes
The Triple-A Supply Chain 15 minutes
Building a Resilient Supply Chain 10 minutes
Your Resilient Supply Chain 10 minutes

5 assignments Total 120 minutes

Supply Chain Goals 10 minutes
Lean Principles 10 minutes
Agility 10 minutes
Risk 30 minutes
Managing Product Flow in the Supply Chain 60 minutes

3 discussion prompts Total 30 minutes

Lean Tools 10 minutes
Agile Tools 10 minutes
Risk Tools 10 minutes

The second of three flows is how information moves in the Supply Chain. In this module, you will learn how information enhances the supply chain. Next, we will cover information systems within the firm. Lastly, we will cover how information reaches customers. Specifically, we will cover blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, as well as machine learning.

What's included

12 videos5 readings4 assignments2 discussion prompts

12 videos Total 48 minutes

Professor + Course Intro 2 minutes
Information Flow in the Supply Chain 2 minutes
Local Information Systems 3 minutes
Internal Information Systems 7 minutes
External Information Systems 8 minutes
Blockchain 6 minutes
Cryptocurrencies 3 minutes
Supply Chain Applications of Blockchain 3 minutes
The Next Frontier in Technology 4 minutes
AI Background 5 minutes
ML Background 2 minutes
The Future of AI & ML 3 minutes

5 readings Total 70 minutes

Supply Chain IT In action 10 minutes
Blockchain technology for supply chains—A must or a maybe? 10 minutes
How Blockchain Will Redefine Supply Chain Management 30 minutes
Article: IBM Sterling SC Insights with Watson 10 minutes
Article: 20 things to know about AI for SC 10 minutes

4 assignments Total 120 minutes

IT Infrastructure 30 minutes
Blockchain 30 minutes
Managing Information Flow: AI and Machine Learning 30 minutes
Information Systems 30 minutes

2 discussion prompts Total 20 minutes

How Blockchain Will Redefine Supply Chain Management 10 minutes
Potential to add value 10 minutes

Welcome to the third and final flow in the supply chain: finances. In this module, we introduce the financial aspect of SCM, while covering the basic financial statements as well as the cash conversion cycle, an important metric that combines SCM and finance.

What's included

10 videos8 readings4 assignments3 discussion prompts

10 videos Total 34 minutes

Managing Financial Flow 2 minutes
What is Financial Flow? 3 minutes
Supply Chain Financing 2 minutes
Financial Statements 3 minutes
The Balance Sheet 5 minutes
The Income Statement 4 minutes
The Cash Flow Statement 4 minutes
The Cash Conversion Cycle 4 minutes
Calculate the CCC 3 minutes
CCC Benchmarking 3 minutes

8 readings Total 90 minutes

Why Operations and Supply Managers Need to Speak the Language of Business 15 minutes
Managing the Financial Supply Chain 15 minutes
Beginners' Guide to Financial Statement 10 minutes
Balance Sheet 10 minutes
Income Statement 10 minutes
Sources and Uses of Funds 10 minutes
A Look at the Cash Conversion Cycle 10 minutes
How Has Apple's Cash Conversion Cycle Changed Over The Years? 10 minutes

4 assignments Total 100 minutes

Lesson 1: Quiz 10 minutes
Lesson 2 Quiz 30 minutes
Cash Conversion Cycle 30 minutes
Financial Background 30 minutes

3 discussion prompts Total 30 minutes

The Language of Business 10 minutes
The Supply Chain within Financial Statements 10 minutes
Falling CCCs 10 minutes

This module introduces the capstone project that you will complete over the course of this specialization. The project will be due at the end of the fifth course, but each of the following courses will have checkpoints that will provide you with feedback.

What's included

3 readings1 discussion prompt

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Instructor

Instructor ratings

(186 ratings)

Rudolf Leuschner, Ph.D.

Rutgers the State University of New Jersey

17 Courses 437,527 learners

Offered by

Rutgers the State University of New Jersey

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Reviewed on Oct 4, 2023

It was designed very well and the way each topic was explained was excellent. I really liked this course."

Reviewed on Sep 9, 2020

Excellent course structure, Good study material, Nicely explained all key topics, Overall course is well designed.

Reviewed on Sep 12, 2021

A very good course on the foundations of Supply Chain. I particularly liked the incorporation of newer information technologies, such as blockchain, machine learning, and AI.

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Frequently asked questions

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.