Sustainable Management of Global Supply chains

Course Objective
Society is putting increasing pressure on companies to re-evaluate their supply chains and realign decisions with sustainability in mind. While the focus used to be exclusively on economic goals, environmental and social aspects are becoming increasingly important. These new dimensions present global companies with new complex tasks.

The objectives of this course are to provide students with an overall framework for managing global supply chains and developing strategies (Academic & Research Skills), describe the developments, challenges, and opportunities in the management of sustainable and global supply chains (Broadening your Horizon) and showcase innovative approaches for success (Bridging Theory and Practice).

Academic & Research Skills
After successfully completing this course, you can analyze decisions related to international procurement, production, and distribution networks and evaluate their impact on coordination and pricing within a supply chain and sustainability; is able to recognize fundamental structures and to leave out irrelevant information, i.e., can create the strategy, structure, and planning of a supply chain in a fact-based and structured manner;
can put forward well-founded, substantiated points of view.

Bridging Theory and Practice
After successfully completing this course, you can explain contemporary concepts and theories on supply chain strategy and planning, specifically in the context of sustainability; can explain the topics of supply chain network design, outsourcing & sourcing strategies, contract design, incentive alignment, pricing and revenue management, sustainability, and humanitarian logistics. apply your theoretical knowledge of supply chains to detailed real-life case studies; make connections between the concepts discussed in order to operate in an international context successfully; can provide companies with recommendations about their processes and possibly conduct consultancy on supply chain design and management; can build models for (re) designing the physical flows while controlling the financial and information flows within supply chains; can analyze decisions related to international procurement, production, and distribution networks and evaluate their impact on coordination and pricing within a supply chain and sustainability; can create the strategy, structure, and planning of a supply chain in a fact-based and structured manner.

Broadening your Horizon
After successfully completing this course, you can describe the developments, challenges, and opportunities in the management of sustainable and global supply chains; critically discuss the infrastructure constraints, the logistics inefficiencies, and limitations in service operations; discuss and formulate recommendations on how to create opportunities in (sustainable) supply chain management with an emphasis on international aspects of global supply chains.

Course Content
This course focuses on the effective design and execution of global supply chains, emphasizing the opportunities and challenges that growing concerns about sustainability present. More specifically, this course covers topics related to global supply chain strategies, global network optimization, outsourcing & sourcing strategies, and contract design. The course furthermore tackles advanced supply chain concepts such as supply chain coordination, incentive alignment, pricing and revenue management and discusses their relation to sustainability. You are introduced to theoretical concepts emphasizing key trade-offs and phenomena, as well as best practice examples. You are also exposed to models and problem-solving tools applicable to the design and planning of (sustainable) supply chains. Upon completion, you should be able to look strategically at the full supply chain.

Additional Information Teaching Methods
Lectures
Tutorials
Participation

Method of Assessment

• Written Exam - Individual assessment
• Practical Assignment(s) - Group Assessment
• Participation assignments

Recommended background knowledge
1.1 Business Mathematics
1.4 Global Supply Chain Management
1.6 Business Processes