Organizations are increasingly making data an integral part of their structures, causing analytics to be one of the fastest-growing and most in-demand fields of the Information Age. Companies need analytics talent to turn their data into impactful decisions and often must transform their workforces’ skills to become data-driven enterprises.

According to a 2015 MIT Sloan Management Review Survey, 40% of companies are struggling to find and retain data analytics talent.

Furthermore, data science is not one-size-fits-all. Companies require people who thoroughly grasp their business needs along with having the ability to apply analytics to support those needs.

The greatest potential to become data driven for many companies lies within supply chain management where underutilized data often already exists. These organizations might have employees with advanced skills in supply chain processes or with advanced analytics skills but not both. They need talent with both sets of skills to best support data-driving decision making.

Is a Supply Chain Analytics certificate program the answer?

Business professionals often pursue degrees or take educational courses while working to enhance their skills, and so should those in supply chain management. That is why ORTEC is teaming up with the Georgia Tech Supply Chain and Logistics Institute to deliver the Supply Chain Analytics Professional Certificate. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management of product flows from the purchase of raw materials to the delivery of final products and beyond.

The certificate program, which consists of four courses that align the types of analytics with aspects of SCM, provides relevant business and planning challenges as well as analytics tools and techniques to address them. Lecturers from Georgia Tech and ORTEC will cover software tools and practical methods to conduct analytics and optimization to meet SCM needs.

“It is a great honor to partner with Georgia Tech to provide business professionals the very best in supply chain analytics education,” said Daphne de Poot, a program course lecturer and an ORTEC senior data scientist. “The program offers hands-on experience using data in the supply chain landscape. Students will not only gain knowledge and tools to strengthen their careers, but the ability to help their organizations tackle more strategic goals and address the full complexity of their supply chains.”

The first course, Transforming Supply Chain Management and Performance Analysis, covers the power of using analytics to improve SCM processes and the value of descriptive analytics to identify areas of focus. Participants will learn how to gather, analyze, and prepare data before digging into deeper analytics applications. The online course is Oct. 5-8, and registration is open at the above link.

“We are pleased to team with ORTEC to provide supply chain professionals with tools and techniques to address and leverage complexity in the supply chain,” said Tim Brown, a lecturer for the first course and managing director of the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute, an Interdisciplinary Research Center at Georgia Tech. “Program participants receive a great mix of capabilities – software tools, supply chain problem-solving, and analytical techniques.”

Additional Courses

The following three online courses are included in the program. Participants can take all the courses (required to earn the certificate) or pick the ones most relevant to them. Each consists of four half-day webinars held on consecutive days. In-person courses for the program are tentatively scheduled on the Georgia Tech campus next spring 2021.

• Creating Business Value with Statistical Analysis [online Nov. 9-12, 2020] Use operational performance metrics to align SCM with strategic goals. Employ statistical concepts to develop inventory management models and use diagnostic analytics to conduct demand and service profiling, undertake root cause analysis, and create time series forecasts.
• Use operational performance metrics to align SCM with strategic goals. Employ statistical concepts to develop inventory management models and use diagnostic analytics to conduct demand and service profiling, undertake root cause analysis, and create time series forecasts.
• Machine Learning Applications for Supply Chain Planning [online January 2021] Introduces machine learning, an area where algorithms learn patterns from data to support proactive decision making, as it applies to SCM. Conduct predictive analytics as they forecast future demand, develop inventory policies, perform customer segmentation, and conduct predictive maintenance.
• Introduces machine learning, an area where algorithms learn patterns from data to support proactive decision making, as it applies to SCM. Conduct predictive analytics as they forecast future demand, develop inventory policies, perform customer segmentation, and conduct predictive maintenance.
• Supply Chain Optimization [online February 2021] Incorporate advanced analytics and mathematical optimization to find solutions for supply chain problems. Use linear programming, mixed integer programming, and heuristics to conduct prescriptive analytics related to production processes, distribution networks, and routing. This course serves as a capstone for the certificate program by culminating in a hackathon where participants will design networks, inventory policies, and scenarios and then evaluate the outcomes via simulations.
• Incorporate advanced analytics and mathematical optimization to find solutions for supply chain problems. Use linear programming, mixed integer programming, and heuristics to conduct prescriptive analytics related to production processes, distribution networks, and routing. This course serves as a capstone for the certificate program by culminating in a hackathon where participants will design networks, inventory policies, and scenarios and then evaluate the outcomes via simulations.

“The current digital era offers more opportunities than ever to support supply chain management with data-driven decision-making,” said Kathryn Walter, a program course instructor and ORTEC consultant. “Our courses will explore these opportunities by covering the entire analytics maturity curve: From visibility to diagnosis and from forecasting to advanced planning. Applying all types of analytics allows the best leverage of supply chain data.”

Background into the Program

The program centers around the case of the Cardboard Company, a fictional organization based on real companies with whom ORTEC has worked. Participants will explore the dynamics of the company and be challenged to improve its performance. Through descriptive and diagnostic analytics in the first two courses, participants will develop insights on underachieving metrics to develop quantifiable solution strategies that align with the company’s business strategy. They will build dashboards to display descriptive analytics and convey the results of diagnostic analytics. The final two courses use predictive and prescriptive analytics to build forecasting and anomaly detection models and optimize the Cardboard Company’s production and routing designs.

More Information

Participants will conduct all four types of analytics using Python and Power BI. While previous experience with these platforms is encouraged, instructors will ensure participants are comfortable with the technology before the courses begin. The courses will focus on SCM content, not on coding.

Learn more about these courses and register on the Georgia Tech Professional Education website.

Through these courses, people will gain advanced analytics skills focused on supply chain management. They will make their organizations more data-driven and will leverage supply chain data for powerful impacts.