The goal of this learning block is to assess all candidate’s knowledge of the essential components of a supply chain and the fundamental concepts and principles of supply chain management for the certification. The content provides insight into the key roles that supply chain management plays in improving customer service, reducing operating costs, and improving financial performance for organizations: small or large, national or global. In addition, supply chain management processes, strategies, tools, and technologies are introduced.

The demand and supply integration learning block assesses the certification candidate’s knowledge of the essential S&OP, demand planning, and demand forecasting processes in the supply chain.

• For S&OP, the content focuses on the critical inputs to the S&OP process, including the demand plan and the capacity plan, which is a projection of future supply capabilities. The S&OP process produces three critical plans — the operational plan, the demand plan, and the financial plan. The demand and capacity plans are reconciled through the financial plan that evaluates resource costs against performance projections.
• For demand planning, the content focuses on the systems, models, and approaches used by organizations to better understand the demand for their products and services, and how they use this information to integrate supply and production in order to satisfy the expected level of demand.
• For demand forecasting, the content focuses on the different approaches to demand forecasting and the role of the demand forecast in managing the supply chain.

The goal of this learning block is to assess the candidate’s knowledge of the management of supply processes and operations in the supply chain for the certification. The content focuses on the importance and leadership role of procurement within organizations, the basic steps and key success factors in the evaluation, selection and maintenance of supplier relationships, and the need for the procurement function to integrate with internal business functions and external supply chain partners in sourcing materials and services.

Learning Block 4: Manufacturing and Service Operations The content in the manufacturing and service operations learning block focuses on planning, organizing, controlling, directing, motivating and coordinating all the activities that are used to produce goods and services. Manufacturing and service operations decisions include:

• Long-term strategic decisions on issues such as facility location, capacity determination, and service delivery network
• Mid-term tactical decisions on issues such as determination of inventory levels and service-level labor requirements
• Short-term operational decisions on issues such as operational scheduling and job assignments

The content in the manufacturing and service operations learning block focuses on planning, organizing, controlling, directing, motivating and coordinating all the activities that are used to produce goods and services. Manufacturing and service operations decisions include:

• Long-term strategic decisions on issues such as facility location, capacity determination, and service delivery network
• Mid-term tactical decisions on issues such as determination of inventory levels and service-level labor requirements
• Short-term operational decisions on issues such as operational scheduling and job assignments

The transportation learning block assesses the candidate’s knowledge of the management of transportation processes and operations in the supply chain for the certification. The content focuses on the key principles, strategies, and decisions required for the cost-efficient, effective flow of goods between sellers and buyers. Transportation is a high cost, high impact supply chain activity. The proper management of transportation processes and issues is critical to the fulfillment of customer demand and the ultimate success of a supply chain.

The content of the inventory management learning block focuses on the different approaches to managing supply chain inventories and the variables that drive the level of inventories to be held. This includes the fundamental need for inventory, how the product’s value affects inventory decisions, the various approaches for determining inventory levels, how the number of inventory locations affects the level of inventory, and new approaches to reducing inventory including postponement, vendor managed inventories, cross-docking, and quick response systems. The trade-offs between inventory and transportation costs are a critical element in managing inventory effectively, including understanding how carrying costs can affect inventory decisions.

The goal of this learning block is to assess the candidate’s knowledge of the management of warehouse processes and operations in the supply chain for the certification. The content focuses on the different types of warehousing options, basic warehousing storage and handling operations, strategic planning issues, and the effects of warehousing design and service decisions on total logistics costs and customer service. Proper management of these distribution activities is vital for the fulfillment of customer demand and the ultimate success of a supply chain.

The goal of this learning block is to assess the candidates’ knowledge of the essential management of order fulfillment and customer service processes in the supply chain. The content focuses on planning, organizing, controlling, and coordinating the order fulfillment and service operations activities from the initial customer inquiry all the way through post sales service.