Certificate in Stock Management, Forecasting and Demand Planning

Demand planning is a critical process within Supply Chain Management (SCM) which ensures continuity of supply of the inventory at the lowest cost. Effective demand planning will help the SCM team improve the accuracy of forecasts, ensure enough inventory levels at all times, and enhance profitability by optimizing the expenses. The control side of this process is to ensure that plans are being met and to take the necessary actions when needed.

Demand planners are the 'behind the scenes' professionals who are entrusted with this critical responsibility. When they do their job right, no one recognizes them. However, they will be noticed quickly when they fail to deliver, given the negative impact this will have on customer service and the bottom line.

In this course, many demand planning theories, models and best practices will be discussed which will assist the participants in dealing with various future scenarios to ensure continuous flow of the inventory at the least possible total cost.

The course uses a mix of interactive and hands-on techniques. Besides the brief presentations by the consultant and the participants, there will be many individual and group exercises. In these work related exercises participants need to calculate and draw the optimal solutions after understanding the process.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• State the objectives of inventory management and list their impact on cost and customer service
• Prepare proper classification of inventory and use best practices for item specification and cataloguing
• Use forecasting techniques to predict demand and better manage lead times
• Compute the optimum ordering quantity and determine safety stocks and reorder points
• Schedule cycle counts, improve inventory record accuracy, and find ways to reduce inventories
• List various techniques to reduce inventory, including Just-in-Time (JIT)
• Identify relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure and improve inventory performance

Those involved in inventory or demand planning and stock control at the operational and supervisory levels. Also, those working in other functions of supply chain management (purchasing, stores, distribution) who need to understand the mechanics of inventory planning and stock control.

• Logistics theory and practices
• Planning and logistics work processes
• Inventory management
• Assessment and planning of requirements
• Demand planning
• Warehouse management
• Performance management