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CM SU3D - Supply Chain Management, Relationships, Chains & Networks

Faculty
Sof Thrane, CBS / Kim Sundtoft Hald, CBS

Course Coordinator
ISUP Secretariat

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Basic knowledge in economics and organization at bachelor level.
Closed for CBS students studying Cand.merc. SCM.

Aim of the course

In today’s fast changing and complex business environment no company has sufficient resources to satisfy the requirement of any customer and therefore is dependent on the skills, resources and actions from suppliers, distributors, customers and even competitors. Therefore, any company must understand the nature and functioning of their supply chains, secure optimal process design, increase their ability to select the right suppliers and customers, assess and manage their existing relationships, make better outsourcing and investment decisions, and design supportive technologies.

New types of supply chains organised in complex networks have appeared. Strategy has changed from implementing strategies in confrontation with external competitors to a process of building, managing and exploiting relationships with others. In this perspective strategising involves elements of co-operation, integration and separation in a company’s relationships. Examples of co-operation may include co-operation with a supplier in product development, in joint logistics, quality management etc. Such cooperation based on long term relationships may improve innovative and logistics performance for the network and supply chain as a whole. Integration and cooperation however also induce risk for cooperating firms. E.g. how is profit shared and dependence on suppliers handled? The course discusses both technologies and approaches for improving supply chain performance, and cooperation as well as approaches and technologies to minimise and deal with supply chain risk.

Course content, structure and teaching
  • Supply chain definitions and practices (SCM-definitions, Roles and functions in SCM, The boundaries of SCM)
  • Theorizing supply chain management (Economic theory and SCM, Organization theory and SCM, Complex adaptive systems, Social Network theory)
  • Supply Chain structure and processes (Supply chain structure, Processes and mapping, Interdependence and coordination)
  • Supply chain relationships (Types of relationships, Value and attractivity in buyer-supplier relationship, Trust/Power in buyer-supplier relationships, Portfolio Relationships)
  • Governance (Cooperation dilemmas, Choice of governance, Outsourcing)
  • Network theories (Structural holes, Social Capital & Norms)
  • Hybrids (Internal hybrids: crafting internal markets, External Hybrids: Mobilization and motivation of suppliers)
  • Open Books (The implementation of open books, Valuechain analysis and ABC)
  • Network accounting (Customer accounting, Supplier accounting, Accounting in interfirm networks)
  • Summing up
Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the course students will be able to analyse and manage supply chains, partnerships and networks from holistic and company perspectives in relation to strategy, optimisation, management and governance. Students will gain an understanding of various types of inter-firm cooperation, how to structure personal and firm relationships and will learn how to manage and develop these different types of relationships. The course gives both a broad and comprehensive overview of different approaches to and theories about the management of supply chains, relationships and networks, as well as it has a practical approach focusing on managerial technologies used to control and manage networks and supply chains. Students will be familiar with models, systems and technologies to manage inter-firm relationships such as Process Mapping, Portfolio models for strategic purchasing, Total cost of ownership, Customer and supplier accounting, and Open books.

At the exam students should demonstrate: Knowledge of principles, elements and theories of network and supply chain management. An ability to compare different theories and technologies.Be able to discuss the theories and technologies applicability in various settings. A capacity to reflect upon the theories underlying assumptions.

Type of examination, exam aids and assessment

Final exam: Individual oral exam without preparation.

Re-take exam: 24-hour written exam, equivalent to the oral exam.

Teaching methods

Teaching will be based on lectures, dialog, group discussions and company presentations.

Recommended literature
  • Mentzer, J.T., Stank, T.P., and Esper, T.L. (2008). Supply Chain Management and its relationship to logistics, marketing, production, and operations management, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 31-46.
  • Lambert, D.M., Garcia-Dastugue, S.J., and Croxton, K.L. (2008). The role of logistics managers in the cross-functional implementation of supply chain management. Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 113-132.
  • Cordon, C. and Hald, K.S. (2008). The Chief Supply Chain Officer – Designing and managing lean and agile supply chains, Chapter 7, pp. 113-142. In: Bottger, P. (ed): Leading in the Top Team: The CXO Challenge, Cambridge University Press.
  • Hald, K.S. (2008). The Chief Manufacturing Officer, Chapter 8, pp. 143-160. In: Bottger, P. (ed): Leading in the Top Team: The CXO Challenge, Cambridge, University Press.
  • Ketcher, D.J. and Hult, G.T.M. (2007). Bridging organization theory and supply chain management: The case of best value supply chains, Journal of Operations Management, 25, pp. 573-580.
  • Choi, T.Y. and Wu, Z. (2009). Triads in Supply Networks: Theorizing Buyer-Supplier-Supplier Relationships, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Volume 45, Number 1, pp. 8-25.
  • Borgatti, S.P. and Li, X. (2009). On Social Network Analysis in a Supply Chain Context, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Volume 45, Number 2, pp. 5-22.
  • Choi, T.Y., Dooley, K.J., and Rungtusanatham, M. (2001). Supply network and complex adaptive systems: control versus emergence, Journal of Operations Management, 19, pp. 351-366.
  • Choi, T.Y. and Hong, Y. (2002). Unveiling the structure of supply networks: case studies in Honda, Acura, and DaimlerChrysler, Journal of Operations Management, 20, pp. 469-493.
  • Gardner, J.T. and Cooper, M.C. (2003). Strategic Supply Chain Mapping Approaches, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 37-64.
  • Skipper, J.B., Craighead, C.W., Byre, T.A., and Rainer, R.K. (2008). Towards a theoretical foundation of supply network interdependence and technology-enabled coordination strategies, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 39-56.
  • Bernardes, E.S. and Hanna, M.D. (2009). A theoretical review of flexibility, agility and responsiveness in the operations management literature: Toward a conceptual definition of customer responsiveness, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 29 No. 1, 2009, pp. 30-53.
  • Liker, J.K. & Choi, T.Y. (2004). Building Deep Supplier Relationships, Harvard Business Review, December, pp. 104-113.
  • Hald, K.S., Cordon, C. & Vollmann, T.E. (2009). Towards an understanding of attraction in buyer–supplier relationships , Industrial Marketing Management.
  • Olsen, R.F. og Ellram, L. (1997) A portfolio approach to supplier relationships, Industrial Marketing Management, 26 (2), pp. 101-113
  • Zeng, M & Chen, X (2003) Achieving cooperation in multiparty alliances: A Social dilemma approach to partnership management, Academy of Management Review, vol. 28, pp. 587-605
  • Williamson, O. E (2005) The Economics of Governance. , American Economic Review, May2005, Vol. 95 Issue 2, p1-18
  • Amaral, Billington and Tsay (2004) Outsourcing production without losing control. Supply chain management review, November/december
  • Coleman, J. S. (1988) Social capital in the creation of human capital, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 94, supplement no. 6 pp. 95-120
  • Burt, R (1992) The social structure of competition, chapter one, Harvard university press, 8- 49
  • Dyer, J. H. & Nobeoka, K. (2000) Creating and managing a high performance knowledge-sharing network: the Toyota case” Strategic Management Journal, vol. 21, pp.345-367
  • Foss, N., J ( 2003) Selective Intervention and Internal Hybrids: Interpreting and Learning from the Rise and Decline of the Oticon Spaghetti Organization, Organization Science, No. 3, May-June
  • Dekker:, C, H (2003): Value chain analysis in interfirm relationships: A field study, Management Accounting Research vol. 14 pp. 1-23
  • Kajüter, P. Kulmala, H I (2005). Open-book accounting in networks. Potential achievements and reasons for failure ” Management Accounting Research, 16, pp.179-204.
  • Thrane, Nielsen and Bautrup (2008). Opening the books – Black boxing risk, profit and opportunism” Proceedings new directions in management accounting conference
  • Ellram, L.S. (1995), Total cost of ownership – an analysis approach for purchasing, International Journal of Distribution and Logistics Management, Vol. 25, No. 8, pp. 4-23.
  • Helgesen, Ø (2007) Customer accounting and customer profitability analysis for the orderhandling industry—A managerial accounting approach, Industrial Marketing Management 36 (2007) 757–769
  • Miller, P & O’Leary, T. (2007) Mediating instruments and making markets: Capital budgeting, science and the economy, Accounting, Organizations and Society 32 pp 701–734

Sidst opdateret af ISUP Secretariat 29.01.2010