With increasing competition, globalization of supply and distribution networks, and corporate restructuring, supply chain professionals are feeling the pressure to perform more efficiently. Yet, at the same time, worldwide deregulation, new management concepts, and advances in computers and communications technology are giving them an unprecedented opportunity to create competitive advantage through supply chain management. This course examines some of the basics of logistics analysis and supply chain management that will lead to those opportunity areas.

Structured around a series of lectures and case studies, this course blends presentations from academicians and industry leaders representing shippers, carriers, and third-party providers. Interaction among participants is intensive, with several participatory activities included in the program.

This course is intended for representatives of both carrier and shipper organizations involved in supply chain management, logistics, operations management, and purchasing. For carrier representatives, the course provides a firm foundation in logistics and supply chain concepts. For shippers, it offers a better understanding of the transport aspects of the overall logistics system and their interaction with inventory management throughout the supply chain.

In addition, the course covers a wide range of related topics. These include logistics information systems (with a focus on MRP/DRP, decision support, ERP systems, and knowledge management); logistics-management issues (activity-based management, bidding and contracting, performance measurement, and dynamic considerations); supply chain management (including Information Technology, supply chain software, partnerships and their management, and change management); the interaction between logistics and marketing; and supply chain strategy.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: Center for Transportation Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Date: July 13–17, 1998

Venue: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.

Cost: $3,500, includes tuition and meals

Contact: Nancy Martin, executive course coordinator, at (617) 253-5320

The Council of Logistics Management has announced its 1998 annual conference theme: "Logistics Excellence: Vision, Processes, and People."

Sessions will highlight how concentrating resources on an organization's vision, processes, and people leads to logistics excellence. Included among the 42 track topics are Customer Service; Forecasting and Supply/Demand Planning; Performance Measurement and Benchmarking; Reverse Logistics; and Global Logistics Strategies. More than 200 individual workshops will be included within the various tracks.

Tours of distribution facilities in the Anaheim/Orange County area will be made available to conference attendees.

General Session speakers include Mike Vance, who was in charge of idea and people development for Walt Disney Productions. He will present the keynote address on "Thinking Out of the Box." Speaking at the Tuesday morning general session will be James E. Morehouse, vice president of A.T. Kearney Inc. He'll discuss his views on "Extending the Enterprise: The Partnership Paradigm."

Logistics Excellence: Vision, Processes, and People

Sponsor: Council of Logistics Management

Date: Oct. 11–14, 1998

Venue: Anaheim, Calif.

Cost: $875 CLM members/$1,075 non-members

Contact: Council of Logistics Management at (630) 574-0985

This year's INTERLOG98 conference focuses on the challenges of implementing an efficient after-sales service strategy. The conference will offer 26 informative case studies. Attendees will hear how professionals from these companies are implementing best-practice approaches to customer service and supply chain management.

Participants also will learn how to cut costs and improve service by improving storage and distribution infrastructure, developing an effective return-loop strategy, and optimizing distribution strategy to reflect the diversity of a company's SKUs.

The conference is designed for executives involved in service logistics.

INTERLOG98: Winning Implementation Strategies for Service Logistics and Parts Distribution

Sponsor: International Quality & Productivity Center/Worldwide Business Research

Date: July 14–15, 1998

Venue: Chicago

Cost: $1,799

Contact: International Quality & Productivity Center/Worldwide Business Research at (800) 882-8684

This two-day program, offered by the Industrial Relations Center at California Institute of Technology, offers strategies and tactics for establishing profitable, long-term relationships with world-class suppliers. The program concentrates on new strategies, processes, and tools for an integrated approach to cost reduction, quality management, and rapid response to customer needs. The processes relate to both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries.

Participants will examine how a long-term strategic commitment to supplier management results in increased domestic and international market share, improved quality, reduced new-product—development time and cost, and ongoing cost reductions.

Sessions will give participants a better understanding of the key elements involved in the supplier-management process. Key topics will include case histories, benchmarking practices, and performance measurement tools.

Supplier Management: Developing World-Class Supplier Partnerships

Sponsor: California Institute of Technology's Industrial Relations Center

Date: July 9–10, 1998

Venue: Pasadena, Calif.

Cost: $1,495, includes materials, parking, and meals

Contact: Industrial Relations Center at (626) 395-4045

The Management Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's three-day workshop teaches non-financial executives how to evaluate alternatives and make decisions that add to their company's financial success. The program begins with a review of the basics, in which participants will read financial statements and learn generally accepted accounting principles. Other sessions will cover cash flow and working capital management, fixed assets and depreciation, income taxes and profit, financial analysis, evaluating capital-expenditure proposals, and using management accounting for decision making.

This interactive program incorporates discussion material, case studies, and hands-on applications. Group projects will help participants turn ideas into action. Also included is a comprehensive reference manual containing information participants can use when they have questions on the job.

This program targets professionals in disciplines such as operations, customer service, purchasing, and administration.

Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Executives

Sponsor: Management Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Date: July 15–17, 1998

Venue: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Cost: $1,295

Contact: Management Institute at (800) 292-8964

The College of Business Administration at Northeastern University now offers a Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Transportation Management. The program consists of five graduate courses: Global Logistics, Corporate Logistics Management, Transportation Industries, Executive Roundtable in Logistics Management, and Negotiations.

The objective of the certificate program is twofold: (1) to prepare students about to enter the logistics profession and (2) to update the knowledge base of those currently working in the field. The courses focus on current best practices through a combination of class discussion, individual research projects, case analysis, and interaction with logistics and transportation professionals.

Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Transportation Management

Sponsor: Graduate School of Business Administration, Northeastern University

Date: Fall Quarter, 1998

Venue: Boston

Cost: $1,425

Contact: Dennis Ramsier at (617) 373-4264

For many companies, strategic alliances provide the competitive advantage necessary for survival. However, balancing interests and achieving desired results among partners is difficult. This three-day executive seminar identifies best practices for creating and controlling strategic alliances. Through interactive discussions and case studies, participants will explore how to form, structure, manage, and control multiple alliances.

Program instruction will address how to choose partners and design agreements that protect and augment core competencies, share approaches to managing alliances (including their strategic, organizational, and cultural implications), examine international aspects of strategic alliances, and identify strategic concerns and methods for managing a network of alliances.

This course is designed for general managers, senior functional executives, and other professionals who form and oversee alliances with other organizations.

Forging and Managing Strategic Alliances

Sponsor: School of Executive Education, Babson College

Date: Oct. 13–16, 1998

Venue: Wellesley, Mass.

Cost: $3,200, includes meals, accommodations, and materials

Contact: Babson School of Executive Education at (781) 239-4354

The Management Institute's seminar series on excellence in logistics management is based on high-interest topics from the Council of Logistics Management's latest annual conference. Seminars focus on building a powerful customer-satisfaction—improvement process, implementing logistics strategy and supply chain re-engineering, using benchmarking and process management to improve logistics performance, outsourcing logistics services, and gauging the impact of global business opportunities on logistics strategy and practices.

Each day-long seminar is filled with relevant, practical information that can be used to improve present processes and to define logistics strategies. After completing the five seminars, participants will earn a certificate.

Excellence in Logistics Management

Sponsor: Management Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Date: July 20–24, 1998

Venue: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Cost: $425

Contact: Management Institute at (800) 348-8964

Stanford's Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, the Stanford Center for Professional Development, and the Professional Education Department of the Stanford Alumni Association now offer a new supply chain program for executives.

During this six-day lecture/case-study course led by Academic Director Hau Lee, participants will be exposed to the theory and practice of effective and efficient supply chain management. Faculty leaders, from Stanford University's Department of Industrial Engineering/Engineering Management and Graduate School of Business, have played active roles in global industries, working with many of the companies that exemplify the world's leading supply chain models.

The course will address the evolution of information technology and the impact of this development on supply chain management.

Managing Your Supply Chain for Global Competitiveness

Sponsor: Stanford School of Engineering's Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management Department, Stanford Center for Professional Development, and Stanford Alumni Association's Department of Professional Education

Date: July 19–24, 1998

Venue: Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.

Cost: $5,300, includes tuition, materials, and campus accommodations

Contact: Professional Education Registrar at (650) 725-0691