Master Logistics & Supply Chain Management Training Course

Master Logistics & Supply Chain Management Training Course is a two-week advanced course that pairs a week of purchasing practice with a week on logistics and the end-to-end network. It suits buyers, logistics planners and materials staff who already run sourcing or inventory work and want both halves in one sequence. You leave with a Supply Network Improvement Plan for your organization. Mercury Training Center runs this two-week edition.

About This Course

Buyers chase the lowest price while logistics teams chase service, and the two rarely share targets, so stock grows and lead times stretch. To follow the course you should already work in purchasing, materials, inventory or distribution. The first week practices sourcing decisions; the second applies network tools to flows from your own site.

Who It Is For

• People who source materials, equipment and services and manage vendors
• People who plan inventory, warehousing and distribution flows
• People in project, engineering or maintenance roles who plan and execute purchases
• People who administer purchase agreements and track vendor results
• People who lead improvement of end-to-end flows across functions

This course is not for readers who want a one-week overview of sourcing and current trends, who are better served by a shorter procurement course, or for transport operators who need fleet scheduling detail, who are better served by a transport operations course.

Competencies You Will Build

• Sourcing strategy design: sets make-or-buy, partnership and vendor strategies that fit business goals.
• Vendor evaluation: selects, rates and ranks vendors and reviews their results with them.
• Cost of ownership analysis: compares offers on total cost rather than purchase price.
• Flow mapping: maps buy, make, move and sell flows with SCOR and finds constraints.
• Inventory and service balance: sets stock and lead-time policies that protect service at lower cost.
• Collaborative planning: runs VMI, CPFR or quick response arrangements with partners.

What You Will Be Able to Do

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• From a year of purchase records, run a spend analysis and pick the categories to tackle first.
• Given competing offers, calculate total cost of ownership and recommend a vendor.
• Using the SCOR model, map one product's flow and mark where time and stock build up.
• Given order and sales history, show demand amplification and propose a smoothing step.
• From a contingency scenario, prepare a response plan for a disrupted vendor.
• Using KPIs, design a dashboard that links purchasing and logistics results.

Course Content

Day 1: Purchasing as a System

• System Versus Functional Approach to Purchasing
• Purchasing Goals and Sourcing Plans
• Overview of the Purchase-to-Pay Cycle
• Role of Purchasing Within Logistics and the Wider Network
• Purchasing Organization Design

Day 2: Sourcing Strategy Choices

• Make or Buy and Vertical Integration
• Alliances, Partnerships and Inter-Company Trade
• Reciprocity and Countertrade
• Vendor Strategy and Coordinated Sourcing
• Outsourcing Assessment

Day 3: Tactical Sourcing

• Early Vendor Involvement and Value Analysis
• Quality Assurance for Purchased Goods
• Vendor Selection Criteria, Rating and Ranking
• Purchase Agreement Administration Practices
• E-Procurement Systems, Policies, Procedures and Department Staffing

Day 4: Operational Purchasing and Contingencies

• Choosing the Right Ordering Method
• Quality Issues, Follow-Up, Overdue Orders and Expediting
• Payment Cycle and Small-Value Order Cost Reduction
• Contingency Planning for Supply Disruption
• Contingency Management Across the Network

Day 5: Measuring Purchasing Results

• Spend Analysis by Category and Vendor
• Total Cost of Ownership Calculation
• Vendor Performance Measurement
• Methods for Reaching the Best Price
• KPIs Linking Purchasing and Logistics Results

Day 6: Logistics Foundations

• Defining Logistics and the Supply Network
• Links Between Buying, Making, Moving and Selling
• Historical Development and Business Impact of Logistics
• SCOR Model for Mapping Flows
• Theory of Constraints for Flow Bottlenecks

Day 7: Rules of Logistics Management

• Cost-Service Balance and Customer Service Principles
• Internal Organization Structures for Logistics
• Inventory Principles and Lead Times Across the Network
• Adding Value Through Production Options and Changes
• Trade-Off Opportunities Between Functions

Day 8: The End-to-End View

• Sub-Functional Conflicts and Cross-Function Benefits
• Total Acquisition Cost From a Network View
• Demand Amplification and the Forrester Effect
• Effects of Uncertainty and Unresponsiveness
• Current Versus Improved Ways of Managing the Network

Day 9: Collaborative Relationships

• Lot Sizes, Order Quantities and Cost Reduction
• Interfacing Versus Integrating Relationships and Barrier Removal
• Segmentation, Product Formatting and Business Strategy Fit
• Postponement, Consolidation and Demand Planning
• Quick Response, VMI, CPFR and Lean Approaches

Day 10: Improvement Practice and Your Plan

• Exercise: Lessons From Manufacturing and Retail Improvement Cases
• Exercise: Oil and Gas Sector Review and the Doing-Nothing Scenario
• Exercise: Breaking Silos With the Five-Step Logistics and Vendor Development Approach
• Exercise: Applying Network Rules for Competitive Advantage
• Completing Your Supply Network Improvement Plan

Case Studies and Exercises

The following are suggested activities.

• Case study: A manufacturer's buyers win low prices while its plants hold excess stock; you decide which KPIs to share between purchasing and logistics.
• Case study: A retailer's orders swing far more than shop sales; you produce a demand amplification analysis and a VMI proposal.
• Exercise: An oil and gas operator loses a single-source vendor; you produce a contingency sourcing plan.
• Exercise: A hospital supply store carries many small-value orders; you produce a consolidation and ordering redesign.

What You Take Back

The Supply Network Improvement Plan is a working document you build across the two weeks around your own organization's flows. In your first month back, use it to run a spend analysis, share KPIs between purchasing and logistics and start one improvement with a key vendor or customer.

• A spend analysis and category priority list
• A vendor evaluation and total cost of ownership model
• A SCOR flow map with constraints and stock points
• A collaboration and contingency action list

Quick Answers (FAQ)

What should I know before a logistics and supply chain management course?

You should already work in purchasing, materials, inventory or distribution and know your organization's ordering cycle. Spreadsheet skills help with spend and cost of ownership exercises.

How does a two-week logistics and supply chain management course differ from a one-week procurement course?

The two-week course adds a full week on logistics, flow mapping, demand amplification and collaborative planning to a week of sourcing practice. The one-week course suits readers who need an overview of sourcing strategy and current trends.

What is the Forrester effect in supply chains?

The Forrester effect, also called the bullwhip effect, is the way small changes in customer demand grow into larger swings in orders further up the chain. Shared demand data and shorter lead times reduce it.

What do I take back from a logistics and supply chain management course?

You take back the Supply Network Improvement Plan, built on your own flows. It holds a spend analysis, a vendor and cost of ownership model, a SCOR flow map and an action list.

For Your Manager

After the course, the team member will be able to set sourcing strategy, evaluate vendors on total cost, map end-to-end flows, reduce demand amplification and run collaborative planning with partners. They return with a Supply Network Improvement Plan, first used to align purchasing and logistics KPIs and launch one improvement with a key partner.