International supply chains

Course content

Due to the development of information and communication technologies and the globalisation of markets in the last two decades, managers of business firms have realised that in order to improve the organisation's competitive edge in the global marketplaces, it is no longer enough to achieve high efficiency only within their own organisation. They must also be involved in the management of a global network of the upstream firms that provide inputs, and downstream firms responsible for the delivery and after-sales services of their products to end customers. Logistics and supply chain management is about managing the hand-offs in a supply chain – hand-offs of either information or product. The design of a logistics system is critically linked to the objectives of the supply chain. Our goal in this course is to understand how logistical decisions impact the performance of the firm as well as the entire supply chain. The key will be to understand the link between supply chain structures and logistical capabilities in a firm or the entire supply chain. In this course we will focus on the key concepts, best practices, innovative ideas, practical and critical thinking of global supply chain management. Students will impart analytical and problem solving skills necessary to develop solutions for a variety of supply chain management and design problems and develop an understanding for use of information technology in global supply chain optimisation. Students will be challenged to think, discuss, share, and debate on the issues brought up. Extensive examples from industries as diverse as fashion, grocery, automobile, computers and consumer products are used to illustrate the concepts and practices.

This course contributes to the Sustainable Business Operations pedagogical pathway of the Sustainable Development initiative that seek to provide an integrated training in sustainability.

Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)

At the end of the course, the student should be able to : -Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts in supply chain management related to everyday business operations -Evaluate the key drivers of supply chain management and their impact on strategy and on other functions of the company -Identify improvement opportunities that exist within supply chains in different industries -Understand what kind of information is exchanged in a supply chain and how it is used to benefit all supply chain partners -Apply analytical and problem solving skills necessary to develop solutions for supply chain problems and develop an understanding for use of information technology in supply chain optimisation -Address sustainability issues within a supply chain of the manufacturing or services sector

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures, Exercises, Guest speakers, Group and individual assignments, Case studies

Contribution to the teaching profile

Identify ethical issues related to scientific research in management and economics; Understand and defend different point of view to analyze problems and find innovative solutions; Address problems systematically and transdisciplinary to ensure a scientific approach.Thorough and critical understanding of fundamental economic concepts and models as they apply to decisions made by individuals, firms and policy makers; Knowledge of key macro and sector-specific facts and economic trends and their drivers; bring complex problems to a form that makes them amenable to analysis and to the identification of a solution, taking the objectives and the implementation constraints into account; identify and apply the analytical tools relevant for the problem at hand. (Be able to explain the limitations of these tools if any.) ; take the perspectives and incentives of different stakeholders into account to ensure accurate problem analysis and effective implementation of projects or decisions; Keep up to date about political and economic developments to improve business practice

Other information

Contacts

evelyne.vanpoucke@ulb.ac.be

Campus

Solbosch

Evaluation

Method(s) of evaluation

Other

Other

Lectures, Exercises, Guest speakers, Group and individual assignments, Case studies, assessment

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

The course evaluation will be based on the following components: 1. Final group project (40%), 2. Assignments (40%), 3. Individual assessment (20%)

The grade for the group assignment will only be taken into account if a grade of >7/20 is obtained for the individual assessment.

If the grade for the individual assessment is =<7/20, the individual assessment will account for 50% (instead of 20%).

Language(s) of evaluation

english