Career studio / Supply Chain & Procurement
Build evidence for the Supply Chain Analyst role
A school supplies distributor wants a replenishment rule for exercise books. Demand varies and late deliveries create stockouts. Compare a simple reorder point with the assumptions behind it.
Your outcome: Inventory policy worksheet, replenishment scenario and supplier-risk note.
Start with the right expectations
Who this is for
Spreadsheet arithmetic and basic stock terminology.
This path develops a demonstrable work sample for the named role. It does not replace employer-specific experience, professional qualifications or supervised practice.
Plan your study time
Use a flexible six-week project schedule: one week for each of the first four stages and two weeks for the portfolio and review. Allow roughly 3–5 hours per week for the case work, in addition to course study. This is a planning suggestion, not a measured course duration or a promise of job readiness.
Read the course access notes before starting. Free viewing or reading does not automatically include certificates, graded assessments, software licences or paid cloud resources. Core case work can be documented with a free editor and spreadsheet; optional implementation tools may have additional requirements.
Your course sequence
Start in the order below. Use the course outline to select the sections relevant to the stage tasks, and complete foundation exercises before moving on. Full provider courses can be substantially longer than this project schedule. These are course resources, not a claimed count of individual lessons.
Resource 01 / MIT
Free MIT Course: Supply Chain Strategy and Logistics
Purpose: Build the foundations. Connect your notes to the case tasks below rather than only collecting completion marks.
Access: Free Video
Certificate: Free video viewing; no MIT certificate or academic credit
Resource 02 / MIT
Free MIT Course: Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Purpose: Develop the role-specific method. Connect your notes to the case tasks below rather than only collecting completion marks.
Access: Free Video
Certificate: Free video viewing; no MIT certificate or academic credit
Resource 03 / Learn Skills Daily
Excel Data Analysis: Free Course
Purpose: Strengthen practical application. Connect your notes to the case tasks below rather than only collecting completion marks.
- Frame a small analytical question and identify the spreadsheet data needed to answer it.
- Use the course’s table, calculation and summary demonstrations to organise an analytical workbook.
- Follow the PivotTables training to investigate groups of records and review a summary.
Access: Free Video
Certificate: Free video viewing; certificate not included
Learn, make, check
Keep a decision log as you work. For each stage, capture the assumption, your work product, a check and the change you made after that check. The acceptance criterion is the stopping condition for the stage.
Stage 1 / suggested project week 1
Understand the chain
Understand: Inventory connects demand, lead time and service expectations.
Make: Map the supplier-to-customer flow and identify where demand and lead time are measured.
Check before moving on: Separate units per day from units per order.
Study companion: Free MIT Course: Supply Chain Strategy and Logistics. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 2 / suggested project week 2
Model the stock rule
Understand: A reorder point covers expected lead-time demand plus a stated buffer.
Make: Calculate reorder points for the supplied daily demand and lead times.
Check before moving on: Label the buffer as an assumption rather than a statistically optimized safety stock.
Study companion: Free MIT Course: Sustainable Supply Chain Management. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 3 / suggested project week 3
Stress the assumptions
Understand: Averages conceal variability and disruptions.
Make: Test a two-day delivery delay and a 25% increase in daily demand.
Check before moving on: Show which assumptions change and compare stockout exposure.
Study companion: Excel Data Analysis: Free Course. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 4 / suggested project week 4
Explain the trade-off
Understand: Service and inventory cost move together.
Make: Recommend a policy, monitoring measure and review trigger.
Check before moving on: Discuss excess stock and service risk without claiming an optimal policy from three observations.
Study companion: Excel Data Analysis: Free Course. Use its relevant lessons and examples; the independent WikiFree task is not a provider assessment.
Save as evidence: a dated work product and a short note explaining one choice, one alternative and one remaining uncertainty.
Stage 5 / suggested project weeks 5–6
Present your portfolio
Assemble the four work products into Inventory policy worksheet, replenishment scenario and supplier-risk note. Write a README explaining the problem, your assumptions, the decisions you made, tests actually performed and what remains incomplete.
Give a five-minute walkthrough: one minute for the problem, two for the work and evidence, one for trade-offs and one for the next improvement. If you have not implemented a proposed system, label it a design or prototype rather than a deployed solution.
Acceptance: a reviewer can locate each work product, reproduce the key reasoning and identify the limits without a private explanation from you.
The portfolio brief
A school supplies distributor wants a replenishment rule for exercise books. Demand varies and late deliveries create stockouts. Compare a simple reorder point with the assumptions behind it.
Deliver: Inventory policy worksheet, replenishment scenario and supplier-risk note.
| item | daily demand | lead days | buffer units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise books | 20 | 5 | 30 |
| Folders | 12 | 4 | 20 |
| Markers | 8 | 6 | 15 |
Use these small inputs to make the reasoning visible. They are not a representative dataset, a real client engagement or evidence of production performance. Where the brief requires additional sample records, create them yourself, label them synthetic and explain why you added them.
The ZIP includes the case CSV, four stage worksheets, course sequence, decision log, test log, portfolio README template, review rubric and reference reasoning. It is a starter kit for your work, not a completed application, professional report or proprietary project file.
Check your reasoning
With demand 20 units/day, lead time 5 days and buffer 30 units, what is the reorder point?
Write your answer and assumptions before opening the reference.
Read the reference reasoning
20×5+30=130 units. If lead time becomes 7 days while the buffer stays 30, the modeled point becomes 170 units.
Portfolio review rubric
| Criterion | Points | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|
| Problem and scope | 4 | A clear user, need, boundary and assumptions |
| Role-specific work | 8 | 2 points for each of the four stage acceptance checks |
| Reasoning and validation | 4 | Independent checks, actual results and uncertainty |
| Communication and reproducibility | 4 | A usable README, source links and reviewable work products |
Aim for at least 16/20 as a self-review target, with no missing stage acceptance check. This is a WikiFree practice rubric, not an industry credential or a hiring assessment.
Interview practice
Which extra data would you collect before using this rule in a real business?
Answer using the case: context, your action, evidence and limitation. Describe this honestly as a self-directed project. Do not present fictional organizations, invented interviews or practice results as paid work experience.
Your progress
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Questions before you start
Will this path qualify me for a job?
It helps you study relevant foundations and produce a work sample. Employers may require additional skills, qualifications and experience. Review actual role requirements before applying; no job or certification is guaranteed.
Are all tools and certificates free?
The linked learning routes were selected for free viewing or reading. Follow the separate access and certificate notes on each course. Paid tools and cloud deployment are optional; document a local design when implementation resources are unavailable.
Can I follow this on a phone?
You can read the path and many learning resources on a phone. Coding, detailed spreadsheet work, design tools and mobile-app development are easier or require a suitable computer. The page is designed to reflow; that is not a claim that every physical device has been tested.
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