Supply chain management (ULMS076)

Supply chain management (SCM) has gained substantial attention in the last two decades due to globalisation and the advancement in information technology. In the contemporary business environment the nature of competition is now shifting from competing enterprises to competing supply chains. Therefore, effective management of supply chain is at the heart of business operation within an enterprise.

This module intends to provide students with a deep understanding of key concepts, principles, theories, and best practices of operations and supply chain management particularly focussing on two core and fundamental elements, lean and agile operations. The course will develop and advance students’ critical analysis and evaluation of lean, agile, and leagile operations and their application in the real business environment and the importance role of supply chain decision on the success of a firm.

Module leader: Ali Taghizadegan

Ali is currently working as a full time Operations Manager at Paragon Scientific while he is completing his PhD in Operations and Supply Chain Management context. He is specialised in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Lean Management and Leadership. His research interests embrace the identification of the processes in gaining a successful Collaborative Innovation, Business Model, Absorptive Capacity in the context of SMEs.

Aims

• To develop confidence in understanding and communicating complex ideas
• To develop skills in research, collaborative learning and producing and delivering presentations
• To introduce students to the key concept of operations and supply chain management including the important principles, techniques, and tools of lean, agile and leagile operations
• To introduce students to the concept of functional and innovative products and how to apply the right type of operations and supply chain for respective products
• To introduce students to the key concept of buy or make.

Content

The following topics will be considered on the module:

• What are operations and supply chain management and their different types and strategy?
• What are lean thinking and its tools and techniques?
• What are agile and leagile operation, and its techniques?
• What are functional and innovation products? What are their characteristics? What are their appropriate operations?
• Workshop (Lean simulation game, bullwhip effect, and beer game)
• What are strategic purchasing and its elements? (Buy vs. make.)

Structure

The module will be delivered over a three-week period in six two hour sessions (four hours per week, total 12 hours contact time). The final block will be an assessment session.

Each session will consist of short lecture style sessions interspersed with case studies and group discussions. The lecturer will demonstrate the approaches used in Operations and Supply Chain Management and students will have a number of opportunities to put what they are learning into practice with their classmates. Students will be expected to participate fully and actively throughout the sessions.

In addition, it is expected that students will spend 34-38 study hours outside of the classroom contact hours on activities including assigned reading, optional reading of areas of personal interest, homework tasks, web research and preparation for assessment. The ‘flipped classroom’ approach will be used, requiring students to prepare in advance for the sessions. Students should be aware that in order to fully benefit from the face-to-face classroom sessions, the preparation work assigned should have been done prior to the lecture.

The course will be practical in nature, with the sessions highly focussed on giving the students as much practical experience as possible, and encouraging them to put theory into practice throughout. The indicative schedule is as follows:

Teaching methods

The teaching approach will include the following:

• Taught sessions
• Flipped classroom – preparation work
• Small group working
• Group discussions
• Presentations
• Online learning
• Use of multimedia and interactive materials
• Use of case studies
• Workshops.

Assessment

Assessment will be by written essay/reflection of 1,000-1,200 words (worth 100% of the overall mark)

Standard University policies apply with regard to late submission of assessments.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

• Research, find, select, and present relevant facts and information in order to support the argument and findings
• Compare and discuss various scholars’ works and opinions and express their own point of view coherently, logically, and concisely
• Develop self-confidence and initiative, as well as written communication skills
• Demonstrate a general understanding of key concepts and principles of supply chain strategy including lean tools and techniques, agile and leagile operations, and make vs. buy
• Analyse and evaluate the right supply chain strategy for a product.

Skills

Key skills that will be developed:

• Collaboration and teamwork, through group discussions, activities and case studies in class
• Communication, developed orally in group discussions, activities and tasks in class, and in writing by production of assessed assignment
• Academic skills - academic writing will enable the students to improve and develop their intellectual skills including intellectual initiative, critical reflection, the ability to gather, assess, analyse and organise various data, problem solving, and marshal arguments coherently and concisely
• Organisational skills - tasks will assist the students to improve and develop their organisational skills including self-direction, self- discipline, to work under pressure and to meet deadlines, and management of time and resources
• Research skills, which will enhance students’ research skills including the ability to search through various academic sources, find relevant facts and data, paraphrasing and bibliography.

Books, ebooks and websites

The University Library website provides access to many relevant books and electronic books, as well as academic journals and databases.