Operations Planning and Process Improvement

This unit develops learners’ ability to forecast demand, balance capacity and inventory, and align supply chain choices with business strategy while introducing quality and process improvement tools. Students will also practice basic risk and project planning techniques to reduce waste, manage disruption, and prepare for advanced implementation topics in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze historical demand and build basic forecasts (e.g., moving averages, simple exponential smoothing) to justify capacity and inventory decisions
• Apply aggregate planning and inventory control methods (including EOQ, reorder points, and make-to-stock vs make-to-order considerations) to optimize service levels and carrying costs
• Evaluate process performance and quality issues using baseline data, root-cause analysis, and lean/Six Sigma improvement techniques to recommend actions that reduce wait times and waste
• Demonstrate creation of a simple risk register and contingency plans, and align project delivery approaches (Agile vs plan-driven) and supply chain strategies with organizational goals