Supply Chain Management

Course aims
In this course, you will examine the basic concepts and tools of supply chain management within the broader framework of integrated intra- and inter-firm operations. The aim of the course is to bring together related but traditionally separate sub-disciplines of management. Operations Management, which deals with the planning, scheduling and control of production activities within the business firm. Supply Chain Management, which focuses on the market-integrated production activities of networks or chains of specialised firms that sequentially convert raw materials into increasingly complex intermediate and final products.

Although these two sub-disciplines have been taught at universities as separate management subjects, it is increasingly apparent that they should be combined. The sourcing of inputs from upstream suppliers and the distribution of outputs to downstream customers cannot be separated from the management of in-house production and logistic support for production facilities and products (e.g. transportation, storage). Thus, the course also draws on other subdisciplines of management, particularly procurement and logistics.

Course structure
The course is divided into four parts. Value creation, customer service and value-adding chains (Units 1-2) Products, capabilities and processes (Units 3-5) Management of support operations (Units 6-11) Supply chain coordination (Unit 12)

The purpose of this structure is to discuss supply chain operations in the broader framework of value-adding activities. The end-customer is the beneficiary of a sequence of value-adding operations that provide customer service; the final (downstream) demand driving all activities along the value-adding chain. The division of labour between different organisations has to be considered, and a distinction drawn between in-house (internal) value-adding operations and in- and out-bound (external) supply chain activities. Part 1 of the course will focus on these issues; and Part 2 will address product and process development, capability formation and capacity management. Part 3 will consider functional areas of activity that support production operations and provide the in- and out-bound links with upstream suppliers and downstream distributors/customers (logistic support, inventory management distribution management, procurement, operations planning and management and supply chain information systems). Finally, Part 4 will focus on supply chain coordination; ie, the strategies and procedures that firms may adopt to tailor their supply chain activities to achieve their business objectives.
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Part 1: Value Creation, Customer Service and Value- adding Chains

Unit 1, Supply Chain and Activity Management, provides an overview of how intra- and inter-firm business processes are integrated, and sets the scene for the discussion of operations and supply chain management in globalised business environment. Unit 2, Supply Chain Transactions and Customer Service, considers the concept of customer service, the final demand and end-product focus of value adding, demand forecasting, and product innovation/differentiation.

Part 2: Product, Capabilities and Processes

Unit 3, Product Development and Support, focuses on product development activities and considerations of product in-use/through life support during the early stages of product definition and design. Unit 4, Intra-firm Production Processes, considers drivers of intra-firm activity integration. It provides an overview of manufacturing and service production processes, challenges posed by jobbing-, batch- and volume-based activity coordination, the concept of production capacity, new capacity formation and capacity utilisation. Unit 5, Inter-firm Production Activities and Networks, considers interdependencies and interoperability between activities dispersed across organisational boundaries, the formation of inter-firm supply networks and chains, and challenges to be faced by firms that wish to manage up- and down-stream activities across organisational boundaries.

Part 3: Management of Support Operations

Unit 6, Logistics Support, provides an overview of transport modes, networks and operations in supply chains, transport capacity utilisation, costing and pricing, warehousing and product handling, trade-offs associated with transport and storage functions and facility location. Unit 7, Inventory Management, considers inventory optimisation concepts and decision support tools, practical inventory management approaches, and technological and organisational challenges posed by just-in-time (JIT) customer demands. Unit 8, Output Distribution, provides an overview of distribution channels and customer support facilities, after-sales product support and the interface between production and downstream distribution activities. Unit 9, Procurement, considers input requirements specification, source selection, supplier performance requirements, contracting, smart procurement and the management of supplier relations. Unit 10, Production Planning, Scheduling and Control, provides a review of aggregate planning, master scheduling, Materials and Enterprise Requirements/Resource Planning (MRP and ERP) tools, and coordinated planning and control of product flows across the supply chain. Unit 11, Supply Chain Information Systems, provides an overview of supply chain information flows, IT infrastructure and computer-enabled network integration, including ecommerce, the Internet and virtual supply chains.

Part 4: Supply Chain Coordination

Unit 12, Supply Chain Coordination and Tailoring, examines challenges posed by the integration of business processes within and across firms and industries in the global economy, and the mechanics and critical success factors in collaborative, cross-organisation
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SCM arrangements. It concludes with a brief discussion of the importance of the external physical, economic and technological environment for supply chain operations and the current state of SCM research.

Learning outcomes
When you have completed this course you should be able to: understand and analyse the challenges posed by the integration of business processes within and across firms and industries in the global economy define the key features of supply chains and production processes in manufacturing and service industries evaluate and discuss the procurement of goods and services from upstream suppliers and advise on the associated source selection, contracting and supplier management issues compare the workings of distribution channels and the provision of customer service by lean and agile suppliers analyse the cost effectiveness of using different transport modes and warehousing facilities in manufacturing and service industries compare a range of approaches to inventory management and the coordination of production and sales using operations management tools such as aggregate plans, master schedules and materials requirements planning understand the importance of computer-enabled integration of supply chains and the use of the internet as a means to reduce the bullwhip effect and enhance the efficiency of business activities compare and evaluate different supply chain typologies and their application to tailor supply chain structures to different market conditions discuss the current state of supply chain management research.

Skills you will need

There are no pre-requisites for this course.

How the course relates to other MBT courses and the overall program
This course examines the relationship between the organisation, its internal operations and its relationships with upstream suppliers and downstream customers. The main challenge to be addressed in this context concerns the extent to which a focal firm can benefit from specialisation and market-mediated division of labour but also try to use its relationships with upstream suppliers and downstream customers to manage or control (to its advantage) the chain of value-adding activities within which it operates. Many management competencies addressed in some other MBT courses are also addressed in this course, but with a particular focus on operations and supply chain management. These other courses include GBAT9114 Principles of Marketing, GBAT9117 E-Business: Strategy and Management, GBAT9121 Managing Agile Organisations, and GBAT9102 Management of Manufacturing Systems.

Supply Chain Management GBAT9127