Supply Chains for Manufacturing: Capacity Analytics
Learn about various models, methods and software tools to help make better decisions for system design in manufacturing systems and supply chains.
About this course
As part of the Principles of Manufacturing MicroMasters program, this course focuses on decision making for system design, as it arises in manufacturing systems and supply chains.
You will learn about frameworks and models for structuring key system design issues and trade-offs that arise in today’s supply chains and manufacturing systems.
The course will also cover various models, methods, and software tools for decision support for:
- Logistics network design
- Capacity planning and flexibility
- Make-buy
- Supply chain contracting
- Supply chain risk mitigation
You will learn through industry applications and cases to illustrate concepts and challenges. This course should be taken in sequence following Supply Chains and Manufacturing Systems: Planning.
Develop the engineering and management skills needed for competence and competitiveness in today’s manufacturing industry with the Principles of Manufacturing MicroMasters Credential, designed and delivered by MIT’s #1-ranked Mechanical Engineering department in the world. Learners who pass the 8 courses in the program will earn the MicroMasters Credential and qualify to apply to gain credit towards MIT’s Master of Engineering in Advanced Manufacturing & Design program.
What you’ll learn
- Frameworks and models for system design
- Decision support models
- Methods and software tools for supply chain contracting and risk mitigation
Prerequisites
Supply Chains and Manufacturing Systems: Planning is required unless there is a strong prior knowledge of Logistics Systems and Operations Management
Sponsored by: MITx

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Meet your instructors
Stephen Graves
Stephen Graves is the Abraham J. Siegel Professor of Management and a Professor of Operations Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has a joint appointment with the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering. Graves develops and applies operations research models and methods to solve problems in manufacturing and distribution systems and in-service operations. His current research is focused on operational issues arising in online retailing, supply chain optimization and strategic inventory positioning, and production and capacity planning for various contexts. Graves holds an AB in mathematics and social sciences and an MBA from Dartmouth College, and an MS and a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.
Sean Willems
Sean Willems is the Haslam Chair in Supply Chain Analytics at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business. In 2000, he co-founded Optiant, a provider of multi-echelon inventory optimization tools, which was later acquired by Logility, Inc. He has been a visiting professor of operations management at the MIT Sloan School of Management since 2016. His work with companies such as Hewlett Packard, Proctor & Gamble, and Intel has led to finalist selections for the 2003, 2010, and 2017 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences. He has been a finalist in 2006, 2008 and 2012 for the Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice. His work on inventory placement under non-stationary demand won the Wagner Prize in 2008. Willems is the department editor of the practice section of the journal Production and Operations Management and he is the deputy editor of Interfaces. He received his bachelor’s degree in decision sciences from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and his master’s in operations research and doctorate in operations management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Course Features
- Lectures 0
- Quizzes 0
- Duration 108 hours
- Skill level All levels
- Language English
- Students 8329
- Assessments Yes
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