Key takeaways from the Lynda course "Job Skills: Supply Chain and Operations"

1. Job Skills: Supply Chain
and Operations
By: Bryce Kendall

2. Seeing the Big Picture of the Supply
Chain
 A Supply Chain is a bunch of companies that work together to deliver
a product to a customer.
 If one link in the Supply Chain fails, the process as a whole fails.

3. Communicating with Suppliers
 Set Clear expectations so that there is confusion on what is needed.
 Know your point of contact so you know how to communicate
effectively with them.
 Keep good records of communication.
 Always confirm that your message is received.
 Escalate issues so that they get resolved in a timely fashion.

4. Communicating with Customers
 Listen to consumer wants and needs.
 Build trust so that consumers know you are looking out for them.
 Provide creative options and solutions to help solve problems.

5. Communicating with Colleagues
 Avoid making assumptions and be clear about the five W’s and how (who,
what, when, where, why).
 Be aware of different modes of communication (email, phone, etc).
 Be sensitive to schedules as everyone, not just you, is busy.
 Be selective about invitations to calls and meetings.
 Discuss what needs to happen, Document it in some form, and hold
everyone accountable (including yourself) to Do it.

6. Collaborating Across Time Zones
 Supply Chains are global so you must think about time zones.
 Use a world clock found on your phone or online to see what time it is
elsewhere.
 Simply ask if need be what times would be convenient for you and
your colleagues.

7. Taking an Order
 Customer selects wanted item and pays for it.
 In B2B transactions, a quote is often requested first.
 Quote should be detailed in who pays for taxes, transporation, etc.
 Once a quote is accepted, a purchase order is placed…this is not a
payment.
 After providing the product or service, a bill is sent to the customer.
The bill is called an invoice.

8. Shipping a Product
 Anything that you ship is called freight.
 The means by which you ship it is the mode.
 You are the shipper.
 6 goals: Get the right product to the right customer in the right place,
at the right time, in the right condition, at the lowest cost.

9. Managing Inventory
 Inventory is expensive to hold onto, but you also don’t want to run
out of product.
 It is a constant balancing act.
 Safety stock needs will be determined by how predictable your
customers are.

10. Forecasting Demand
 Demand forecasts are educated guesses about customer buying habits
in the future.
 You can use a qualitative approach, or a quantitative one.
 For a qualitative approach, you would use your knowledge of your
customers or the market place.
 For a quantitative approach, you would look at past statistics and
trends to seek a pattern of some sort.

11. Managing a Project
 First, make a list of all of the things that need done and how long
they’ll take.
 This helps you plan when each activity will occur.
 Your scope is what you need to deliver, your schedule is how much
time it will take, and your budget is how much it will cost.

12. Improving a Process
 No matter how good your supply chain is, it can always be improved.
 Six Sigma seeks to limit variability in your supply chain.
 Lean principles get rid of things that waste resources and cause
inefficiencies.
 Theory of Constraints seeks to remove bottlenecks and constraints.

13. Thinking Ahead
 Risk Management is one way to handle uncertainty about the future.
 You can prioritize risks based on likelihood of occurrence or severity
of consequences.
 Reducing and responding to risk is called Risk Mitigation.
 Part of your job is to predict the future.
 You won’t always be right, but being as close as possible is good enough to
keep your supply chain running smoothly.