Operations Management and Demand Fulfillment

Catalog description

This course covers core concepts of the production function in the supply chain. It gives students an overview of the strategic position of the operations function of a firm and gives an understanding of best principles and practices in process design and control. It also gives students an overview of the basic foundations of project management, which is used to implement product and process improvements in the production functions of a firm. The course also covers the supply chain activities related to demand planning and inventory management involved in the fulfillment of demand for finished goods. This will include a review of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) framework and the role of demand planning in this framework. The students will develop a basic understanding of forecasting and inventory models, including how to evaluate the performance of these models and manage demand and lead time variability. The course will also help students understand the implications of setting service level targets on inventory, as well as manage cost and service tradeoffs in the demand fulfillment process. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: - Visualize production systems in terms of the environment, strategy, inputs, the transformation process, outputs, and a control mechanism - Identify frameworks used in developing a business strategy and recall the components of competitiveness - Appraise the strengths and weaknesses of transformation systems and select the most appropriate transformation system(s) for a product or service - Interpret the purposes and methods of process monitoring and control - Utilize project management for process improvement - Demonstrate understanding of best practices in forecasting and inventory management - Evaluate performance of different models - Manage demand and lead time variability