Applied Operations Management - Aggregate Planning Course

In this free online course, Applied Operations Management - Aggregate Planning, you will learn how aggregate planning is used in many businesses to match supply and demand of output over the medium time range of up to approximately 12 months in the future. Aggregate planning allows management to quantify materials and other resources that are to be procured so that the total cost of operations are kept to the minimum over a set period of time. The course begins by introducing the concept of aggregate planning and its use in medium term planning in businesses. You will be introduced to aggregate planning methodologies such as the tabular method and linear programming. You will learn how a tabular approach uses spreadsheets and the values of different variables, such as production by regular workforce and inventory levels can be calculated by using the costs associated with production, overtime, subcontracting, hiring, inventory and backorders. The tabular method is widely used because it is easy to understand and utilize. However, the generated solution may not be optimal and many trials and errors may be needed to find the optimal solution. The course also introduces the linear programming technique and a special type of linear programming known as the Transportation Model, which can be used to obtain aggregate plans that would allow balanced capacity and demand and the minimization of costs. This free online course will be of great interest to all professionals working in the areas operations management or general management who would like to learn more about aggregate planning and the methods used in this important area of operations management. The course will also be of interest to all learners who are interested in operations management as a future career.