Supply Chain Design
Learn how to design and optimize the physical, financial, and information flows of a supply chain to enhance business performance - part of the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management.
Course Information
Certificate Track
Learn for Free
About this Course
In an increasingly global marketplace, supply chains are intricately designed systems with multiple internal and external stakeholders. This course provides the knowledge and skills required to manage physical, information and financial flows across supply chains.
Through frameworks, mathematical models, and real-world applications, you'll explore critical design elements: supply chain network design, supply chain finance, supplier management, production and demand planning, distribution strategies, and process and organizational design. By the end of this course, you'll be equipped to architect robust supply chain systems and lead cross-functional initiatives that balance operational excellence with strategic business objectives.
Supply Chain Design: SC2x is an instructor-paced course. Course content is released on a weekly basis, and a comprehensive syllabus, deadlines, and requirements are provided in Week 0 of the course.
This Supply Chain Design course is part of the MITx MicroMasters Credential in Supply Chain Management (SCM), offered by the top-ranked SCM Master's program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This is an open enrollment course , making it accessible for almost anyone, anywhere in the world to enroll and learn for free.
What you'll learn
- Design and optimize supply chain networks by formulating and solving transportation, transshipment, facility location, and network design problems
- Translate supply chain initiatives into financial language and metrics that resonate with C-suite executives and key stakeholders
- Apply financial frameworks including Activity-Based Costing, Working Capital management, Cash-to-Cash cycle analysis, and Discounted Cash Flow Analysis to supply chain decisions
- Develop effective supplier management strategies encompassing procurement processes, risk management, and contract negotiation
- Coordinate internal resources through production planning, bills of materials, and material requirements planning systems
- Design better communication strategies, including Sales & Operations Planning and communication with customers
Prerequisites
None
Meet your instructors
Chris Caplice
Director, MITx MicroMasters Program in Supply Chain Management
Dr. Caplice serves as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) where he is responsible for the planning and management of the research, education, and corporate outreach programs for the center. He created and currently serves as Director of the MITx MicroMasters® Program in Supply Chain Management – the very first MicroMasters credential ever offered. In 2018, he was awarded the MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning, the Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education, and the MIT Teaching with Digital Technology Award.
Dr. Caplice was selected as the first Silver Family Research Fellow in 2016 in recognition of his contribution to supply chain education and research. Also in 2016, he received the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Distinguished Service Award.
He is also the founder and co-director of the MIT FreightLab – a research initiative that focuses on improving the way freight transportation is designed, procured, and managed. His primary research is in all aspects of freight transportation to include combinatorial procurement auctions, robust planning, portfolio management, performance metrics, and infrastructure design.
In addition to his work at MIT, Dr. Caplice is currently the Chief Scientist for DAT Freight & Analytics, the largest truckload freight marketplace in North America with over $120 billion in market transactions. In this role, he pioneered the concept of freight rate modeling that became Chainalytics Freight Market Intelligence Consortium (FMIC) and is now part of DAT. He leads the development and deployment of innovations and insights into the transportation industry to include the monthly FMIC Pulse Signal Report and the bi-weekly Freightvine Podcasts.
Prior to joining MIT, Dr. Caplice held senior management positions in supply chain consulting, product development, and professional services at several companies to include Logistics.com, SABRE, and PTCG. As part of PTCG/SABRE, he led the team that pioneered the concept and use of optimization-based procurement throughout the transportation industry.
Chris received a Ph.D. from MIT in 1996 in Transportation and Logistics Systems. His dissertation on Optimization Based Bidding for Transportation was selected as the winner of the Council of Logistics Management (CLM) Doctoral Dissertation Award and received an Honorable Mention in the 1996 Dissertation Award sponsored by the Transportation Science Section of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
Prior to receiving his PhD, Dr. Caplice taught at the Virginia Military Institute for two years and served five years in the Army Corps of Engineers, achieving the rank of Captain. His writing has appeared in numerous academic and business journals and publications. In addition to his PhD, he earned a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
