Supply Chain Management for Better Business Practices
Program Details
Duration: 6 weeks (2 sessions/week)
Times: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Cost: $2,500
Location: Kaas Tailored headquarters, Mukilteo, WA
Next Start Date:
January 14, 2025
Join us this January at Kaas Tailored in Mukilteo, WA to enhance your organization's operations and SCM processes, and drive productivity and revenue.
Engage with a regional network of SCM colleagues focused on building better businesses.
About This Program
Supply Chain Management (SCM) for Better Business Practices is a cutting-edge program designed in consultation with regional business leaders in manufacturing and SCM. It provides businesses and their staff with the foundations of effective SCM practices in order to address operational needs in a post-pandemic world. The program leads to the development of a capstone project focused on improving specific organizational practices and is designed to add tangible value to your business operations and improve overall efficiency.
Improve Business Operations
Do you know how your current SCM business practices came to be? Like many companies, they likely evolved through trial and error, simply following the way things have always been done.
Inventory is often the largest asset on a company’s balance sheet, and poorly-managed inventory can drain your profits. Developing effective SCM practices can lower costs, boost quality and increase customer satisfaction. It's crucial to address SCM strategically.
This program gives members of your team involved in various aspects of SCM the shared knowledge, strategies and skills to make improvements in SCM processes and enhance ongoing business operations.
Meeting Schedule
This course meets at the Kaas Tailored headquarters in Mukilteo, WA, with the option to attend virtually. Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Frequently Asked Questions
Week 1: Introduction and Overview
- Participant Introductions
- The Importance of SCM
- Current Trends in SCM
- The Beer Game
Week 1: Supply Issues in Supply Chain Management
- Case Study: “When Tragedy Strikes in Supply Chain”
- Group 1 Case Presentation and Critique
Week 2: Creating and Managing Supplier Relationships, Negotiation
- Business Relationships and Trust
- Capstone Presentation: Developing an SCM Problem Statement
Week 2: Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing
- Case Study: “IKEA: Sustainability Options”
- Group 2 Case Presentation and Critique
Week 3: Demand Forecasting
- Forecasting and Accuracy Performance
- Capstone Presentation: Presenting Solutions to the Problem
Week 3: Resource Planning Systems & Inventory Management
- MRP Exercise
- Independent vs. Dependent Demand
- Inventory Costs
- Capstone Presentation: Developing SMART Goals
Week 4: Process Management – Lean and Six Sigma in the Supply Chain
- Comparing Lean and Six Sigma
- Flow Diagrams
- DMAIC Model
- Group 3: “Six Sigma: A Basic Overview”
- Case Presentation and Critique
Week 4: Distribution Issues in Supply Chain, Logistics
- Discussion: “The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller”
- Capstone Presentation: Developing Key Performance Indicators and Metrics
Week 5: Customer Relationship Management & Global Location Decisions
- CRM Systems
- Group 4: “Tesla: Building an Electric Vehicle Global Supply Chain”
- Case Presentation and Critique
Week 5: Service Response Logistics
- Service Quality and Locations
- Group 5: “Apple, Inc.: Global Supply Chain Management”
- Case Presentation and Critique
- Capstone Presentation: Putting it All Together – Presenting the Improvement Plan
Week 6: Integration Issues in Supply Chain
- Process Integration
- Group 6: “Dell: Roadmap of a Digital Supply Chain Transformation”
- Case Presentation and Critique
Week 6: Performance Measurement Along the Supply Chain
- Supplier Scorecards
- Training Review
- Capstone Presentations: Presenting the Plan to Improve Business Operations
6 hours in class, and approximately 3 hours on assignments. Total: 9 hours.
Tuesdays and Thursdays at Kaas Tailored headquarters, 12978 Beverly Park Road, Mukilteo, WA. 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. You may attend remotely via Zoom.
The program qualifies for JSP funding. The next funding opportunity available is in 2025. We can support your application process.
Individual participant scholarships may be available for regional companies on request: pce@wwu.edu
Office hours/consultation will be conducted via Zoom. We will identify a time that will work best for students.
What We'll Cover
- Contemporary SCM practices
- SCM case-studies applied to the context of your business
- Evaluation and improvement of workplace SCM practices
- Team leadership in SCM
- Capstone project, applicable to your business
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Supply Chain Management for Better Business Practices
Approved by the College of Business and Economics at Western Washington University.
Produced with guidance from the SCM Advisory Board.
Bridget Brewer (NIC Global)
Shelley Cerdenola (Crane Aerospace)
Peter Haug (Western Washington University)
Kelley Sowards (Impact Washington)
Alan Van Boven (UW Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Advisory Board)
Stephen Winters (Evergreen Consultants)
Connect with an Advisor
Meet Your Instructor
Stephen Winters is an instructor in the MSCM and MBA programs at Western Washington University. He holds a B.S. degree in management from the University of New Orleans and an M.B.A. degree from Western Washington University. Stephen has had a 40+ year career in operations management in aerospace, automotive and medical device manufacturing. He has held positions as business unit manager, director of operations, quality assurance manager, production and inventory control manager and purchasing manager. Stephen is also currently account manager in his consulting business, Evergreen Consultants, LLC, helping small-to-medium sized businesses compete more effectively and efficiently. His teaching style includes real world examples and hands-on exercises and demonstrations. His teaching philosophy focuses on enabling students to learn by allowing them to apply their unique skills to problem solving.
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