What does supply chain digitization involve?

It involves using digital tools, data, and platforms to improve supply chain visibility, coordination, decision-making, and performance.

How do push and pull supply chain strategies differ?

Push systems produce based on forecasts, while pull systems respond to actual customer demand.

What is the Kraljic Matrix used for in procurement?

It helps companies categorize purchased items by profit impact and supply risk to choose suitable sourcing strategies.

Free Course Image Supply Chain Digitization

Free online course Supply Chain Digitization

Duration of the online course: 31 hours and 55 minutes

4.8

(9)

Digitize operations and make smarter supply chain decisions with this free online course in analytics, AI forecasting, ERP, and network optimization.

In this free course, learn about

Course Orientation and Overview
Supply Chain Management Fundamentals
Supply Chain Challenges and Segmentation
Operations and Procurement Strategy
Platform Economy and Deterministic Newsvendor Models
Probabilistic Newsvendor and Channel Design
Supply Chain Analytics and Predictive Maintenance
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Demand Forecasting
Supply Chain Network Optimization
Distribution Center Location and Facility Efficiency
Product Tracking, Traceability, and Enterprise Systems
Supply Chain Digital Twins and Network Design
Industry 4.0 Technologies for Supply Chains

About the free online course

Modern supply chains are being reshaped by data, platforms, and automation. This free online course in Professional Skills helps you understand what supply chain digitization really means in day-to-day business and how to move from traditional, siloed decisions to connected, measurable performance. You will build a practical foundation in supply chain management and learn how responsiveness, efficiency, inventory turns, and process design influence cost, service levels, and resilience across end-to-end flows.

As the course progresses, you explore how companies handle uncertainty and complexity through segmentation, push vs pull strategies, and smarter procurement decisions. You will also connect operational choices to corporate goals, learning how strategy translates into make vs buy decisions and supplier positioning. The goal is to help you think like a decision-maker who can align supply chain structure, sourcing approach, and customer promise rather than optimizing one area at the expense of the whole system.

A major emphasis is digital decision-making. You will work with the mindset behind analytics and Big Data in supply chains, including how organizations move from descriptive insights to diagnostic understanding, and from there to predictive approaches. Practical examples show how forecasting and maintenance decisions can be improved with AI/ML methods, giving you an applied view of models such as decision trees and random forests and the types of questions they help answer.

You will also learn how digitization supports network design and optimization, including facility location decisions and distribution planning that balance capacity, cost, and service requirements. Beyond planning, the course highlights execution enablers such as ERP and WMS systems, product tracking and traceability, and the growing importance of visibility. Finally, you will understand advanced concepts like supply chain digital twins and Industry 4.0 technologies—IoT, cloud, simulation, cybersecurity, blockchain, and automation—and how they fit into a coherent digital infrastructure. By the end, you will be able to speak confidently about the tools, trade-offs, and value of digitizing logistics and supply chain operations in real organizations.

Course content

Video class: Course Overview - Supply Chain Digitization 17m
Exercise: What is the primary focus of Module 2 in the Supply Chain Digitization Course?
Video class: Course Introduction - Supply Chain Digitization 03m

Video class: Week 01: Lecture 01: Introduction of Supply Chain Management 18m
Exercise: What is the primary purpose of a supply chain in business?
Video class: Week 01: Lecture 02: Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management 33m
Video class: Week 01: Lecture 03: Supply Chain Drivers 33m
Exercise: What is a major factor in deciding supply chain responsiveness or efficiency?
Video class: Week 01: Lecture 04: Supply Chain Processes - I 26m
Video class: Week 01: Lecture 05: Supply Chain Processes - II 35m
Exercise: How is inventory turnover ratio calculated?

Video class: Week 02: Lecture 06: Supply Chain Challenges 28m
Video class: Week 02: Lecture 07: Need/ Strategies 34m
Exercise: What is a primary benefit of supply chain segmentation?
Video class: Week 02: Lecture 08: Push Vs Pull 34m
Video class: Week 02: Lecture 09: Case Study on Product Segmentation 32m
Exercise: What approach is used to measure demand variability in supply chain?
Video class: Week 02: Lecture 10: Case Study on Inventory Segmentation 30m

Video class: Week 03: Lecture 11: Link between Corporate 28m
Exercise: What is the primary role of an operation strategy for a firm?
Video class: Week 03: Lecture 12: Interface between Operations 39m
Video class: Week 03: Lecture 13: Procurement Strategy (Make Vs Buy) 30m
Exercise: Which decision must a company make before developing a procurement strategy?
Video class: Week 03: Lecture 14: Procurement Strategy (Kraljic Matrix) - I 28m
Video class: Week 03: Lecture 15: Procurement Strategy (Kraljic Matrix) - I 31m
Exercise: What is the primary focus of calic metrics in procurement strategy?

Video class: Week 04: Lecture 16: Introduction to Platform Economy 28m
Video class: Week 04: Lecture 17: Introduction to Platform Economy - Example 32m
Exercise: What key issue does the platform economy aim to solve in complex supply chains?
Video class: Week 04: Lecture 18: Controllability in the behavioural framework and its equivalent conditions 32m
Video class: Week 04: Lecture19: Newsvendor Case Example (Deterministic Setting) I 38m
Exercise: What is the impact of demand being known with certainty in a decentralized decision-making scenario?
Video class: Week 04: Lecture 20: Newsvendor Case Example (Deterministic Setting) I 29m

Video class: Week 05: Lecture 21: Newsvendor Case (Probabilistic Setting 27m
Exercise: What is the optimal order size for the news vendor in a probabilistic demand setting?
Video class: Week 05: Lecture 22: Newsvendor Case (Probabilistic Setting 36m
Video class: Week 05: Lecture 23: Channel Structure Designs in Supply Chains (Brick 29m
Exercise: What is a primary benefit of a brick and mortar system in supply chains?
Video class: Week 05: Lecture 24: Channel Structure Designs in Supply Chains (Dual Channels) 29m
Video class: Week 05: Lecture 25: Channel Structure Designs in Supply Chains (Multi 32m
Exercise: What is a common behavior in omni-channel retailing?

Video class: Week 06: Lecture 26: Introduction to Analytics and Big Data 28m
Video class: Week 06: Lecture 27: Different Types of Analytics and its Applications in Supply Chain Management 37m
Exercise: What type of analytics focuses on understanding why something happened?
Video class: Week 06: Lecture 28: Predictive Analytics: Case Study on Predictive Maintenance 32m
Video class: Week 06: Lecture 29: Predictive Analytics: Classification Tree Model 34m
Exercise: What is the probability of a machine failing if picked randomly?
Video class: Week 06: Lecture 30: Predictive Analytics: Building Classification Tree Model using Python 35m

Video class: Week 07: Lecture 31: Role of AI/ML in Forecasting 22m
Exercise: Which characteristic of Big Data makes capturing real-time customer orders challenging?
Video class: Week 07: Lecture 32: Demand Forecasting using AI/ML: A Case Study 32m
Video class: Week 07: Lecture 33: Demand Forecasting using AI/ML: Regression Tree Model 32m
Exercise: Predicting Demand Using Regression Tree
Video class: Week 07: Lecture 34: Demand Forecasting using AI/ML: Building Regression Tree Model using Python 30m
Video class: Week 07: Lecture 35: Demand Forecasting using AI/ML: Random Forest Regression Model 36m
Exercise: What is a key benefit of using Random Forest over a single decision tree in predictive modeling?

Video class: Week 8: Lecture 36: Supply Chain Network Optimization: Break even analysis 24m
Video class: Week 8: Lecture 37: Supply Chain Network Optimization: Facility location using Centre of Gravity 23m
Exercise: What method is used for optimizing facility location in supply chain?
Video class: Week 8: Lecture 38: Supply Chain Network Optimization: Case on Capacitated Plant Location Model 27m
Video class: Week 8: Lecture 39: Case on Supply Chain Network Design - I 24m
Exercise: What is the primary goal of heuristic approaches in supply chain network design?
Video class: Week 8: Lecture 40: Case on Supply Chain Network Design - II 19m

Video class: Week 9: Lecture 41: Location of Distribution Centers using Clustering Technique: A Case Study 28m
Exercise: What technique can be used to determine distribution center locations in supply chain digitization?
Video class: Week 9: Lecture 42: Steps of building K-Means Clustering Algorithm: A Case Study 33m
Video class: Week 9: Lecture 43: Location of Distribution Centers: Building K-Means Clustering Model using Python 31m
Exercise: What is the main benefit of using the elbow diagram in K-means clustering?
Video class: Week 9: Lecture 44: Measuring Efficiency of Manufacturing Facilities: A DEA Model (I) 31m
Video class: Week 9: Lecture 45: Measuring Efficiency of Manufacturing Facilities: A DEA Model (II) 45m
Exercise: How can a non-linear programming model for efficiency be converted into a linear one?

Video class: Week 10: Lecture 48: Track 34m
Video class: Week 10: Lecture 49: ERP, WMS 32m
Exercise: What is a key reason for implementing an ERP system in Supply Chain Management?
Video class: Week 10: Lecture 50: ERP, WMS 37m
Video class: Week 10: Lecture 46: Role of Product Tracking 34m
Exercise: What is a key benefit of product tracking and traceability in supply chains?
Video class: Week 10: Lecture 47: Track 30m

Video class: Week 11: Lecture 51: Introduction to Supply Chain Digital Twin 31m
Exercise: What is a supply chain digital twin?
Video class: Week 11: Lecture 52: Supply Chain Digital Twin: Greenfield Analysis – A Case Study (I) 28m
Video class: Week 11: Lecture 53: Supply Chain Digital Twin: Greenfield Analysis – A Case Study (II) 31m
Exercise: What is the main purpose of Greenfield analysis in supply chain management?
Video class: Week 11: Lecture 54: Supply Chain Digital Twin: Network Optimization – A Case Study 40m
Video class: Week 11: Lecture 55: Network Optimization with Capacity Constraints 41m
Exercise: What modification was made to the network optimization model to handle capacity constraints?

Video class: Week 12: Lecture 58: Industry 4.0 – Cybersecurity, Big Data Analytics, Simulation, AR, Robots, AM 27m
Video class: Week 12: Lecture 57: Industry 4.0 - IIoT, Cloud Computing, Horizontal 32m
Exercise: What is one of the primary roles of IoT in Industry 4.0?
Video class: Week 12: Lecture 59: Blockchain 28m
Video class: Week 12: Lecture 60: Supply Chain and Industry 4.0 29m
Exercise: What is one benefit of implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in procurement?
Video class: Week 12: Lecture 56: Digital Infrastructure for Supply Chains: Industry 4.0 36m

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