Improve service whilst reducing costs; an impossible task? With effective management and leadership, world class companies do this every day. Getting more with less is possible and this seminar shows you how. In every Supply Chain, the service levels are paralleled with cots to serve. However, changes to costs have an effect on service levels; as what is done and the way is done and the way it is done, in turn determines the costs and service.

There is dynamic trade of relationship between the cost, service and productivity levels in the interacting supply chain operations. Doing things better therefore involves consciously managing the productivity in a holistic way across the supply chain. This seminar will therefore show how to apply a thorough understanding of the costs of supply operations and use enhanced skills to deliver effective cost management. These in turn will improve internal and external customer service levels. In addition, the skills obtained will help you to examine productivity levels and make structured productivity improvements that will reduce costs yet also, improve service.

Participants will consider cost behaviors and cost management, thus understanding financial relationship in the supply chain. These will be applied in terms of utilizing resources and monitoring the productivity of processes and methods. In turn, these will result in performance of outputs, customer service and improvements to supply operations.

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Analyze how logistical decisions (e.g., facilities, inventory, and transportation) impact the performance of the firm as well as the entire supply chain.
• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of various transportation modes and perform cost analysis.
• Develop the strategies that can be taken to find the best paths to route vehicles to deliver and collect goods at multiple stops
• Develop the strategies that can be taken to manage inventories, including deciding the timing and quantity for replenishments without hurting the level of product availability.
• Know basic characteristic and costs of warehousing and materials handling activities
• Use computing software to solve various logistics decision-making problems, including inventory policies and vehicle routing
• Interact with team members to achieve group objectives

• Procurement, Buyers and Purchasing Professionals
• Stock, Logistics, Warehouse and Distribution Personnel
• Owners and operators of companies with supply operations
• All those who need an understanding of the relationships between cost, service and productivity in supply operations.

Understanding Costs

• Fixed, variable and marginal costs
• Overheads, direct/indirect, prime and marginal costs
• Job, batch, contract and process costing methods
•  Absorption, marginal and opportunistic pricing
• Depreciation of assets
• Break-even analysis
• Cash flow analysis
• Activity based costing

Financial aspects in the Supply Chain

• Total costs of ownership/Total acquisition costing/Whole life costs
• Investment appraisals
• Cost benefit-analysis techniques
• Capital expenditure analysis (Payback, DCF, NPV)
• Capital purchase options (buy or lease or rent)
• Pricing options for products/service (open/closed costing)

Understanding Productivity

• Utilization of resources
• Productivity of processes and methods
• Performance of outputs
• Method study
• Work study
• Time studies

Developing Internal/External Customer Service

• Customer requirements
• Meeting the requirements
• Customer service measurements
• Working with the internal customer
• Tradeoffs between costs and service
• Tradeoffs between costs and service
• Tradeoffs between productivity and service

Making Business Improvements

• Positively effect of key financial drivers
• Increasing throughputs
• Reducing inventory
• Reducing costs and operating expenses
• Using improvement models

A variety of methodologies will be used during the course that includes:

• ​(30%) Based on Case Studies
• (30%) Techniques 
• (30%) Role Play
• (10%) Concepts
• Pre-test and Post-test
• Variety of Learning Methods
• Lectures
• Case Studies and Self Questionaires
• Group Work
• Discussion
• Presentation

This rate includes participant’s manual, Hand-Outs, buffet lunch, coffee/tea on arrival, morning & afternoon of each day.

Daily Course Timings:

    08:00 - 08:20       Morning Coffee / Tea

    08:20 - 10:00       First Session

    10:00 - 10:20       Coffee / Tea / Snacks

    10:20 - 12:20       Second Session

    12:20 - 13:30       Lunch Break & Prayer Break

    13:30 - 15:00       Last Session