Are you looking for supply chain management skills classes online? If yes, then you’re in the right place! We’ve put together a list of the best supply chain management skills courses on the internet. We’ve included both free and paid courses to give you a variety of options.
But first, let’s answer an important question – what are supply chain management skills?
Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods, data and finances to a product or services, from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the product at its final destination.
Managers of any role would benefit with an understanding of supply chain management, as it will help them reduce cost, be more rational, forecast sales better, put more emphasis on training their employees, and much more!
One of the best way to learn to build excellent supply chain management skills is through online learning. Suitable for those of all levels, I have spent the time researching the best online supply chain management tutorials out there. If you’re looking to progress your skills, either for a career in a supply chain management or as a manager, there will be an online course for you.
1. Supply Chain Fundamentals: Understanding the Basics (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 2h 53m
- Cost: $79.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 21,733
- Course rating: 4.4/5 (out of 7,834 ratings)
In this course, that takes just under 3 hours to complete, you will learn everything you need to know about supply chain management. You will go over a wide variety of different topics, including understanding how to forecast error, different manufacturing strategies, material requirement planning, manufacturing-lead time, how to calculate capacity, understanding how MRP logic works, and much, much more.
To help you solidify your knowledge and truly develop an understanding, you will complete 40 quiz questions and solutions. After completing this course, complete beginners should feel confident that they have the skills to change careers and enter the wonderful world of supply change management.
2. Supply Chain Management Specialization (Coursera)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: Approx 6 months at a pace of 3h per week
- Cost: Enroll for Free
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 101,083
- Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 8,292 ratings)
Offered by Rutgers, The New State University of New Jersey, this course will give you an introduction into the fascinating world of supply chain management. This course is suitable for anyone who is looking to start a career in supply change management but is lacking the basic background. Or, someone who already works in supply chain management but wants to understand their daily challenges better, or finally, just for those who a fascinated by how the global economy is linked together.
In this course, you will gain skills in forecasting, logistics, supply chain risk management, warehouse management, logistics planning, inventory planning and six sigma. Once you’ve completed this program, you will have a much richer understanding of the complexities that companies worldwide are facing! It is recommended that after you’ve finished this course, you go on to take the other specializations in this course to fully understand supply chain management,
3. Supply Chain Foundations (LinkedIn Learning)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: Approx 1h 30m
- Cost: 1-month free trial
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 228,098
- Course rating: N/A
Taught by Eddie Davila, the associate chair for the Supply Chain Management program at Arizona State University, this course aims to teach you the foundations of supply chain management.
You will receive a detailed overview of all the links in a typical supply chain, including what is involved in purchasing inventories and setting up supplier relationships. On top of this, you will also take a look at what you need to consider when deciding how to manufacture and design your product and how to address the logistics of distribution and delivery. Finally, you will also get a glimpse into the world of a supply chain manager by discussing some of the hottest issues in SCM today.
4. Operations and Supply Chain Management (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 1h 20m
- Cost: $79.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 9,448
- Course rating: 4.2/5 (out of 3,109 ratings)
This course is part of a larger series of short courses on operations management, which is designed to help complete beginners get up to date with supply chains. In just over an hour, you will complete video lessons, written documents, quizzes, examples and exercises, and a small course project that will help you to get your supply chain management knowledge up to scratch!
After completing this course, you should be able to: sequence the components of the supply chain, identify the key drivers of supply chain management, identify the characteristics of supply chain management, match supply chain strategies , identify criteria for selecting and combining different supply chain strategies, and finally, matching supply chain areas with key indicators of their performance!
5. Supply Chain Fundamentals (edX)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 13 weeks at a pace of 8-12h per week
- Cost: Free
- Certification: Yes (if pay to upgrade)
- Number of people who have completed the course: 244,358
- Course rating: N/A
Taught by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this course is designed to help you incorporate and manage uncertainty and risk within supply chain management.
You will learn how to segment different customer, products and channels so that you can design an optimal portfolio of logistics approaches and strategies. You will also take a look at how to identify, design and implement the appropriate forecasting methodology, how to identify, design and implement the appropriate inventory replenishment and how to select optimal transportation routing.
By the end, you should feel confident that you understand the fundamentals of supply chain management from both an analytical and practical perspective.
6. Implementing Supply Chain Management (LinkedIn Learning)
- Level: Intermediate
- Completion time: Approx 1h 25m
- Cost: 1-month free trial
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 111,747
- Course rating: N/A
Supply chain management is the system that connects and integrates the links of sourcing procurement, conversion and logistics management. By understanding how to manage this complex system, instructor Daniel Stanton, knows that you can drastically increase profits and reduce costs and risks.
You will go over different supply chain processes that must be managed in an integrated way. You will also use this process view to describe the key challenges that supply chain managers need to address, the notable trends that are forcing supply chains to evolve and a five-step process for helping your company implement supply chain management effectively.
7. Supply Chain Dynamics (edX)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 13 weeks at a pace of 8-12h per week
- Cost: Free
- Certification: Yes (if pay to upgrade)
- Number of people who have completed the course: 81,016
- Course rating: N/A
In just over 3 months, you will learn all about the thrilling world of supply chain risk management, supply chain dynamics and end to end supply chain management. You will also take a look at fundamental supply chain models and system dynamics so that you can gather an excellent understanding of supply chain management.
As a final bonus of this free course, you will also get to engage in a series of more extended case studies and simulations that demonstrate all the complexed relationships you have learnt. These case studies will help you to better prepare for actual situations.
8. Master Certificate in Supply Chain Management and Operations (Michigan State University)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 8 weeks
- Cost: $2,480
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
At the most expensive end of the list, this course enables you to become proficient in supply chain management and operations. As this course is offered by the Michigan State University, you will learn by using the knowledge of a leading global research faculty, case studies, real-world strategies, and, you will have plenty of networking opportunities with other like-minded professionals.
In this professional development series, you will learn how to obtain value through effective supply chain management, how to combine innovation and the supply chain, how to formulate network models, and how to identify the requirements, capabilities and considerations for using IS applications.
Once you’ve completed this course, you will have the skills and expertise to excel in your current position, or to be able to progress into a new position. You’ll also have developed the proactive leadership skills that you need to ensure you have continuous, career-long, improvement!
9. Supply Chain Fundamentals for Complete Beginners (Skillshare)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 10m
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 364
- Course rating: N/A
Designed for those who have zero knowledge of supply chains, the goal of this course is to give you a glimpse into supply chain management so you can learn what it is, why it’s important and the functions of a supply chain.
At the end of this 10 minute video, absolutely anyone will be more clued up on the basics of the supply chain. They will learn the definition of supply chain, the role it plays, what a supply chain upstream and downstreams is and the competitive advantage within industries and companies!
Conclusion
So, there you have it… the 9 best supply chain management courses that are available online. These classes are suited to anyone who is wanting to develop their skills to become a fantastic manager in any industry.
There are lots of online options available for you to progress your supply chain management skills! There are free courses that take as little as an hour to complete, and there are more expensive courses that much longer to complete! Some courses are suitable for complete managerial newbies. Whereas other courses are better suited for those with lots of experience as a manager, but are specifically looking to increase their skill supply chain management skills set further.
The online classes in this list are the best of the best. Each is taught by an experienced and dedicated teacher, and they all have lots of satisfied and happy customers.
So, which course you decide take depends on your experience, funds and spare time. Are you a complete newbie to the managerial world? Or have you already got excellent general managerial skills but just want to further develop your supply chain management skills? Do you have a huge amount of money to spend on your skill development? Do you have a lot of spare time, or are you just looking for a quick, but effective, skill top up?