One of the most misunderstood elements of lean thinking is that lean is primarily about effective supply chain management. Therefore, we need to be able to answer the question, "How does lean apply to the supply chain?" Connecting lean to supply chain management is the core purpose of this second course in a 3-course series on becoming a Lean Supply Chain professional. Participants will build upon their knowledge from the first course and learn how to apply lean principles and problem solving to supply chain functions.

The overarching theme for the second course is "systems thinking," where we understand how "pull and one piece flow" will lead to reductions to "total cost" of the supply chain. Participants will once again be challenged to question mental models such as economies of scale and replace them with mental models such as economies of time. Having completed the second course, participants will not only be lean problem solvers, they will understand how to connect lean and waste reduction to supply chain functions.