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ABOUT THE DEMAND DRIVEN INSTITUTE

The Demand Driven Institute was founded in 2011 by Carol Ptak and Chad Smith in parallel with the introduction to the world of the Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) methodology in Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning 3/E (Ptak and Smith, McGraw Hill, 2011).

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With affiliates, compliant software alliances and instructors throughout the world we are changing the way businesses plan, operate, think and evolve.  Every business has a choice; continue to operate with rules, metrics and tools developed more than fifty years ago or make a break from convention, recognize the complex supply chains we live in and make a fundamental change in the way it does business...but don't take too long or the choice will be made for you.

OUR MISSION

Advance and proliferate Demand Driven strategies and practices in the global industrial community.

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Thought Leadership

The Demand Driven Institute (DDI) was founded in 2011 by Carol Ptak and Chad Smith.  Collectively, Ms. Ptak and Mr. Smith have authored or co-authored several published works on Demand Driven Principles, Finance and Information and Planning Systems. 

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Powerful Educational Programs

DDI educational products are a powerful suite of enterprise education designed to enable companies to begin and sustain an implementation of a Demand Driven Operating Model (DDOM) and the Demand Driven Adaptive Enterprise (DDAE) model.

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High Impact Simulations and Games

The Demand Driven Institute offers a suite of co-branded and fully endorsed simulations and games that teach various aspects of the Demand Driven Adaptive Enterprise Model.  Simulations are offered throughout the world as both public and in-house events.

Professional Endorsement Certificates

As the leading authority on Demand Driven methods, the Demand Driven Institute offers a comprehensive series of professional endorsement certificates.  These endorsement certificates are the gold standard in ensuring and identifying an individual’s understanding, ability to apply, analyze, evaluate and create value using Demand Driven methods. 

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Software Compliance

As the leading authority on Demand Driven methods, Demand Driven Institute evaluates and certifies software ensuring that a specific software has enough features and/or functions to implement, sustain and even improve a DDMRP implementation. This objective evaluation and certification is provided free of charge to software entities.  If you are considering a software claiming DDMRP functionality look for the DDI compliance label.

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There are three levels of DDI software certification:

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About Carol Ptak

Carol Ptak is currently a partner with the Demand Driven Institute (www.demanddriveninstitute.com) and was most recently at Pacific Lutheran University as Visiting Professor and Distinguished Executive in Residence. Previously, she was vice president and global industry executive for manufacturing and distribution industries at PeopleSoft where she developed the concept of demand driven manufacturing (DDM). Ms. Ptak spent four years at IBM Corporation culminating in the position of global SMB segment executive.

A leading authority in the use of ERP and Supply Chain tools to drive improved bottom line performance, Ms. Ptak's expertise is well grounded in four decades of practical experience as a successful practitioner, consultant and educator in manufacturing operations. Her pragmatic approach to complex issues and dynamic presentation style has her in high demand worldwide on the subject of how to leverage these tools and achieve sustainable success.

 
She holds an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and completed the EMPO program at Stanford University. Ms. Ptak is a frequent educator at the university level and presents at many key technical conferences around the world including South Africa, France, Israel, Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands and fourteen APICS International conferences. She is the author of numerous articles and the books Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning 3/E with Chad Smith, MRP and Beyond, ERP, Tools, Techniques and Applications for Integrating the Supply Chain, Theory H.O.W. with Harold Cavallaro, Necessary but not Sufficient with Dr. Eli Goldratt and Eli Schragenheim. Together with Dean Gilliam she updated Quantum Leap, originally written by John Constanza. Ms. Ptak has lent her name to the internationally coveted Ptak Prize for Supply Chain Excellence that is awarded annually by ISCEA (International Supply Chain Education Alliance.)

Ms. Ptak is certified through APICS at the fellow level (CFPIM) and was certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM) with the first group internationally. Ms. Ptak was the President and CEO of APICS, The Educational Society for Resource Management for the year 2000. Prior to her election as APICS President, she served on the Society in a variety of positions.  

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LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demanddrivencarol

Follow Carol Ptak on Twitter: @itsallaboutflow

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Carol-A.-Ptak/e/B001K8FI44/

About Chad Smith

Chad Smith is Co-founder and Partner at the Demand Driven Institute, the global authority in Demand Driven education, training, certification, and compliance.  Chad is the co-author of the third edition of Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning 3/E (Ptak and Smith, McGraw-Hill, 2011), Demand Driven Performance – Using Smart Metrics (Smith and Smith, McGraw-Hill, 2013), Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning V3 (Ptak and Smith, Industrial Press, 2019), Precisely Wrong - Why Conventional Planning Fails and How to Fix It (Ptak and Smith, Industrial Press 2017) and The Demand Driven Adaptive Enterprise - Surviving and Thriving in the VUCA World (Ptak and Smith, Industrial Press, 2018).

 

Before DDI, Chad Co-founded Constraints Management Group (CMG) in 1997, a services and technology company specializing in demand driven manufacturing, materials and project management systems for mid-range and large manufacturers. He served as Managing Partner of CMG from 1998 to 2015.  Clients, past and present, include Unilever, LeTourneau Technologies, Boeing, Intel, Erickson Air-Crane, Siemens, IBM, The Charles Machine Works (Ditch Witch) and Oregon Freeze Dry.  Chad is also a certified expert in all disciplines of the Theory of Constraints studying directly under the tutelage of the late Dr. Eli Goldratt.

Chad makes his home in Wenatchee, WA with his wife Sarah and two daughters Sophia and Lily. 

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LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demanddrivenchad

Follow Chad Smith on Twitter: @demanddrivenmrp

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Chad-Smith/e/B005D4X8AM/

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