One thing .. ?

We hope that you have enjoyed the course. The six weeks have flown by.

They were structured in a way to allow you to explore not only the general concept of supply chain (which we did in week 1), but also the core processes that underpin it. We hope that you have learnt that as part of our lives we need to make decisions regarding all aspects of the supply chain. These decisions relate to the things we buy (as Catherine discussed with you in week 3), how they are made (led by myself in week 4), how they are moved (topic navigated by Gwynne in week 5) and how at the end of life we choose to deal with them (covered by Donato in week 6). As I discussed with you in week 2, making decisions requires a degree of foresight or planning as planning is the glue that holds the supply chain together.

So whether you are planning you next holiday, contemplating a buy-one-get-one free offer in a supermarket, making a decision to only use fair trade coffee, buying a pre-loved phone or making a donation to charity. The decisions we make drive the supply chains that are all around us. We hope you have enjoyed seeing the world of supply chains in practice, and it has brought to life how things get to you.

The whole premise of this course has been to make the largely invisible world of supply chains, more visible. In doing so, the intention was to help explain how things get to you, and the complex network of processes involved in doing so.

The whole premise of this course has been to make the largely invisible world of supply chains, more visible.

In doing so, the intention was to help explain how things get to you, and the complex network of processes involved in doing so. Given the complexity of the supply chain there are no easy answers, and as you have discovered what can seem as a good deal for an individual or company in one part of the chain, may be at someone else’s expense.

Catherine, Donato, Gwynne and myself hope we have helped you to see that supply chains are all around you. As the ‘Whose world?’ poem highlighted, in many situations it is your decisions that drive the chain, and create a chain reaction, for the better or worse.

One final talking point…

• What is the one thing that you will do differently as a result of participating in this course?

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