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HAI.2GSC - Global Supply Chain Management* Q4

Faculty
Aseem Kinra and Günter Prockl and guest lecturers
Course Coordinator
Aseem Kinra
Course content, structure and teaching
Globalisation implies both globalisation of operations (e.g. production and logistics) and that of consumption. Customers and suppliers in one country are different from those in another, just as transport, inventory, warehousing, distribution and communication systems differ to cater to specific business environments. Since the scope of supply chain management spans the entire set of organizations from procurement of materials and components to delivery of finished products to the end consumer, it poses additional complexity in the form of extended supply chains where, for example, a company develops a new product in the United States, sources and manufactures it in Asia, and distributes and markets it in the US, Asia and Europe. Therefore, setting up and managing international or global supply chains means that sourcing, production and distribution have to take into account differences and similarities between various markets to set up synergised transport, inventory, warehousing, distribution and communication systems.
Some of the central issues of this introductory course are:
  • Introduction to global supply chain management, operations and strategy
  • Managing environmental uncertainty in global supply chains
  • Introduction to different types of global supply chain management issues related to procurement, production and distribution
  • Global transport planning and management
  • Global supplier selection and inventory management
Beyond the theoretical background provided in the introductory sessions, the course emphasizes on the ‘how to’ aspects of global supply chain management. Each session therefore strives on creating a toolbox for the students that may be applied in future practical settings, for dealing with global supply chain management issues such as ‘partnerships’, ‘information sharing’, and ‘supplier selection’. The course also includes case-based application of key theoretical concepts in order to understand the global supply chain management practices of leading companies such as Wal-mart, Procter & Gamble, Toys’ R Us and Toyota. Finally, this course has been designed keeping in mind the faculty’s research competence in the field of global supply chain management, and also includes academic guest speakers who relate their research to the management of global supply chains. Guest lectures in the past have included themes such as ‘product and process innovation’, and ‘Efficient Consumer Response’ in the global supply chain.
After this course, students will be able to understand the issues related to global supply chain management. They are able to identify the concepts, structures, tools and processes, which are necessary for the management of global supply chains.
Interactive lectures, case-based application workshops, multi-media presentations, in-class assignments and guest lectures.
Learning Objectives
Upon course completion students should be able to:
  • Map global supply chains in terms of flows and scope
  • Distinguish between global procurement, production and logistics issues
  • Analyse, both qualitatively and quantitatively, basic trade-off’s in global supplier, site and transport mode selection
  • Suggest ways of factoring complexity arising from international business and inter-organisational relationships into operations like logistics and production
  • Identify management issues, both physical & technical and managerial & behavioural, in global supply chain operations
  • Demonstrate comprehension of SCM concepts and terminology
Students shall be assessed against these learning objectives of the course and should be able to relate to the course content in the final exam. Students should be able to identify global supply chain management problems. Presenting justifiable solutions to these problems shall provide additional value to the results that students seek to obtain through the final examination. Finally, students should be able to demonstrate the use of “flow mentality” and SCM terminology that is central to this course.
Type of examination, exam aids and assessment
Written 4-hour closed book exam, graded by internal examiner on the 7-point scale. The make-up and re-examination takes place according to the same rules as the regular examination.
No aids allowed other than basic language dictionaries (e.g. from mother tongue to English and visa versa and English/English) and non-programmable calculators.
Teaching methods
Interactive lectures, workshops, multi-media presentations, in-class assignments and guest lectures.
Course literature
Indicative literature:
The course literature includes a textbook that aims to provide students with a foundation in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and a list of articles that seeks to articulate key global supply chain management issues.
  • Textbook: Mangan, J., Lalwani, C. & Butcher, T. (2008), Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Wiley & Sons.
  • Article list: to follow with the lecture plan.
Recommended literature
The course literature includes a list of articles that seek to articulate key global supply chain management issues, and a basic text-book (subject to change) that aims to provide students with an introduction to Supply Chain Management.
Articles:
  • Monczka, Robert M. and Morgan, J. (1997): What's wrong with supply chain management? Purchasing, vol. 122, iss. 1, pp. 69-73.
  • Kopczak, L. R. and Johnson, M. Eric (2003): The Supply-Chain management effect. MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 27-34.
  • Mentzer, John T., William de Witt, James S. Keebler, Soonhong Min, Nancy W. Nix, Carlo D. Smith and Zach G. Zacharia (2001): “Defining supply chain management”, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 1-26.
  • Crone, M. (2006): Are global supply chains too risky? Supply Chain Management Review, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 28-35.
  • Lambert, D. M. & Knemeyer, M. A. (2004): We’re in this together. Harvard Business Review, Dec. 2004, pp. 114-122.
  • Boyson, S., Corsi, T., Dresner, M. and Harrington, L. (2004): Global Supply Chain Management Style depends on company size and scale. World Trade, Vol. 20, Iss.10 pp. 32 – 36.
  • Raman, A., DeHoratius, N. & Zeynep, T. (2001): The Achilles’ heel of supply chain management. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 79, No. 5, pp. 25-28.
  • Tierney, S. (2004): The causes of complexity. Supply Chain Europe, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 20-21.
  • Cooper, Martha C. (2005): Map your supply chain. CSCMP Explores, Vol. 2, Winter, pp. 1-15.
  • Arnold, David (2000): Seven rules of International distribution. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 78, No. 6.
  • Bowersox, D. J. and Calantone, R. J. (1998): Global logistics. Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 83-93.
  • Trunick, Perry A. (2005): 10 things to consider when establishing a global distribution network, in: Logistics Today, 46, 9, S. 26-28.
  • De Koster, R. and Shinohara, M. (2006): Supply chain culture clashes in Europe. Pitfalls in Japanese service operations. Supply Chain Forum: International Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 60-68.
  • Prasad, S. Tata, J. & Motwani, J. (2001): International supply chain management: learning and evolving networks. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 31-36.
  • Levy, D. L. (1997): Lean Production in an International Supply Chain. Sloan Management Review, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 94-102.
  • Trent, R. & Monczka, M. (2005): Achieving excellence in global sourcing. MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 24-32.
Foundational SCM text book (subject to availability and change): Skjøtt-Larsen, T., Schary, P.B., Mikkola, J.H. and Kotzab, H. (2007), Managing the Global Supply Chain (TSL). 3nd edition. Copenhagen Business School Press, Copenhagen 2007.

Last updated by The electives Office 15/12/2009