Co-op program details

Business Administration - Supply Chain and Operations Management (Co-op)

Program details

Credential: 3-Year Ontario College Advanced Diploma

This three-year advanced diploma program is designed to prepare the graduate for a professional career in Supply Chain and Operations Management. Graduates of this program will find success in the public, industrial, retail/wholesale, service and private sectors of the economy. Further, graduates of this program will assume leadership roles as business professionals in areas such as supply chain management, logistics, purchasing/procurement, resource planning and control, inventory management, warehousing and distribution, operations management and systems implementation. The program is fully accredited by the Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council.

Partnerships with professional associations including Supply Chain Management Association Ontario (SCMAO), Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), OPBA (Ontario Public Buyers Association), CITT (Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation) and AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group) afford students in the program the opportunity to network with professionals and work toward recognized professional designations while at school. In addition, graduates receive an industry accredited Six Sigma Yellow Belt certificate for their accomplishments in the program.

Student availability & wage data

Conestoga College facilitates recruitment on an ongoing basis - there are no hard deadlines. Typical time frames for work terms are listed below.

Postings are accepted beginning four months before the start of a term until all students have secured employment provided the minimum 12 consecutive weeks of full-time work is met.

Work/Study Sequence

Year Fall (Sept - Dec) Winter (Jan - Apr) Spring (May - Aug)
Year 1 Classes Classes
Year 2 Classes Classes Work Term 1: $17.50-25
Year 3 Work Term 2: $18-26 Classes Work Term 3: $18.50-27
Year 4 Classes

Conestoga College collects data on hourly wages of co-operative education students and offers suggested ranges as a service to employers for the purpose of establishing fair and competitive compensation.

Our experience has been that employers increase wages as skills increase, particularly when employing students for more advanced work terms. The Co-operative Education Office can provide assistance to employers in establishing appropriate wage rates.

Work term capabilities

Specific skills and abilities that students are typically capable of performing during a given work term are listed below.

Work terms 1 and 2

  • Execute basic purchasing tasks related to handling purchase requisitions, purchase orders, quotations and other associated purchasing and vendor management activities
  • Complete requests for quotations and purchase orders
  • Perform vendor surveys and qualify vendors
  • Apply project management techniques, including use of Microsoft Project
  • Utilize software tools such as: Excel, Word, and relevant Information System platforms
  • Create a sales and operation plan, a production plan, a material plan and an inventory plan
  • Analyze product costs, contribution margins
  • Source parts and raw materials
  • Complete a master production schedule
  • Interpret blueprints and other technical documents
  • Perform inventory analysis including cycle counting and root cause analysis
  • Use demand planning to predict incoming business and shipments
  • Maintain inventory records such as receipts and issues
  • Perform production scheduling, inventory control, and materials planning duties
  • Create and monitor orders (Purchasing and Manufacturing) from placement to delivery
  • Undertake product costing

Work term 3

  • Apply Statistical Process Control (SPC) techniques and process variation analysis for continuous improvement
  • Apply logistics techniques to various transportation and material movement enterprises
  • Utilize as well as understand terminology, inputs and outputs of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software
  • Conduct junior work measurement assignments
  • Apply scheduling techniques for shop floor control and loading
  • Apply capacity management techniques
  • Design and improve warehouse operations
  • Apply Lean concepts for continuous improvement

Sample job titles


Work terms 1 and 2:
  • Buyer, Material Planner
  • Customer Support Representative
  • Cycle Counter
  • Jr. Project Coordinator
  • Logistics/Inventory Analyst
  • Materials Inventory Analyst
  • Materials Planning Analyst
  • Purchasing Assistant
  • Scheduling Coordinator
  • Traffic Specialist
Work term 3:
  • Business Analyst (Transportation)
  • Distribution Analyst
  • Lean / Continuous Improvement Analyst
  • Master Scheduler
  • Material/ Logistics Coordinator
  • Materials Planner/Scheduler
  • Merchandise Planning Coordinator
  • Planner/Buyer
  • Production Scheduler
  • Quality Assurance Assistant
  • Supply Chain Planner/Analyst

Program courses

To see a typical course list for this program, see the current program course information.

Post a co-op job now

Setup an account or login to Conestoga's MyCareer to post a job.

Contact information

Do you need help developing a recruitment plan or job posting, accessing wage information, or connecting with a talented co-op student? Contact:

Teresa Lee
Employer Relations Consultant
Tlee@conestogac.on.ca
519-748-5220 ext. 3678