Relationships are the grease that lubricate the wheels of global supply chains. The systemic approach known as supply chain management that impacts the way we configure our organizations, measure and coordinate activities and the trade offs that we chose to make is build on strong inter-organizational relationships. Building and sustaining these international supply chain relationships with suppliers, customers and service providers, whether for short-term projects, or long-term strategic business partnerships requires a breath and depth of skills and experience. Many organizations struggle to acquire and sustain these capabilities thus stunting their growth potential. These high-quality international business relationships constitute a real competitive advantage that can deliver tangible business benefits in terms of growth, quality and service. An appreciation and understanding of the complex interactions of culture, language, geopolitics, and the regulatory environment are required and as well as logistics practice, transport infrastructure, and emerging technologies are all essential to success in this arena.

• The relationship between globalization and supply chain management.
• How different businesses organize themselves for international business. How the best organizations in the world build and nuture inter-organizational relationships to create business value.
• The skills and knowledge required to build and sustain effective business relationships.
• What SMEs can learn from large corporations to internationalize effectively.

One of the most strategic decisions many organizations make is whether to outsorce some or all of their supply chain activities to specialised partners that provide a range of logistics services ranging from straighforward transport and warehousing services through to product configuration, testing, localization and even manufacturing. The process of determining whether to outsorce, what to outsource and who to partner with is one that brings with in any challenges and opportunities. Getting it right can enhance the capacity and capability of your business, improve quality and free resources to allow to to focus on your core competences and deliver more value to your customers.

In this program you will learn:

• How to determine whether outsourcing is the correct strategic options for your business.
• How to specify logistics service requirements effectively.
• How to evaluate and select the best partner for your business.
• The key factors for success in outsourced relationships.
• Managing the relationship for mutual benefit.

The advent and interaction of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the Blockchain, Big Data, 3-D Printing and Robotics is set to have an enournous, if unpredictable, impact on supply chains. 3-D Printing will drive production closer to the point of use, Big Data will enable customers’ needs to be predicted and anticipated more accurately, the Internet of Things will enable dispersed and Blockchain technologies will provide fast, reliable transactions, asset tracking and audit trails. All of these changes will have huge implications for the manufacturing and supply chain strategies of organizations large and small in the coming years and how they will make, move and deliver products and services from supplier to consumer.

In this program you will learn:

• The key features and capabilities of the new technologies that will impact the supply chain in the coming years.
• Supply chain applications of these technologies that will deliver business value.
• Strategic considerations for business that adopt these new technologies.
• The impact of technologies on the heographical footprint and physical operations of businesses.