This four-module course delivers a rigorous, end-to-end mastery of modern supply chains—from foundational architecture to performance governance, network design, and coordination at scale. Beginning with first principles (value creation, surplus maximization, decision horizons, cycle and push–pull views), the course builds analytical fluency with the Supply–Demand Uncertainty Framework and strategic fit. Learners then elevate from theory to instrumentation: translating competitive priorities and order-winner/qualifier logic into channel-spanning KPIs using SCOR and the Balanced Scorecard. The journey advances to network design across manufacturing and services, quantifying cost–service trade-offs, inventory positioning, site selection, and optimization models (transportation, facility location, network flow, transshipment) with practical Solver implementations. Finally, the course treats coordination as a design problem of incentives, information, and governance—diagnosing bullwhip, deploying CPFR/VMI, and operationalizing visibility via control towers, RFID/IoT, and blockchain—under the realities of global heterogeneity and sustainability imperatives. The result is an executive-caliber capability to architect resilient, data-driven supply chains that align strategy with measurable performance and deliver superior customer promise at optimal total cost.

Foundation of Global Supply Chains
Grow your skills with Coursera Plus for $239/year (usually $399). Save now.

Recommended experience
What you'll learn
A system-level perspective of supply chains as strategic infrastructures, not just operational pipelines.
Tools to measure what matters: linking competitive advantage to quantifiable supply chain performance.
Frameworks and models to design resilient and cost-effective networks across manufacturing and services.
Approaches to coordinate and align global, fragmented supply chains, reducing distortion and inefficiency.
Skills you'll gain
Tools you'll learn
Details to know

Add to your LinkedIn profile
October 2025
20 assignments
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

There are 5 modules in this course
Instructors


Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.

Jennifer J.

Larry W.

Chaitanya A.

Open new doors with Coursera Plus
Unlimited access to 10,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy


