This online course teaches the essential strategic concepts of supply chain management. Learn to align supply chain operations with business goals, improve efficiency, and manage supplier relationships effectively. The course explores critical frameworks such as lean supply chains, just-in-time delivery, and integrated logistics strategies. Learners will gain practical knowledge in forecasting, inventory control, risk mitigation, and global supply chain coordination. Ideal for professionals and business students, this course strengthens your ability to make informed, strategic decisions that enhance organisational performance and competitive advantage.
Strategic Supply Chain Management | Online Course
This course introduces the key strategic principles that guide modern supply chain management. It is designed to help professionals understand how to align supply chain functions with overall business objectives to improve efficiency, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction.
The course explores core concepts such as supply chain integration, strategic sourcing, demand forecasting, logistics optimisation, and performance measurement. Learners will gain insights into how strategic planning and collaboration across the supply chain can create value and reduce operational risks. Case studies and real-world scenarios are used to demonstrate best practices and common challenges.
Why Take This Strategic Supply Chain Management Course
Taking this course will help you develop the ability to manage supply chains with a strategic mindset. Whether you’re involved in procurement, logistics, operations, or inventory control, this course equips you to make data-driven decisions that contribute to long-term success. It supports business management professionals in achieving cost savings, process improvements, and enhanced supplier relationships.
What You Will Learn
- Strategic approaches to supply chain planning
- Integrating supply chain functions with business goals
- Evaluating supplier performance and risk
- Improving responsiveness and agility
- Using KPIs to monitor supply chain effectiveness
Who Should Enrol
- Supply chain managers and analysts
- Procurement and logistics professionals
- Business management and operations staff
- Anyone looking to enhance supply chain performance strategically
Course Content
- Concepts related to corporate strategy are evaluated to determine the alignment between corporate strategy and the supply chain management strategy
- Models of the strategy process are assessed focussing in particular on the analysis choice, implementation model
- The importance of the environment, resources and internal and external stakeholders is evaluated to determine their impact on analysing, developing and implementing corporate strategy
- The importance of organisational structures, cultures, and power is assessed in terms of their influence on the development and implementation of corporate strategy
- Innovative strategies to grow and expand a business are developed and proposed
- The availability, development and allocation of resources to support corporate strategy are analysed to determine the corporate performance
- The Corporate strategy process is reviewed in order to propose changes to improve corporate performance
- Organisational instruments are developed to engender commitment to corporate strategy across functions, and at all levels of the organisation
- The need for alignment between the component parts of an organisation are analysed to reflect their contribution to managing change
- Resistance to change and strategic drift are diagnosed in order to address them through change management processes
- Functional, business and corporate strategies are analysed to reflect their relationships with the integration of supply chain strategies with corporate and business strategies
- Strategic supply chain management is evaluated in terms of its contribution to corporate strategy and strategic make, do or buy decisions
- Organisational structures and processes are analysed and aligned with strategic supply chain strategies
- Innovative supply chain strategies are proposed to meet corporate and business targets
- The validity of the supply chain concept is assessed both in terms of the nature of supply and the chain metaphor
- Internal and external supply chains are analysed to reflect the flows across organisational boundaries upstream and downstream
- The nature of supply chains is distinguished in private and public sectors
- Drivers of change in global supply chains are diagnosed in order to propose strategies to address them
- The validity of the global supply market is assessed as a source of competitive advantage
- The concept of lean is evaluated to determine the importance of the removal of waste from supply chains
- The concepts of value, added value and value chain are analysed to determine effectiveness and efficiency of supply chains
- The sources, nature and role of power are analysed to determine the influence on supply chains
- The use of supply chains to deliver ethical and socio-economic outcomes alongside commercial goals is justified in order to determine competitive advantage
- The validity of the development of a globalised strategic supply chain model is assessed to determine best value for money and benchmarks
- The characteristics of adversarial and cooperative strategies are compared to reflect their appropriateness in different circumstances
- Competence-based approaches for determining supply chain structures and relationships are applied for optimal supply chain operations
- The lean supply model is assessed as a prescription for supply relationships
Accreditation
- Non-accredited: Short course only
- Duration: 1h 30m
- Delivery: Classroom/Online/Blended
- Access Period: 12 Months
