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2021/2022  BA-BINBO1166U  Global Supply Chain Management

English Title
Global Supply Chain Management

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course First Quarter, Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in International Business
Course coordinator
  • Carsten Ørts Hansen - Department of Operations Management (OM)
  • Günter Prockl - Department of Digitalisation
Main academic disciplines
  • Management
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 01-07-2021

Relevant links

Learning objectives
Key objective of the course is to introduce students into the business challenges and solutions of supply chain management and modern business logistics in a global environment. Students should learn to identify and analyze specific basic and global supply chain management problems and relate it to theories, methods, and justifiable solutions. For the application and discussion of solutions they should acquire knowledge on concepts, structures, tools and processes, which are necessary for the management of global supply chains as well as on their application context of global supply chain management issues. Finally the students should learn to demonstrate the use of “flow thinking” and SCM terminology that is central to this course.

Upon course completion students should be able to:
Identify management issues, both physical & technical and managerial & behavioral, in global supply chains and logistics operations and relate them to key theories, models and concepts of supply chain management and modern business logistics.
Outline ways of factoring complexity in business situations arising from international business and inter-organizational relationships in operations like logistics, sourcing, and production
Apply basic theoretical ideas and concepts by using taught methods such as mapping global supply chains in terms of flows and scope and demonstrating comprehension of SCM concepts and terminology
Distinguish challenges in global procurement, production and logistics issues and analyze, both qualitatively and quantitatively, basic trade-offs such as global supplier, site and transport mode selection.

Students shall be assessed against these learning objectives of the course. To gain the highest grade in the exam, students must be able to select and recall basic appropriate models and concepts from the curriculum and present them in a comprehensive and well-argued way that may also put their findings into new perspectives.
Examination
Global Supply Chain Management:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Written sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Spring and Summer
Aids Limited aids, see the list below:
The student is allowed to bring
  • Non-programmable, financial calculators: HP10bll+ or Texas BA II Plus
  • Language dictionaries in paper format
The student will have access to
  • Advanced IT application package
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Supply Chain Management and modern business logistics provide theoretical as well as practical approaches for direct or indirect value creation by improving performance and/or reducing costs. Key is the alignment, configuration, integration and coordination of flows across manufacturers, retailers, and logistics service providers that are involved in such chains. This means that the institutional setting of a single firm and its business functions as well as the context and environment of the supply chain as a whole needs to be taken into account. Using mini-cases and company cases, the course is designed to reflect and to illustrate in different modules these different perspectives of whole supply chains as well as that of the involved single actor’s and respective that of single business functions like sourcing, production, or distribution. The course thus provides a basic understanding on theory and conceptions of modern business logistics and Supply Chain Management and helps to understand the different institutional settings of a total supply chain view as well as that on the single actors and their company functions.

Further on, globalization implies both globalization of operations (e.g. sourcing, 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 consider differences and similarities between various markets to set up synergized transport, inventory, warehousing, distribution, and communication systems. The course will take especially the logistics and supply chain challenges that result from such global environments into account.

The course built first on the basic theoretical fundaments of modern logistics and supply chain management, such as systems thinking, flow thinking, integration as well as other concepts that are adapted for logistics and Supply Chain Management issues. Across the views of different involved actors, students learn to apply these theoretical building blocks on different levels of description and analysis, for instance by applying arguments for different types of global supply chain designs and strategies, information sharing initiatives in the chain, or selecting distribution and transportation networks. 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 basic supply chain management issues such as ‘partnerships’, ‘information sharing’, and ‘supplier selection’.

The course includes case-based and mini-case-based application of key theoretical and operational concepts in order to understand the global supply chain management practices of leading companies such as Ford, Procter & Gamble, Metro, Tesco, or Toyota. Finally, this course has also been designed keeping in mind the faculty’s research competence in the field of global supply chain management. Problem settings and examples of past and current research projects will be applied to illustrate theories, specific context and related supply chain challenges. Where appropriate additionally guest speakers will be invited to support the distinct perspectives or to 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. Future guests might speak about “Globalization of Retailing Supply Chains”, or “RfID Applications in global Supply Chains”.

Description of the teaching methods
Interactive lectures, workshops, multi-media presentations, in-class assignments and guest lectures.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback is provided to students via different channels. About one third of the lectures contain in class case studies. Studies prepare answers on case related topics and receive direct in class feedback and solutions or resp. directions on the cases. For each teaching module there is at least one discussion forum on the canvas platform. Students provide their individual contributions to topics explored in the lecture. They are also requested to raise questions in these platforms and they may comment on questions of their fellows. Teachers add to these discussions by providing feedback and comments to the student’s contributions. There is an in class workshop that prepares for the specific exam format. In this workshop and additionally in the final wrap up lecture the students may additionally raise questions and receive feedback on the whole course. Finally there is always the opportunity to contact the teachers via email or to setup a meeting in the office hours.

Student workload
Lectures 42 hours
Preparation of lectures, readings, exam preparation 164 hours
Expected literature

The course literature includes a textbook that aims to provide students with a basic foundation in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and a list of articles that seeks to articulate key supply chain management issues.

Textbook: Mangan, J., Lalwani, C., Butcher, T. & R. Javadpour (2012), Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 2nd edition. Wiley & Sons.

Article list: to follow with the lecture plan.

Please note, minor changes may occur. The teacher will upload the final reading list to Learn two weeks before the course starts.

Last updated on 01-07-2021