Operational Excellence Certificate

Nighttime scene at a container terminal, with data visualizations imposed over it.

While operations and supply chain best practices are well-developed disciplines, few could have anticipated the cascade effect of geopolitical confrontation, trade conflicts and global pandemic. Businesses are reconsidering their own assumptions and investments in infrastructure, processes, people and education. Technology, in particular, is playing an outsized role, as the ability to use predictive analytics, machine learning and data visualization has become a requirement for professionals working in supply-chain management.

The Stevens graduate certificate in Operational Excellence is a flexible, four-course program that teaches you the advanced quantitative and analytical techniques required to assess, create and improve corporate operations. Courses emphasize the learning and application of tools and methods to specific problems in operations management. Examples and cases covered in the certificate emphasize physical product supply chains, but the concepts taught are equally applicable to digital operations.

Upon completion of this certificate, students will be able to:

Understand the tools and methods necessary to implement smarter strategy in supply-chain management.
Apply analytical skills in solving real, data-rich problems in the areas of supplier analytics, capacity planning, demand-supply matching, sales and operations planning, location analysis and network management, inventory management, and sourcing.
Think critically about overall operations productivity and total quality management.
Understand issues surrounding the application of emerging technologies in the operations area of technology-based businesses.
Successfully bring new strategies, methodologies, techniques and tools into the organization.

This certificate is ideal for professionals who directly manage, support or service corporate operations. Familiarity with calculus and statistics (especially undergraduate coursework in both areas) is required.

Curriculum

To earn this multidisciplinary certificate, students must complete any four of the following five courses.

This course exposes students to leading-edge thinking on supply chain strategy, as well as practical tools and methods for implementation. Topics covered include: supply chain management principles and the customer, networks and organizations, product life cycle implications to supply chains, forecasting and inventory management, supply chain processes, information systems, performance and metrics, lean supply chains, risk management, and legal and ethical issues.
The primary goal of this course is to familiarize students with tactical and strategic issues surrounding the design and operation of supply chains, to develop analytical skills for solving real problems, and to teach a range of methods and analytical tools to efficiently manage demand and supply networks. Topics covered in this course include supplier analytics, capacity planning, demand-supply matching, sales and operations planning, location analysis and network management, inventory management, and sourcing.
This course examines the critical role of technology as a strategic resource to enable management to achieve organizational objectives. Topics include entrepreneurship, developing and managing new ventures, managing innovation, the technology life-cycle and technology forecasting, management of research and development personnel and projects, evaluation of R&D projects, and integrating technology strategy with the organization’s overall business strategy.
The course addresses the techniques and concepts required to map, implement, automate and evaluate business processes. The course leads students from technical process design, through the implementation and management of workflows, to the structure of process-aware information systems. It discusses the distinction between business processes and business rules and outlines how they can be supported by technology. It details the technical structure of process-aware applications and provides an overview of technology standards that affect BPM systems. Modules on the run-time monitoring of processes and post-execution evaluation techniques complete this course.

Certificate faculty

In this program, you'll learn from faculty whose combination of research insights and real-world experience ensures you learn the latest techniques and how to apply them at work.

Alkis Vazacopoulos

Prof. Vazacopoulos is a highly sought expert in supply chains and business analytics who consults with the Fortune 500.

Sharing expertise in pandemic Meet Prof. Vazacopoulos

Michael zur Muehlen

A business process expert, Prof. zur Muehlen has consulted for the federal government, as well as for manufacturing and finance companies.

Meet Prof. zur Muehlen

Christopher Asakiewicz

Prof. Asakiewicz's class lessons heavily feature his decades of leadership in analytics and business technology in the life sciences industry.

Meet Prof. Asakiewicz

Paul Rohmeyer

A cybersecurity, risk and IT strategy expert, Prof. Rohmeyer has substantial consulting experience in finance, management and defense.

Meet Prof. Rohmeyer

Meet our alumni

Fatine Zaaj on the Jersey City waterfront wearing her graduation regalia.

Making decisions through data

"My Stevens experience has helped me manage complex projects and make business decisions based on financial performance and data."

Fatine Zaaj '19, operations manager, Amazon

Applied emphasis

"It’s not just the learning itself — there is a direct application of what I studied to the work I'm doing."

Viswanath Narayan '19, director of supply chain analytics, Pfizer

Cutting-edge skills

"Stevens helped me update my skills and knowledge, learn more about big data and understand how to use it in making decisions about supply chain management."

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