General Information
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Target Audience
This course counts towards the Data Analytics and Modeling emphasis. The course is intended for students interested in general management or careers in consulting, operations, or marketing. Understanding how supply chain management impacts business performance is also of value for students aspiring to accounting and finance careers.
Course Mission
- Understand how to make supply chain design and policy decisions to develop the supply chain capabilities required to support the business strategy and improve the performance of a firm and of an entire supply chain
- Learn how to examine and improve the flow of materials and information through a network of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in order to help firms get the right product to the right customer in the right amount and at the right time.
- Learn how to make decisions on the following fundamental supply chain performance drivers: facilities, inventories, transportation, information, sourcing and pricing..
- Special emphasis is given to understanding of how supply chain decisions have to account for coordination requirements within and across firms, the impact of uncertainty, and the specific product and customer characteristics that derive from the overall business strategy.
Course Scope
Supply chains are networks of organizations that supply and transform materials and distribute final products to customers. This course views the supply chain from a general manager’s perspective. Supply chain management represents a great challenge as well as a tremendous opportunity for most firms. If designed and managed properly, supply chains are a crucial source of competitive advantage for both manufacturing and service enterprises. There is a growing realization that no company can do any better than its supply chain. This becomes even more important with shrinking product life cycles, growing product and service variety, and intensifying competition. The course emphasizes the use of qualitative and quantitative analysis in making supply chain management decisions.
Format
A combination of 2-hour and 3-hour classes over the Fall 2024 term.
Mix of lectures, case discussions, spreadsheet models, and interactive simulation games.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Full Case Analyses (3) – Group: 12% each + Peer Review | 36% |
| Individual Problem Set (1) | 14% |
| Class Participation: Case Discussion/Online Quizzed/Simulation Games | 15% |
| Final Take-Home Exam (During Fall Exam Period) | 35% |
Required Resources
- Textbook: Chopra, S., Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, & Operation (Pearson, Boston)
- Case packet
- Further materials (made available before/after the relevant sessions): slides, case solutions, Excel spreadsheets, sample final exam
- Supply chain simulation game