 Welcome, everyone. Thank you for joining us for this Inside Supply Chain Analytics webinar. We're so happy to have you. Bienvenidos. Sabat hei. Hi, Landbika. Bienvenue. Welcome and welcome. Thanks for joining us. We're here to help you learn how you can become more confident managing complex data with Supply Chain Analytics SC0X. You might be a seasoned supply chain professional. You might be just starting out in the field, or you might be joining Supply Chain Management from another field. No matter what your industry is or your work function, we expect that this webinar will be useful to you. My name is Arthur Grau. I serve as the communications officer for the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. I'm joined by Sam Barney, our marketing manager. Awesome. Thanks, Arthur. And welcome, everyone. My name is Sam. And one of the reasons we wanted to host this webinar was really to engage with the online community of data-driven learners and professionals like yourselves and discuss how applications of data analytics, as taught in this Supply Chain Analytics SC0X course, is not only applied to supply chain management, but across business functions. So for example, I recently completed a marketing analytics micro masters program on edX, where we utilize the same types of distribution, optimization, and predictive analytics models for analyzing consumer preferences as are used in supply chain management for production planning. But we'll discuss this more in a bit. First, I'd like to introduce the rest of the team. Today, we're joined by Dr. Ema Barela, a research scientist at MIT CTL. Ema does research on blockchain applications and online learning at the center and has led many of the online courses, including as Supply Chain Analytics SC0X. Thank you, Sam. So happy to be here today. And so happy to see so many people joining us for the webinar. I will be sharing some of the specifics of the course, SC0X Supply Chain Analytics. I really think that the tools, the quantitative tools you learn in this course and the skills you acquire can be directly applicable to your daily job. We're going to open our second poll now to get to know you a little bit more. Please answer the poll from your browser, and this time we'll share the results with you in just a little bit. While you answer, I'd like to introduce Gerald Howe. Gerald is a current master's student here at MIT with us in the Supply Chain Management program. He completed SC0X with a pretty impressive score, so we've asked if he'd come and share your experience with us. Of course. Thank you. Thank you, Alfred. Glad to be here. One thing I would like to say is for sure you need to be ready for a challenge. I really enjoy the rigor of this course. It's an MIT graduate level course, so you'd be expecting it to be tough. But I guarantee you that at the end of the course, it'll be very rewarding for you. So if you're someone like me that believes learning is a life-long journey, then this course is definitely for you, because it set up the foundation really well to open up the doors for you to learn more advanced topics. But thank you, Gerald. We'll be asking you a bit more about your experience in a bit. So one of the pieces of this webinar that is a little unique, and I'm sure many of you have questioned, is why we invited you here to ignite your inner florentine gale, and what does she have to do with supply chain analytics? Arthur, can you explain? Yes. Thank you, Sim. So here's the idea. Long before it was common, nightingale recognized that something today we totally take for granted. She realized that reliable data on the incidence of preventable deaths from like deaths from infection in a military could be used to make compelling arguments for life-saving interventions. She collected reliable data. She then analyzed it and formatted it in a way that people in decision-making positions could understand it. When we asked you to ignite your inner florentine gale, what we're really asking you to do is think about how you can leverage your own mastery of quantitative analysis, reliable data management, and cleaning, probability statistics, all that stuff, and how you can leverage that in your daily work. So if you ignite your inner florentine gale, how will you apply her to solve those challenges that you have? Nightingale was not a supply chain manager, but she did use data analysis to predict future outcomes, and she was able to convince leadership using her findings. And for me, I find her an inspiration on how statistics, probability, analytics, and those kinds of things can be used to support crucial decision-making processes. And we believe that learning the concepts in SU-0x will help you earn a seat at the table when it comes to complex decisions that are being made. Analytics is a fundamental piece that connects all functions of business, specifically when we look at marketing, sales, finance, and supply chain. This became very clear to me closely with IMA in the current run of SU-0x. The concepts in SU-0x relating to optimization models are also used in marketing when developed distribution plans for products and in sales analysis and channel selection. But before we dive into the course concepts, let's have a look at our poll number two, awesome. So as expected, a huge majority, 55% of you come from supply chain management. So awesome. Right on. Love seeing you. Great field. By the way, yes. But we have a pretty mixed group, which is really I think what we hope for for this webinar. We have about 7% say they're about, they're still in a student role. We have data management, procurement, marketing, 1%, awesome. Finance, production, sales, software, and a few 9% come from other. So thanks for sharing. Thank you for sharing that. So IMA, how about SC-0x? Tell us about supply chain analytics. Sir, yes. So supply chain analytics is a great course. It's the foundation course for our MicroMasters program in supply chain management. And it is designed to introduce the different techniques and methodologies that are typically used in supply chain management, both in practice and in academia. The course covers optimization algorithms, statistics, regression and simulation. So this might seem like a lot. If you have not done much math before, it might seem daunting. And that's what we've heard from many learners. But in this course, we introduce each method from scratch and try to make sure you understand them through video lessons, recitations, examples of real world applications, and a wide array of practice problems. Having all these methods in your tool belt will be really useful in your career. So to give you a look inside the course, I prepared a quick video capture in which Dr. Chris Caplis, who is the main instructor of the course and is great, introduces basic probability distributions. Probability distributions are extremely useful to deal with uncertainty that is very common nowadays and widely used in supply chain management, for example, in inventory management. Ima, one quick question or quick question or quick point, if I may interrupt. This clip is also a great example of how to learn in SC0x. It's an example of how you can use a video in order to learn some concept, how you can see some transcripts in different languages. We are offering in SC0x transcripts and captions in English, in Chinese and in Spanish. And you can also stop the video or double speed the video or play a beat with the best speed for you in order to learn through the watching the lessons and the lectures. And that's a random number because it's not known with certainty. So there's some distribution that it probably falls. So every day you have all these random experiments. And we're going to do right now is I have two coins and I'm going to shake them up and count the number of heads each time. And so what I'm going to do here is build what's known as a histogram. A histogram is simply a graphical representation of a series of outcomes. And I can do this many, many times and the more often I do it, I will get a certain outcome. So let me just stop there because it's nice. It actually worked out quite well, but and I really did report the number of points that came up. Now he said no. But I want you to look at something what we did. So we did a random experiment and then I shook and had number of heads. And so I can say my random variable is the number of heads that show up on the two coins that I tossed. And looking at it and thinking about it for a second, there's only three possible outcomes, right? I could only have three possible outcomes. I could have zero heads show up. I could have one head show up or I could have two. And so what we've done is we've just defined the sample space, the total population of the values that it can be. Corresponding to each of these values, I know that there's a probability that it occurs. And in this case, it's a quarter a half and a quarter. So looking at this, I can notice a couple other things. One is, I see that the sum of all those probabilities, if I'm mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, sums up to one. So all my probabilities have to sum up to one. Also we see that I have a sample space and I have probabilities corresponding with each potential outcome. So just like this is a simple experiment in real life, you've got things like this. We'll find that's very useful when we look at certain inventory problems. So these are two discrete distributions. We'll also look at some continuous distributions. We'll look at a uniform continuous distribution. And what this looks like, it has the same parameters, a minimum and a maximum. But then the outcome can be anything in between those, not just the discrete values. We'll also look at one of my favorite distributions, the triangle distribution. And I like this because it's really good at estimating. And it has three parameters, a min, a max and what's known as a mode. So it's going to look something like this, and you'll see why it's called a triangle distribution in just a second. Looks something like this. And we'll go into details of why to use this and how to use this. And we'll finish up with the granddaddy distribution that everyone knows, the normal distribution, because it's widely used. It's also called the Gaussian distribution, and it's that bell-shaped curve that we all know so well. And it's distributed, or it's parameters rather are the mean and the standard deviation, where the mean is this value and the standard deviation is the spread. So we're going to cover a lot of ground here, but it's really all about capturing and managing and characterizing uncertainty. This is the uncertainty that happens every day, variability in demand, variability in delivery times, variability in supply. How do I capture that? Great. So thanks so much for watching this video. It's a very small sample of what the course has to offer, but it's impossible to show you much more in this short webinar. So I hope this made you excited about the course contents and encourages you to want to explore more. In addition to videos, the course also offers practice problems for you to apply the methods and techniques that you learn in the video lectures. The cool thing about these practice problems is that you will receive immediate feedback after trying the problem, which means it will reinforce and accelerate your learning, because of course, immediate feedback just after trying is the best way. Yes. So that's, I think what Arthur did is a great example. So he just tried to solve a problem. He didn't get the right answer in three attempts. Very bad, Arthur. But what is cool is right after using all the attempts that the problem was allowing him to have, that was three, he could just see the answer, the correct answer, by clicking the show answer button. So he could see right away what the right answer was and an explanation to the solution to that problem. In the course video, we have videos that we already showed you a sample. We have practice problems and we also have discussion forums where you can interact with your peer and learners. So these are the main course features that will help you learn the concept as we go. And hopefully this course will give you the tools you can use in your work right away. I would like to highlight that SC0X is open for improvement now. So you can go to edX and enroll right now and just check all these things by yourself. So Gerald, can you tell us more about your experience? Because you've been through this course and used all these materials, could you share? Yeah. So first of all, what I find is some of the concept that can be challenging because it's very abstract just by looking at the formula alone. But I think Chris did a great example using the coin flip to demonstrate the concept with the example. So you know the knowledge you learn from the class are very practical and it can be used in real world. And then another thing I find is very useful, I learned from the class from the course is that there's a lot of Excel functions embedded in the class where I can just take the Excel function and then apply it to the work. I do pretty much Excel every day. So I get that instant gratification of transporting whatever I learned from the class directly onto my job. Great. And Gerald, you actually completed the course with an amazing grade. So it would be great if you can tell us about the strategies you used to complete the course and also what you recommend to future learners that are watching this webinar right now. Okay, sure. So for the study advice, the biggest thing is do not procrastinate. This is an awesome team. I love it. Yes. It's a golden rule. So each week's video may not seem a lot, but if you leave it at the last minute, if you cram it in one day, that can be overwhelming too. So you want to have some time to absorb knowledge, maybe divide the video into chunks and then have some time to reflect of what you learned. And then also another tip is do it for the knowledge, do it for the learner, not for the grade actually. Because at the end of the day, you're putting a lot of effort, you're putting a lot of time into the course and you want to get something out of it to benefit your life. And the grades will come by itself once you learn. Yes. So by demonstrating that passion, the grade is the byproduct. Excellent. That's very good. Thank you so much. I'm sure that will be helpful for the learners, but they do not procrastinate. It's very hard to accomplish. Yes, this is true. Yep. Thank you, Inma. Thank you, Gerald. Thank you, Chris, for recording all of these videos. And Chris is your primary instructor, although many of the other course team are also in the courses as your instructors. We asked you what kind of business you are in earlier. I think we're still receiving this poll, so I'm going to let it run for a minute. I can see that we're in a wide variety of businesses from healthcare to education and learning. We have people from NGOs and government, finance and banking, digital technology and software. Again, I'll challenge you. What are you going to use data analytics to solve? How are you going to engage your inner Florence Nightingale to solve the challenges that you are facing? As you mentioned, the course is hopefully going to give you those tools on a weekly basis that you can actually use. So what challenge are you going to approach first? That's my question. Yeah. So yes, so the course is open for enrollment now. So you can enroll right now and start having a look around the content. This content, the videos and the practice problems are for free. So anyone from anywhere that enroll in this course will have access to this content. If you want to pursue for a certificate, then you need to verify, you need to become a verified learner to pay for a modest fee. And then you will have access to the exams to the certificate by itself. The course is designed to teach and apply supply chain management principles and can prepare you to face challenges in supply chain analytics for a range of problems. As Gerald mentioned in your day to day work, this is the idea that you can apply this immediately in the challenges you have every single day. We have everyone from individual contributors to strategic directors taking this course. We have supply chain management professionals, we have people from other fields that want to learn more about supply chain. And definitely they are adding a lot of value to this course and to the discussion forums bringing their experience to this course. One example is Lucas. Lucas is from Brazil and he took a CCOX and he said that he he had a great experience with this online course because he really learned a lot about analytics, supply chain analytics and as Gerald mentioned too, he applied in his career. So this is an example. I also want to bring here another recent example. I had the pleasure to interview recently Kate Kaufman. She is the director of account management at Uber Freight. She came here last July to MIT campus for our MIT supply chain bootcamp and I asked her, Kate when you are looking for a hiding professionals at Uber Freight, which are the skills you are looking for? And she said something that I found very inspirational. She said, I'm looking mainly for supply chain analytics skills. And I said, okay, that's awesome. That's perfect. And I really just want to share with you this insight. But what can you do with this course once you pass it? Because as I mentioned, you can enroll, you can have access to the content. If you verify and pass the exams, you can earn the certificate. And we believe you will be able to use this learning in your job and in your career. We imagine seeing you kind of the go-to person on your team when someone is trying to answer a complex analytical problem. And since you have learned and internalized this concept, I hope that you will bring this data driving the decision-making process to your work and your day-to-day job. SC0X is also part of the MicroMaster program. The MicroMaster includes five SCX courses. This goes from supply chain fundamentals, supply chain dynamics, supply chain technology and system. So there are five SCX courses. And at the end of the program, we also offer a comprehensive final exam in order to demonstrate that you have the knowledge in supply chain in order to earn this credential. So we also have experience testimonials for individual contributors like Mia. Completed the whole program. And then she said that she gained self-confidence in order to pass a job interview. She got the job of her dream. And now she increased her salary in 50 percent thanks to the program. We also have people from the industry. We have Ray. Ray is the director of Walmart e-commerce. He's a supply chain professional for many years. And now he took and completed the whole MicroMaster at night during the weekend, doing a lot of effort. And now he's using that and he's told us that this is helping him to manage his team. He's also encouraging his team and his employees to join the MicroMaster and to join courses based on the content we are offering through the MicroMaster. So these are just examples of how people are using supply chain analytics and the program in order to be better contributors, to be better communicators and to help their teams and their company grow. But the courses go beyond supply chain management. We have also people from other sectors and other fields like finance, like marketing, as Sam and Arthur mentioned at the beginning. Can I interrupt and share the whole results? Take a look at the industries that people are in. It's great. Like I said earlier, people from all these different industries. But we had even people from software development, even people from healthcare and all those different places who are... Yes, people from data management, people from procurement. Customer service who got people in retail. This is great. I think it would be useful for many. And I love that, educational learning. Yes, we also have educators. Awesome. Excellent. So the MicroMaster Credential, let me just highlight some of the benefits of taking this program. The MicroMaster Credential has been also designed to be a pathway for credit here at MIT. It's a pathway to earn a master degree at MIT. And it's equivalent to one full semester of work at MIT. So if you complete the MicroMaster Credential, you can apply to the master degree, the blended master degree at MIT. And with another full semester, 100% on campus, you will be able to earn a master degree in supply chain management from MIT. Let me share with you the examples. Here is the picture of the last cohort. This cohort just graduated last June 2019. And there is also a fun picture from one of our blended learners. Do you want to mention something here? So Lance, who graduated in June, created this little sculpture of his journey through the courses. He started in probably three years ago now. But I thought you might get to enjoy seeing his sort of image of what he thought it was like to complete the capstone and some of the books we have on campus. And then also Gerald is on campus now. Would you say partially because of the MicroMasters? Definitely. Do you want to say more about it? Yeah, definitely. I want to share with you guys that I was actually in your seat a few years back. And then I took the chance, or rather I gave myself a chance to complete the MicroMaster. And the next thing I know, I'm applying for MIT. And then I got in. I feel so blessed. I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to do the MicroMaster because partially because it's a MIT graduate level course. At one point, I was doubting if I have the capability to do that. After a complete course, I feel more confident. And then that's why I definitely I applied and went ahead with it. So and then also another thing is it does apply the same amount of rigor that the courses that's offered on campus. So because I have a complete the MicroMaster as a certificate, I was able to receive the credit from the school from MIT. So I can just work on some other courses if I like. This is a great point in general. And because it's a pathway for credit at MIT and also at other universities, we really care about offering a rigorous assessment. That's why we are offering final exams, major exams, David's assignment, and we are offering a lot of assessment in order to evaluate your knowledge in these courses. Yeah. So as I mentioned, the MicroMaster credential is also a pathway to other universities across the world. Currently more than 20 universities are recognizing the MicroMaster as a pathway for credits to their own blended master degree programs. One example is ASU. They are currently offering a 100% online master degree through edX. So it's a way to complete also a master degree through edX at ASU. So yeah, let's move to more benefits about our amazing community of learners that we have here. There's an unexpected benefit that we've seen over the last few years is that learners who take the courses both form around the courses themselves and the MicroMasters as a whole and they meet up in places. They find each other online. We have a portal where people can create profiles and meet each other. There's the discussion forums within the courses. So we've been seeing people spontaneously meeting up all over the world from our social media channels like LinkedIn and Facebook. We use it to post jobs and those sorts of things. So we feel like we're being part of a global movement here. There are many other players involved as you can see from the other universities that are involved and it's great to be a part of it. So it's an unexpected outcome that happened as a result of these courses. Yeah. Awesome. So hopefully that was a lot of information. Hopefully it starts to absorb in and you can sort of go from here and join us online in SC0X. Awesome. So I think that will wrap it up for today. I really appreciate all of you joining. Such excellent questions. Really great. Again, thank you, Sam, Ima. Thank you, Eva. Thank you, Herb. Gerald and Dan and Bedri and Bonnie who are madly typing away and waving at us in the back. Thank you. And to everyone who joined, please reach out to us anytime with more questions. We will follow up with a lot of information. It's going to be more information than you'll probably be able to read. So please enjoy it. Hope to see you all in SC0X. I will see you in the next live event for verified learners there. See you in a couple of weeks. Hope to see you online or on campus. Thank you so much. Take care. Bye.