Supply Chain Planning
Keep adding new skills with 10,000+ programs for $239 (usually $399). Save now.
Supply Chain Planning
This course is part of Supply Chain Management Specialization
Instructor: Rudolf Leuschner, Ph.D.
101,057 already enrolled
Included with
Ask Coursera
3,064 reviews
3,064 reviews
Skills you'll gain
Tools you'll learn
Details to know
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 4 modules in this course
Have you ever wondered how companies know how much to produce in advance so that they do not make too much or too little? Matching supply and demand requires planning. This course introduces you to the exciting area of supply chain planning. Part of a broader specialization on Supply Chain Management, you will master different forecasting techniques, essential for building a Sales and Operations Plan. At the completion of this course you will have the tools and techniques to analyze demand data, construct different forecasting techniques, and choose the most suitable one for projecting future demand.
Welcome to the exciting world of planning! This module introduces you to the professor who is teaching the courses in the Supply Chain Management Specialization. You will also construct forecasting models that enable you to predict future demand. By the end of this short module, you'll know what to expect in the course and hopefully be as excited to learn about Supply Chain Planning as I will be to teach you. In this module, learners will review two simple forecasting methods, the naive method, and the cumulative mean. Finally, you will create forecasts of your own based on a data set and provide the correct answers in the quiz.
What's included
6 videos6 readings3 assignments1 peer review2 discussion prompts
6 videos•Total 21 minutes
- What is Supply Chain Planning?•1 minute
- So, you want to forecast demand?•5 minutes
- The Naive Forecast•4 minutes
- Naive Forecast Screencast•4 minutes
- The Cumulative Mean•3 minutes
- Cumulative Mean Screencast•5 minutes
6 readings•Total 60 minutes
- Is this course for me?•10 minutes
- Naive Forecast Example•10 minutes
- Naive Forecast Solution•5 minutes
- Cumulative Mean Example•10 minutes
- Cumulative Mean Solution•5 minutes
- Naive Method and Cumulative Mean Quiz Instructions•20 minutes
3 assignments•Total 70 minutes
- Naive Forecast and Cumulative Mean Assessment•30 minutes
- Naive Forecast Practice Quiz•10 minutes
- Cumulative Mean Practice Quiz•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 30 minutes
- Simple Forecasting Methods•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Introductions•10 minutes
- Simple Forecasting Methods•10 minutes
In this module, learners will cover two more sophisticated forecasting methods, the moving average and exponential smoothing.
What's included
4 videos7 readings4 assignments
4 videos•Total 21 minutes
- Forecast Accuracy Measures•4 minutes
- Forecast Accuracy Measures Screencast•5 minutes
- Moving Average•4 minutes
- Screencast on Moving Average•8 minutes
7 readings•Total 95 minutes
- Notes on Forecast Accuracy Measures•15 minutes
- Forecast Accuracy Solution•15 minutes
- Forecast Accuracy Quiz Instructions•20 minutes
- Moving Average Notes•10 minutes
- About Rounding•10 minutes
- Moving Average Solution•5 minutes
- Moving Average Quiz Instructions•20 minutes
4 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Forecast Accuracy•10 minutes
- Moving Average•20 minutes
- Forecast Accuracy Practice Quiz•30 minutes
- Moving Average Practice Quiz•30 minutes
In this module, you will master one more forecasting method - exponential smoothing. In addition, you will learn how to pick the best forecasting approach and what to do with the forecast once it is implemented.
What's included
3 videos5 readings2 assignments1 peer review
3 videos•Total 12 minutes
- Exponential Smoothing•4 minutes
- Exponential Smothing Screencast•6 minutes
- Selecting the Best Forecast•2 minutes
5 readings•Total 75 minutes
- Exponential Smoothing Notes•10 minutes
- Exponential Smoothing Solution•5 minutes
- Exponential Smoothing Quiz Instructions•10 minutes
- Optimizing Exponential Smoothing•20 minutes
- Forecasting Best Practices•30 minutes
2 assignments•Total 60 minutes
- Exponential Smoothing Forecast•30 minutes
- Exponential Smoothing Practice Quiz•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
- Selecting the Best Forecasting Method•60 minutes
In this module you will put your new forecasting skills to the test. You will analyze a real-life dataset and make recommendations on the different forecasting methods.
What's included
1 video1 reading1 peer review1 discussion prompt
1 video•Total 3 minutes
- Supply, Manufacturing and Distribution Planning•3 minutes
1 reading•Total 30 minutes
- Sales and Operations Planning•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 180 minutes
- Supply Chain Planning Assessment•180 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- Sales and Operations Planning•10 minutes
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.
Instructor
Explore more from Business Strategy
- Status: Free TrialU
University of California, Irvine
Course
- Status: Free TrialA
Airbus Beyond
Course
- Status: Free Trial
Course
- Status: Free Trial
Course
Why people choose Coursera for their career
Learner reviews
- 5 stars
80.52%
- 4 stars
14.97%
- 3 stars
2.31%
- 2 stars
0.91%
- 1 star
1.27%
Showing 3 of 3064
Reviewed on Aug 27, 2025
The explanation is well details and the examples and formulas given were clear and easy to understand I learn alot, I personally enjoy the overall course thank you a lot.
Reviewed on Oct 9, 2024
Great course, one opportunity of improvement is to explain the philosophy behind using such forecasting model and what's next after utilizing such model. Anyways, it's a great course.
Reviewed on Jun 24, 2025
It is a good course on supply chain management, but it is also a bit challenging too. It'd be better with good writing and good algebra knowledge to understand, especially on supply chain planning.
Frequently asked questions
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
More questions
Financial aid available,
¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.