Supply Chain Management Fundamentals Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Foundation to Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Supply Chain Coordinators, Procurement Officers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-SCM-001

Before you join: Participants should be comfortable reading simple spreadsheets, working with percentages and discussing their organisation's purchasing, stock, production or delivery processes.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Supply chains fail when demand signals are unreliable, inventory is held in the wrong locations, suppliers are poorly managed, and transport decisions are made without cost or service data. The result is stockouts, excess working capital, expediting, missed customer commitments and avoidable risk. Professionals need a shared operating model that links customer demand, planning, sourcing, production, warehousing, distribution and performance management.

This course teaches the end-to-end disciplines used to plan and control the flow of materials, information and cash. Participants learn to map supply chain processes using the SCOR model, forecast demand, set inventory policies, apply EOQ and reorder-point calculations, plan capacity, select suppliers, manage purchase orders, design warehouse processes and assess transport options. They also work with S&OP, supplier scorecards, Incoterms 2020, total landed cost, service measures and supply chain risk registers.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with worked calculations, sector cases, group analysis and supply chain simulations. Cases reflect issues faced by manufacturers, retailers, public agencies, humanitarian operations, banks managing outsourced services and multinational procurement teams. From the first week, participants develop elements of a supply chain improvement pack for a realistic organisation. They leave with a completed supply chain diagnostic, demand and inventory plan, supplier performance scorecard, logistics cost analysis, risk register and practical improvement roadmap.

The course suits professionals moving into procurement, planning, logistics, operations or supplier-management roles, as well as managers who need stronger control over cross-functional supply chain decisions.

What you will be able to do

  • Map end-to-end material, information and cash flows using SCOR process categories
  • Build a demand forecast using historical data, seasonality and forecast-error measures
  • Calculate EOQ, safety stock and reorder points for defined stock items
  • Prepare an S&OP plan balancing demand, supply, capacity and inventory
  • Evaluate suppliers using weighted scorecards, total cost and risk criteria
  • Analyse warehouse, transport and landed-cost data to improve fulfilment decisions
  • Create a supply chain risk register with mitigation and contingency actions
  • Present a practical supply chain improvement plan supported by operational measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make inventory decisions using repeatable demand, safety-stock and reorder-point calculations
  • Interpret supply chain data before escalating service, cost or availability problems
  • Contribute confidently to S&OP, supplier-review and logistics-planning meetings
  • Build evidence-based business cases for supply chain process improvements
  • Gain a certificate of completion documenting ten days of instructor-led study

For your organisation

  • Lower avoidable stockouts and excess inventory through clearer replenishment rules
  • Improve supplier accountability through defined measures, reviews and corrective actions
  • Reduce expediting and logistics waste through landed-cost and route analysis
  • Strengthen coordination between sales, operations, procurement, finance and logistics
  • Create documented supply chain risks, controls and improvement priorities

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain end-to-end supply chain decisions and identify their operational links.

  • End-to-end flows of materials, information, cash and customer requirements
  • SCOR Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return and Enable categories
  • Customer service, cost, cash and risk performance trade-offs
  • Push, pull and hybrid replenishment operating models compared
  • Supply chain roles across procurement, operations, logistics and finance
  • Process maps identifying handoffs, delays, controls and decision rights

Participants can relate supply chain design choices to customer segments and business strategy.

  • Order winners and qualifiers shaping supply chain priorities
  • Customer segmentation by service promise, volume and demand variability
  • Centralised and decentralised distribution network trade-offs assessed
  • Make-or-buy decisions using cost, capability and risk criteria
  • Postponement strategies separating common inventory from final configuration
  • Network assumptions documented through volume, lead-time and service data

Participants can prepare and assess a basic demand forecast using operational data.

  • Demand patterns classified as level, trend, seasonal or intermittent
  • Moving averages calculated from monthly sales or consumption history
  • Exponential smoothing applied using selected alpha values
  • Seasonal indices used to adjust recurring demand peaks
  • Mean absolute deviation measuring forecast error and bias
  • Demand assumptions reconciled with sales, programmes and customer commitments

Participants can structure an S&OP cycle that balances demand, supply and financial constraints.

  • S&OP cycle aligning commercial forecasts with operational capability
  • Pre-S&OP meetings resolving assumptions before executive decisions
  • Aggregate plans balancing demand, capacity, inventory and backlog
  • Scenario planning for demand surges, shortages and supplier delays
  • Decision logs recording owners, actions, dates and escalation points
  • Monthly S&OP measures covering forecast accuracy, service and inventory

Participants can classify inventory and select suitable control policies for different items.

  • Cycle stock, safety stock, pipeline stock and obsolete stock distinguished
  • ABC analysis grouping items by annual consumption value
  • XYZ analysis grouping items by demand variability
  • Service-level targets linked to customer and operational requirements
  • Inventory turns, days on hand and ageing measures calculated
  • Stock policies matched to item value, variability and criticality

Participants can calculate replenishment parameters and interpret resulting stock requirements.

  • Economic order quantity calculated from demand, ordering and holding costs
  • Reorder points calculated from lead-time demand and safety stock
  • Safety stock estimated from demand variability and service targets
  • Min-max systems setting review intervals and replenishment quantities
  • Periodic review policies compared with continuous review controls
  • Cycle counting plans prioritising high-value and high-risk inventory

Participants can identify capacity constraints and translate demand into material requirements.

  • Rough-cut capacity planning testing labour, equipment and supplier capability
  • Bill of materials structures linking finished goods to components
  • Material requirements planning exploding dependent demand by period
  • Lead-time offsets scheduling purchase and production release dates
  • Bottleneck analysis identifying constrained resources and throughput losses
  • Finite and infinite capacity assumptions compared for realistic plans

Participants can segment suppliers and choose appropriate sourcing approaches.

  • Kraljic matrix classifying purchases by profit impact and supply risk
  • Supplier market analysis assessing competition, capacity and switching barriers
  • Specification quality reducing ambiguity, variation and supplier disputes
  • Request for quotation processes comparing price, capability and terms
  • Single, dual and multiple sourcing strategies evaluated
  • Sourcing plans defining requirements, timelines, approvals and evaluation criteria

Participants can establish supplier measures, review routines and improvement actions.

  • Supplier scorecards measuring quality, delivery, cost, responsiveness and compliance
  • On-time-in-full calculations identifying service performance gaps
  • Corrective action requests documenting root causes and containment actions
  • Supplier review meetings using evidence, actions and due dates
  • Root cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Supplier development plans prioritising capability, quality and continuity improvements

Participants can control purchase order execution from requisition through receipt and payment.

  • Purchase requisitions checked against specifications, budgets and approvals
  • Three-way matching comparing purchase orders, receipts and invoices
  • Order acknowledgements confirming quantities, dates and commercial terms
  • Expediting routines monitoring critical orders against promised delivery dates
  • Change control documenting quantity, specification, price and date amendments
  • Incoterms 2020 allocating delivery, risk, cost and customs responsibilities

Participants can assess warehouse processes for flow, accuracy, safety and service.

  • Receiving controls checking quantity, condition, documentation and acceptance status
  • Put-away rules assigning locations by velocity, size and handling needs
  • FIFO and FEFO methods controlling rotation and product expiry
  • Picking methods compared: discrete, batch, zone and wave picking
  • Warehouse layout analysis reducing travel, congestion and handling touches
  • Inventory accuracy tracked through adjustments, counts and root causes

Participants can compare distribution options using service, cost, capacity and risk data.

  • Transport modes compared by cost, speed, capacity and reliability
  • Route planning balancing delivery windows, distance, load and driver hours
  • Freight rate structures separating fixed, variable and accessorial charges
  • Total landed cost combining purchase, freight, duty, insurance and handling
  • Proof of delivery controls supporting claims, invoicing and customer service
  • Carrier scorecards measuring on-time delivery, damage and invoice accuracy

Participants can define performance measures that support operational decision-making.

  • Balanced scorecards linking service, cost, cash, quality and risk
  • Perfect order rate combining complete, accurate and on-time delivery
  • Cash-to-cash cycle measuring working-capital movement through supply chains
  • Plan-versus-actual reporting identifying material demand and supply variances
  • Leading indicators distinguishing early warnings from outcome measures
  • KPI definitions specifying formula, source, owner, frequency and target

Participants can assess supply chain exposures and prepare proportionate continuity actions.

  • Risk registers recording likelihood, impact, controls and action owners
  • Supply risk mapping identifying single points of failure
  • Business continuity plans defining triggers, alternatives and communication actions
  • Supplier financial health reviewed through warning indicators and disclosures
  • Scenario analysis testing disruption, demand spikes and transport closures
  • Mitigation priorities selected using risk appetite and treatment costs

Participants can prioritise supply chain improvements using data and structured problem-solving.

  • Value stream mapping exposing waiting, rework, queues and handoffs
  • Pareto analysis prioritising causes behind cost, delay and defects
  • PDCA cycles testing process changes and standardising successful controls
  • Master data quality assessed across item, supplier and location records
  • ERP transaction data traced from demand signal through fulfilment
  • Improvement roadmaps sequencing quick wins, investments and ownership

Participants can build, review and present a complete supply chain improvement plan for a defined operating scenario.

  • Supply chain diagnostic consolidating demand, inventory, supplier and logistics findings
  • Baseline measures establishing service, cost, cash and risk performance
  • Forecast and inventory plan specifying assumptions, policies and parameters
  • Supplier scorecard and sourcing actions addressing performance gaps
  • Risk register assigning mitigations, contingencies, owners and review dates
  • Improvement roadmap sequencing actions, benefits, dependencies and governance
  • Executive presentation defending priorities with operational and financial evidence

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. SCOR-based supply chain process map
  2. Demand forecast and inventory policy workbook
  3. S&OP meeting agenda and decision log
  4. Supplier performance scorecard template
  5. Total landed cost analysis model
  6. Supply chain improvement roadmap

Who should attend

  • Supply Chain Coordinators — need a structured view of planning, sourcing and fulfilment decisions
  • Procurement Officers — need to connect supplier choices with inventory, service and total cost
  • Demand Planners — need practical forecasting and inventory-control methods
  • Warehouse and Logistics Supervisors — need to improve flow, storage, transport and service measures
  • Operations Managers — need cross-functional control of supply, capacity and customer demand
  • Programme and Project Managers — need to plan material availability, supplier performance and delivery risk

Skills and tools covered

Demand forecastingInventory controlSupplier performance managementLogistics cost analysisS&OP planningSupply chain risk

Tools and standards

SCOR, S&OP, EOQ, Incoterms 2020

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to introduce each method, followed by worked examples, calculations, case analysis and facilitated group tasks. Participants examine demand data, inventory records, supplier performance reports, warehouse layouts and transport scenarios. Simulations show how forecast changes, supply disruption and capacity limits affect service and cost. Trainers provide feedback as participants assemble their supply chain improvement pack. Application planning links each tool to participants' own products, services, suppliers and operational constraints.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable reading simple spreadsheets, working with percentages and discussing their organisation's purchasing, stock, production or delivery processes. Some exposure to procurement, operations, warehousing, logistics, project delivery or supplier coordination is useful but not essential. No prior supply chain qualification is assumed. Participants do not need advanced mathematics, specialist planning software, accounting credentials or experience managing a warehouse, factory or transport fleet. Those without direct supply chain experience should be prepared to work from course cases and contribute examples from their own service or operational context.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

No prior supply chain qualification is required. Basic spreadsheet confidence and familiarity with purchasing, stock, operations, projects or service delivery are helpful.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus non-confidential examples of stock, supplier, service or delivery issues you want to address. Course materials and calculation templates are provided.

It is designed for early-career to developing procurement, planning, logistics and operations professionals. Managers overseeing supply chain activities without formal training will also benefit.

Procurement courses focus primarily on sourcing and contracting, while logistics courses concentrate on warehousing and transport. This course connects those activities with demand planning, inventory, capacity, supplier performance and risk.

Participants use familiar operational data and issues to shape their improvement pack throughout the course. The templates can be adapted for supplier reviews, replenishment decisions, S&OP meetings and risk assessments.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes planning, inventory and sourcing methods; the second week develops logistics, performance, risk and the capstone plan.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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