Supply Chain Management (L0017), 3 op

Basic information

Prerequisites

Introduction to Logistics
Also recommended Forwarding, Transport Systems I, Manufacturing Management

Course contents (core content level)

Basics of supply chain theory:
- Definition (holistic view) key flows and processes
- Visibility of customer (Order Penetration Point ?concept) in the supply chain
- Pull vs. push in a supply chain
Manufacturing network management
- Make or buy-decision
- Factory / facility location
- Distribution network planning
- Holistic orchestration of a supply chain
Global order-to-delivery process
- Significance of order-to-delivery-process in a supply chain
- Bullwhip-forrester ?phenomenon (amplification of demand distortions)
Integration of processes with the customer and the supplier
- VMI, development of sourcing, TOC-concept
- Adding value to the customer; VOP ?concept, CRM
Managing demand, materials and inventories in a supply chain
- Inventory management: reasons behind inventory, inventory costs
- Decreasing inventories
- Finding the right materials management principle for SKU?s
- Forecasting / materials planning process
Supply Chain Development
- IT systems
- Time and money as a basis for development
- Supply Chain performance measurement

Course contents (additional)

- Postponement-principal in the supply chain
- Specifics of international trade: the effect of Incoterms on supply chain solutions
- Supply Chain initiatives: SCOR, CPFR
- Industrial Management paradigms behind the supply chain thinking: JIT, Lean, Time-Based Management
- Example IT-systems: SCM- and CRM ?tools (introduction)

Core content level learning outcomes (knowledge and understanding)

After passing the course the student can look at a supply chain as a whole through both the processes and the material & information flow. The student understands how the degree of customer visibility affects the supply chain operations and can evaluate what the adequate level would be. The student can approach the key challenges in supply chain design: make or buy, facility location, distribution network planning and in a wider sense the whole supply chain orchestration and selection of supply chain model / solution. The student understands the significance of the inventories, the reasons behind the inventories, and how to reduce inventories. The student understands the challenges related to subcontracting and customer collaboration. The student understand, what supply chain development in practise means.

Core content level learning outcomes (skills)

After passing the course, the student is capable to
- Describe & model supply chains and analyse where the added value is
- Analysing decisions related to the supply chain: outsourcing, supplier selection, supply chain -configuration related aspects.
- Analysing inventories: why do they exist, what costs do they cause and how to decrease them.
- To reflect, how a supply chain should be developed and create performance measures to the supply chain.

Recommended reading

Juha-Matti Lehtonen (toim): Tuotantotalous. WSOY 2004 (in Finnish), chapters 4-6; recommended also chapter 3.
Handouts from lectures.
Two articles related to the classroom exercises.

Teaching and learning strategies

Lectures 12 h
Exercises (two essays) 27 h
Group work 12 h
Getting acquainted with the material 2 h
Student individual workload 24 h
Exam 3 h
Total 80 h

Teaching methods and student workload

Lectures
Individual research, reading
Exam
Group exercises
Assignments

Assessment weighting and grading

Classroom exercises, exam, two home essays
For passing the course it is required to pass all five classroom exercises, two essays and the examination.

Related competences of the degree programme

International and intercultural skills
Development skills in Order-Delivery –processes
Technical and economic way of thinking
Entrepreneurial, business and leadership skills