Topic outline

  • Collapse all Expand all

    • Time: 96 hours
    • Free Certificate
    Operations management is one of the main functions of a firm. The supply chain for the firm ensures the firm has the inputs needed to operate. Operations and supply chain management (OSCM) studies how a firm produces goods and services efficiently. As part of this graduate-level course, we will analyze the major aspects of business operations, including facility location, input procurement, demand forecasting, product and process quality control, manufacturing process analysis, project management, and inventory control. Other business courses, such as marketing or advertising, focus on specific functions of the firm. OSCM goes to the heart of what makes a firm tick. Basic questions such as how many workers to hire, how much raw material to have on hand to ensure no production shortfalls, and how many production shifts to schedule each week to meet forecast demand are part of OSCM. Likewise, OSCM includes deciding where to source raw materials and intermediate inputs (local, regional, or international), forecasting demand for these inputs, and ensuring production and service processes have the necessary inputs to operate efficiently. When there is a shock to operations – like when an overseas supplier of a key part is hit with a typhoon or when a labor shortage happens in a key production area – OSCM asks how the firm will react and what tools it will use to analyze and respond effectively. OSCM provides tools to analyze basic business functions, respond to business and market shocks, and mitigate risks associated with an uncertain production environment.

  • Unit 4: Scheduling Model Analysis

    This unit covers model analysis for firm short-term resource usage. While aggregate planning looks at overall operations in the medium- and long-run in a manufacturing or service firm, scheduling models focus on day-to-day operations and management of physical and human resources.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.

  • Unit 5: Demand Forecasting

    This unit covers the need for, different types of, and methods for forecasting demand. It is the first step in operations management and planning for changes in production and service capacity. Understanding statistical methods used in forecasting, and optimal levels of risk/uncertainty inherent in the analysis, is key to successful operations management.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 9 hours.

  • Unit 6: Process and Inventory Management

    This unit covers process and inventory models. For process models, this includes quality control and the tools to measure and control quality such as statistical process control, total quality management, and six-sigma, and lean systems such as just-in-time logistics. Inventory models are covered which determine optimal inventory order schedules and lot sizes. Finally, the importance of safety-stock inventory buffers is considered to take into account disruptions in supply schedules.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 9 hours.

  • Unit 7: Facility Analysis – Location and Layout Planning

    This unit covers the analysis of facility layouts, given layout objectives and types. Different requirements for manufacturing and service-industry building layouts are considered. Location decisions include analyzing the link between supply-chain networks and facility locations as part of operations optimization.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.

  • Unit 8: Supply Chain Distribution and Logistics

    This unit covers the analysis of facility layouts, given layout objectives and types. Different requirements for manufacturing and service-industry building layouts are considered. Location decisions include analyzing the link between supply-chain networks and facility locations as part of operations optimization.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 10 hours.

  • Unit 9: Supply Chain Integration and the Bullwhip Effect

    This unit covers supply chain integration as an analysis of dealing with uncertainty in supply and demand, the tradeoffs between efficiency and responsiveness in supply chains, and different metrics of supply chain performance used in the analysis. Further, the Bullwhip effect, as one aspect of uncertainty, describes the variability magnification moving from customer to producer in the supply chain.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 13 hours.

  • Unit 10: Project Management

    Project management provides the framework and methodology for successfully addressing the complexities associated with supply chain management. This unit covers the principles of and different techniques used in project management. These include analyzing project structure and breaking projects into constituent work units and activity milestones. Also covered are activity-planning optimizing methods for work scheduling, along with methods to track overall project progress. 

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 10 hours.

  • Study Guide

    This study guide will help you get ready for the final exam. It discusses the key topics in each unit, walks through the learning outcomes, and lists important vocabulary. It is not meant to replace the course materials!

  • Course Feedback Survey

    Please take a few minutes to give us feedback about this course. We appreciate your feedback, whether you completed the whole course or even just a few resources. Your feedback will help us make our courses better, and we use your feedback each time we make updates to our courses.

    If you come across any urgent problems, email contact@saylor.org.

  • Certificate Final Exam

    Take this exam if you want to earn a free Course Completion Certificate.

    To receive a free Course Completion Certificate, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on this final exam. Your grade for the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you can take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt. Once you pass this final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate.