Supply Chain Planning Coursera Answers

Coursera has changed. Many supply chain courses now use peer review or honor code lockdown browsers.

If you copy answers from a random GitHub repo:

The Smarter Strategy: Use the answer keys to check your work, not to do your work. If the answer is "Chase Strategy" and you picked "Level Strategy," go back and understand why you misread the demand graph.

Let’s take a notoriously difficult question from the Supply Chain Planning Capstone. supply chain planning coursera answers

The Scenario:

You have a factory. Demand for Q1: 100, Q2: 150, Q3: 200, Q4: 150. Regular capacity = 150 units/quarter. Overtime capacity = 30 units/quarter (cost $80/unit). Regular production cost = $50/unit. Holding cost = $10/unit/quarter. Current inventory = 0. You may not backorder. What is the cheapest plan?

The "Answer" Logic (Without doing all the math): Coursera has changed

If you just memorized "Level Strategy" without running the numbers, you’d miss the nuance.

Let’s say you see this question on a quiz:

"Using simple exponential smoothing with α = 0.3, if the forecast for period 5 was 100 units and actual demand for period 5 was 110 units, what is the forecast for period 6?" The Smarter Strategy: Use the answer keys to

Wrong approach: Search for the exact answer (103).
Right approach: Understand the formula:
Forecast(t+1) = Forecast(t) + α*(Actual(t) - Forecast(t))
= 100 + 0.3*(110 - 100) = 100 + 0.3*10 = 103.

Now you know why the answer is 103, so you can solve similar problems on the final exam.

Once demand is forecasted, supply planning determines how to meet it using available resources. This includes:

A common framework is Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) , which aligns demand, supply, and finance on a monthly cycle.

Supply chain planning is the process of aligning demand, supply, and production capabilities to meet customer needs efficiently. It bridges strategic forecasting with operational execution. Effective planning reduces costs, improves service levels, and minimizes risks like stockouts or excess inventory.