Oct. 28, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by Dakota State University.

Over the past few years, supply chain disruption frequently has been in the news, largely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeing an industry need, Dakota State University has added a supply chain management graduate certificate.

“Unfortunately, with the pandemic, supply chain disruption has created an urgent need to respond to changing circumstances,” said Dr. Daniel Talley, professor and MBA graduate program coordinator.

During the height of the pandemic, many countries restricted the movement of ships and the travel of people between countries, Talley explained.

“When it comes to the movement of physical parts, equipment, final goods and services, it is dependent on having an operational transportation network, which was really affected by COVID-19,” he said.

The issues that arose from the pandemic have led companies to reevaluate outsourcing and globalization, leading to reshoring, or bringing back the manufacturing of parts and final goods to the country where businesses intend to sell, Talley said.

Through technology tools, modeling and simulations, students can experience the uncertainty of the real world in the safety of the classroom. Case studies provide real-world examples of what happened to different companies and offer learning opportunities.

These experiences prepare students to be adaptable and valuable to their future or current employer.

“Adaptability and flexibility are one of the hallmarks of higher education,” Talley said. “Each crisis has its own unique origins, but it often goes through the same stages.”

These courses prepare students for the various stages, such as keeping the lights on and the company running, to following steps like activating plans and bringing alternative suppliers online, he added.

Graduates of the certificate will have mastered the use of software to manipulate and manage supply chain or logistics data; be able to understand, analyze and use data; and have the skills to assess the reliability of data sources and assess information and information technologies critically.

The certificate is an opportunity for people who have bachelor’s degrees and are already working in the industry to learn new skills and advance in the workplace.

The three-course certificate prepares students to deal with supply chain operations and management, said Dr. Dorine Bennett, dean of the College of Business & Information Systems.

One course, Analysis of Managerial Decisions, prepares students for contemporary problems business professionals encounter such as forecasting, decision analysis, linear programming, transportation models, project scheduling and inventory. It also teaches students basic understanding and evaluation of operations research techniques and interpretation of results.

The Supply Chain Management course explores supply chain metrics and decision-making, logistics and basic tools for effective and efficient supply chain management. Additionally, it focuses on production planning, order fulfillment and supply chain coordination. It also investigates topics such as global supply chain design, outsourcing and recent supply chain innovations.

And finally, Supply Chain Analytics focuses on decision-making using software to support supply chain and logistics, including basic data management, probability, statistics and simulation.

“The last course is really more advanced in the types of underlying mathematical theories and technology tools that allow you to make decisions in uncertain environments,” Talley said.

Bennett said the graduate certificate allows enrollees to complete the courses without being enrolled in the MBA program. However, the certificate will count toward course credit for an MBA.

The MBA program has six areas of emphasis to choose from: analytics, health care informatics, information systems, nonprofit leadership, supply chain management and sports leadership.

For information on the MBA program and certificate, visit DSU’s College of Business & Information Systems page.