Essentials of Operations and Supply Chain Management

11 sessions, 33 hours online through College of the Canyons - Wednesdays, July 8 to September 16, 2026 from 5-8 p.m. (Pacific Time) - led by APICS recognized instructors. Instructor for this course is Trent Russ, CPIM. Click here for the instructor's bio.

Course Description 

The introductory course addresses the fundamental principles and practices of Operations and Supply Chain and business processes and systems.  Major topics covered in this course include: Demand Management, Sales and Operations Planning, Master Production Scheduling, Material Planning (MRP), Capacity Planning, Inventory Management and Control, Production Planning and Control, Purchasing, and Lean Management practices.  Students will be introduced to accepted APICS Body of Knowledge concepts and terminology.  While this class is not designed as an APICS Certification preparation course it provides a strong foundation for students to prepare for the CPIM Part 1 and 2 Certification exams.

Audience

This course is developed for Operations and Supply Chain professionals and practitioners who want to gain practical knowledge and skills that can be applied immediately in jobs and that will prepare them for additional professional development and certification.  Planners, Buyers, Master Schedulers, Demand Planners, Production Planners, Material Planners, Production and Inventory control coordinators, cost accountants, Quality Control personnel, and others who are involved in the day-to-day activities of operations and supply chain management.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites for this course.  It is strongly recommended that students have some experience or knowledge in the field of supply chain and operations management activities (ie Production and Inventory Control, Purchasing, Demand Management, Sales and Operations Planning, Master Production Scheduling, Material Planning (MRP), Capacity Planning, Lean, etc.)

Topics and Course Content

Demand Management Principles and Practices (FOP-4)

• Forecast performance / error
• MAD and Standard Deviation
• Customer Relationship Management CRM

Fundamentals of Sales and Operations Plan (FOP-5)

• S&OP Process
• MTS vs MTO Planning (inventory vs backlog)
• S&OP policy and procedures

Master Scheduling Foundations (FOP-8)

• Relationship of MPS with S&OP planning
• Master scheduling mechanics
• Available to promise ATP

Basics of Material Planning (FMM-4)

• Dependent and independent demand
• MRP inputs and outputs
• MRP mechanics

Capacity Planning and Management (FMM-7)

• Relationship between priority and capacity planning
• Capacity Requirements Planning CRP
• Managing over / underloads

Fundamentals of Inventory Management (FIM-2)

• Inventory management objectives and strategy
• Function and purpose of inventory
• Inventory trade off decisions

Fundamentals of Purchasing (FIM-8)

• Purchasing Function and its relationship to the rest of the organization
• Activities and responsibilities of purchasing.
• Buyer/planner concept/role

Introduction to Distribution & Logistics (FDL-2)

• Supply and Distribution Channel structure
• Distribution function roles and activities
• Logistics strategy

Lean Production Management (FMM-10)

• Lean concepts
• Lean plant layout and scheduling (pull vs push)
• Lean tools and techniques

Process Improvement and Performance (FMO-9)

• Process improvement methods and tools
• Six sigma quality
• Balanced scorecard

Learning Goals and Results

On completion of the course students will be able to:

• Explain fundaments concepts related to Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Be familiar with the terminology of Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Complete simple exercises demonstrating their understanding of the subject matter
• Apply the skills and practices that they have learned to their own jobs and companies
• Develop the foundation for taking APICS exams.

Registration

Questions about the class content: email [email protected]

 Click here for more information and to register.