Northwestern University's "Global Supply Chain Management" program will help multinational companies answer the challenge of supply chain integration.

The program will review planning models and tools for supply chain design, inventory control and distribution management, and multiplant coordination. It will look at decision-support systems and enterprise resource planning systems.

The program will take a global perspective on issues such as inventory management, strategic partnerships and outsourcing, and customer responsiveness. Participants also will discuss how to implement supply chain strategies in a global corporation, how to manage worldwide logistics networks, and how to capitalize on the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls.

Global Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: Northwestern University Master of Management Program

Dates: August 9–12, 2000

Venue: Evanston, Ill.

Cost: $2,700, includes materials, accommodations, and all meals

Contact: Northwestern University at (847) 467-7000 or visit www.kellogg.nwu.edu/exec_edu/

The "Integrated Supply Chain Management" seminar helps participants answer the question, "Are you ready for the new competitive marketplace when supply chain will be pitted against supply chain?"

Led by faculty members from Stanford University, this seminar will address how to share and coordinate information for maximum benefit and how to link product design to supply chain considerations. Participants also will learn how to align their supplier and outsourcing strategies. Other topics include performance measures, organizational structure, coping with uncertainties in the supply chain, and the effects of the Internet and e-business.

Corey Billington of Hewlett-Packard will join the seminar to present a case study on his company's experience with supply chain implementation.

Integrated Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: Supply Chain Seminars

Dates: Aug. 2–3, 2000

Venue: Palo Alto, Calif.

Cost: $2,975 before June 1; $3,175 after June 1, includes all materials and most meals

Contact: Supply Chain Seminars at (800) 566-1585 or visit www.supplychainseminars.com

Worldwide Business Research's (WBR) "Interlog 2000" executive conference will address the issues and challenges associated with developing a state-of-the-art service-parts supply chain. This three-day event will focus on business-to-business e-commerce, Internet applications for supply chains, the extended enterprise, and outsourcing.

This third annual conference will feature more than 30 corporate case studies. These studies recount the experiences of senior executives responsible for supply chain initiatives at their respective companies. The cases will look at companies such as Dell, Unisys, Ford, GTE, Qualcomm, IBM, and LPA Software. These sessions will address challenges such as developing effective performance measurements for supply chains, integrating technology, and managing relationships with third-party logistics providers and other supply chain partners.

Interlog 2000 also will feature an exhibition displaying logistics and inventory-management software and supply chain and forecasting solutions. In addition, WBR is hosting a pre-conference executive technology day.

Interlog 2000

Sponsor: Worldwide Business Research

Dates: June 20–21, 2000

Venue: San Francisco

Cost: $1,899 for conference; $2,399 for conference and technology day

Contact: WBR at (212) 417-9177 or visit www.wbresearch.com

A flexible, agile, and just-in-time manufacturing process demands that inbound materials move efficiently. University of Wisconsin's "Procurement for Supply Chain Management" attempts to help participants meet this demand.

The three-day program teaches participants how to implement a cost-effective and successful inbound supply chain management program by using a process-improvement method. Program instructors developed this method based on their industry experience in implementing and refining procurement programs to match supply chain needs.

This procurement seminar is part of University of Wisconsin's "How to Implement Supply Chain Management" series. Subsequent seminars will cover demand planning and sales forecasting, logistics fulfillment, and bar coding and other information technology.

Procurement for Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: University of Wisconsin

Dates: June 19–21, 2000; Dec. 11–13, 2000

Venue: Madison, Wis.

Cost: $1,175, includes all materials and some meals

Contact: University of Wisconsin-Madison at (800) 348-8964 or visit uwexeced.com

Participants in this program, sponsored by Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, will explore ways of developing and managing supply chain partnerships. They will look at how partners and suppliers can shorten pipelines and increase profitability by aligning their logistics processes.

"Managing Supply Chain Partnerships" will cover the pros and cons of supply chain partnering as well as the facilitators and inhibitors to supply chain integration. The workshop will address topics such as value-added information exchange, vendor and co-managed inventory, customer profitability analysis, and category management. Participants will discuss logistics in quick-response environments, such as efficient consumer response and continuous replenishment programs.

Cranfield believes suppliers and managers of retail chains or manufacturing organizations will find this program particularly helpful.

Managing Supply Chain Partnerships

Sponsor: Cranfield University

Dates: July 10–11, 2000

Venue: Bedford, United Kingdom

Cost: £1,320, includes accomodations and materials

Contact: Cranfield University at 44 (0) 1234 754505 or visit www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/executive/

Supply Chain Expo and Conference 2000 promises to link all of the elements of the supply chain in one venue. Seminars and exhibits will address best practices and solutions in transportation and logistics, information technology, warehousing and distribution, manufacturing, materials handling, and supply chain management.

The conference will have six session tracks, including supply chain strategies, e-commerce, and supply chain tools. These sessions are led by managers from companies such as J.D. Edwards, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Oracle, Lands' End, and Starbucks.

The expo will feature approximately 50 different vendors and consultants in the fields of supply chain strategies and tools, e-commerce, warehousing and materials handling, transportation and distribution, and site selection. Attendees also will have a chance to tour four distribution centers.

Supply Chain Expo and Conference 2000

Sponsor: Penton Media

Dates: June 13–15, 2000

Venue: Chicago

Cost: $695 for registrations before May 1; $895 for registrations after May 1

Contact: Penton Media at (800) 638-6396 or visit www.supplychainexpo.com

The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech has created a series of eight courses to prepare logistics professionals for increasing managerial responsibility. Participants who complete all of the courses will receive an advanced certificate in logistics management from the institute.

Each of the courses runs for two or three days. Four of the courses are being held this summer: "Logistics & Supply Chain Strategy" will teach participants how to develop a comprehensive logistics strategy to support overall business objectives; "Logistics Performances, Cost & Value Measures" looks at how improving logistics performance translates into operating and capital cost reductions and increased shareholder value; and "Transportation & Distribution Management" addresses critical issues in domestic and international transportation. Finally, "Global Logistics & International Business" helps students to develop global logistics strategies to support international business objectives.

In the fall, the institute will host seminars on inventory planning and management, third-party logistics, warehousing and materials handling, and logistics and supply chain management systems.

Courses include a tour of Walt Disney World's Attractions Merchandise Distribution Center and Fleet Operations Center. Details for the four summer courses are given below:

Logistics Management Series 2000

Logistics & Supply Chain Strategy

Sponsor: Georgia Tech's Logistics Institute

Dates: July 10–12, 2000

Venue: Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Cost: $2,250

Contact: The Logistics Institute at (404) 894-2343 or visit www.tli.gatech.edu/lms2000

Logistics Performances, Cost & Value Measures

Dates: July 13–14, 2000

Venue: Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Cost: $1,550

Contact: The Logistics Institute at (404) 894-2343 or visit www.tli.gatech.edu/lms2000

Transportation & Distribution Management

Dates: Aug. 14–16, 2000

Venue: Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Cost: $2,250

Contact: The Logistics Institute at (404) 894-2343 or visit www.tli.gatech.edu/lms2000

Global Logistics & International Business

Dates: Aug. 17–18, 2000

Venue: Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Cost: $1,550

Contact: The Logistics Institute at (404) 894-2343 or visit www.tli.gatech.edu/lms2000

Stanford University has prepared a weeklong program to address the challenge of successfully integrating supply with demand.

This seminar relies on extensive examples from industries as diverse as computers, grocery, and consumer products. Through case studies as well as experiential games and interactive discussions, participants will investigate topics such as information distortion and demand management, the Internet and the e-supply chain, and logistics outsourcing and supply chain restructuring. They will learn how to leverage product and process design for efficient performance, avoid common pitfalls, integrate partnerships, and use postponement for mass customization.

All participants must have approximately five to 15 years of managerial experience and have responsibilities that involve interacting with customers and/or suppliers.

Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education

Dates: Aug. 27–Sept. 1, 2000

Venue: Stanford, Calif.

Cost: $6,300, includes accommodations, materials, and meals

Contact: Executive Education Office at (650) 723-9120 or visit www.gsb.stanford.edu/exed/scm

This e-business course sponsored by Northwestern University is based on the following premise: As we transition from an industrial economy to an information economy, business success increasingly will depend upon customer relationship management and value networks. In this "new economy," managers will need to know how to use technology to redesign core business processes and how the Internet is creating customer-centric "metamarkets" and "metamediaries."

The Northwestern marketing professors who run this program challenge attendees to meet this new economy head on by questioning their fundamental assumptions about business.

"Winning Strategies for e-Business" contains a strong marketing focus. Key focus areas include competing in a networked economy, rethinking marketing and mediation in the networked economy, and designing and implementing an e-business strategy. On the last day of the program, e-business practitioners from both business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies will discuss how they are transforming their industries.

The program seeks to draw participants from all functional areas that will be affected directly or indirectly by e-business.

Winning Strategies for e-Business

Sponsor: Northwestern University

Dates: July 26–29, 2000; Nov. 5–8, 2000

Venue: Evanston, Ill.

Cost: $3,800, includes accommodations, materials, and all meals

Contact: Northwestern at (847) 467-7000 or visit www.kellog.hwv.edu/exec.edu/

This joint program from the National University of Singapore and Penn State University is designed for upper-level logistics managers working in Asia. The course helps participants create a logistics system that will drive their companies' strategic decisions.

Participants will learn how to use the supply chain as a competitive advantage and how to develop logistics strategies to support corporate strategy. They also will discuss how to design and manage integrated logistics systems and use logistics tools for optimal results.

The joint program will address strategic issues such as third-party logistics services, information technology in logistics, and business process reengineering. It also will look at logistics operations topics, including materials flow and inventories, benchmarking, and procurement processes. Finally, the course will have a strong global strategic management orientation, focusing particularly on the Asia-Pacific business environment and trends.

Logistics Management Program

Sponsors: Penn State University and National University of Singapore

Dates: July 17–28, 2000

Venue: Singapore

Cost: U.S.$4,200; Singapore$6,727.70, includes materials and some meals

Contact: Penn State at (800) 311-6364 (inside the United States) or (814) 865-3435 (outside the United States) or visit www.smeal.psu.edu/psep

This University of Pennsylvania program will give participants the tools and perspectives needed to create a strong alliance relationship from start to finish. Through a wide range of lectures and case study material, participants will learn not only to improve their existing alliances but also to develop management skills that can be applied to future alliances. The program provides a framework for analyzing the strategic, organizational, and cultural fit among partners.

Participants will learn how to form and negotiate alliances, address conflicts, and manage the alliance's evolution over time. They also will learn the techniques for managing individual alliances as well as whole networks of alliances.

This program will show how alliances can help organizations develop new markets, technology, and distribution channels and establish global competitive advantage with limited resources.

Strategic Alliances

Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania

Dates: June 18–23, 2000; Nov. 12–17, 2000

Venue: Philadelphia

Cost: $6,450, includes accommodations and meals

Contact: Penn at (800) 255-3932 or visit www.wharton.upenn.edu/execed/

High-tech education company DCI designed "eB2B World" to help buyers and suppliers develop and choose the right strategy and tools for conducting business-to-business electronic commerce.

The conference will recommend best practices for procurement and review supplier requirements as well as point out potential roadblocks to implementing and sustaining these strategies. Workshops will look at operating resource solutions, buy-side and sell-side applications, value-added services, digital marketplaces and trading communities, and enabling technologies.

Participants can also attend the "eB2B World Product Showcase," featuring more than 60 exhibitors.

DCI's eB2B World

Sponsors: Ariba and DCI

Dates: June 27–29, 2000

Venue: Santa Clara, Calif.

Cost: $995

Contact: DCI at (978) 470-3880 or visit www.dci.com

Participants in the National Association of Purchasing Management's (NAPM) "Lean Supply Chain Management" seminar will learn to reduce waste and increase efficiency in the supply chain.

The seminar will detail waste-reduction methods such as eliminating non—value-added test and inspection steps; reducing production cost, cycle time, inventory costs, and defect rates; and reducing the number of suppliers. At the same time, participants will learn how to increase efficiency through collaborating with suppliers to build lean specification, maximizing supply chain flexibility and responsiveness, accelerating materials flow, and harnessing e-commerce and electronic data interchange.

The course includes both lectures and interactive group exercises. NAPM designed this "lean" course for both manufacturing and service-related industries.

NAPM's Lean Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: National Association of Purchasing Management

Dates: July 13–14, 2000

Venue: Anaheim, Calif.

Cost: $895 for NAPM members; $1,095 for nonmembers

Contact: NAPM at (800) 888-6276 or visit www.napm.org

Developed by the California Institute of Technology, this two-day seminar provides an advanced view of flow-based operations strategies and principles.

Flow-based operations match capacity and fast cycle execution to customer demand across the supply chain. This seminar examines flow-based operations in manufacturing, materials management, order fulfillment, and logistics management.

It examines how a flow-based operation can improve manufacturing cycle time, quality, inventory, and order fulfillment. Participants will learn how to develop a flow-based operations strategy and identify key support elements. They also will discuss implementation issues, including making a business case and choosing effective training models.

Driving Flow-Based Operations to a Competitive Advantage

Sponsor: California Institute of Technology

Dates: Aug. 17–18, 2000; Nov. 21–22, 2000

Venue: Pasadena, Calif.

Cost: $1,595

Contact: Cal Tech at (626) 395-4043 or visit www.irc.caltech.edu