Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management
Exam will be 40 MC questions;
20 questions will be on process lectures
20 questions will be on people lectures; -> read the articles from the slides
Based on a Use Case; will be provided in advance of the exam
The ability to understand and explain Operations, Supply chain and Logistics management of a
company.
Students can explain the global nature of supply chains and the different types of supply
chains (Electronics, Capital goods, Events, etc.)
To understand the key supply chain/operations decision areas.
Capital goods are tangible assets that a business uses to produce goods or services that are used as
inputs for other businesses to produce consumer goods. Said another way, capital goods are
tangible assets, such as buildings, machinery, equipment, vehicles and tools that one organization
uses to produce goods or services as an input to produce consumer goods and goods for other
businesses. Capital goods are one of the three types of producer goods, the other two
being land and labour. The three are also known collectively as "primary factors of production"
A supply chain is a network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute a
specific product, and the supply chain represents the steps it takes to get the product or service to
the customer.
The goal of supply chains:
Every organization must make a product or a service that someone values
Supply chains are distributed and decentralised:
Most organizations function as part of larger supply chains.
Supply chains are often expensive:
Think of all costs from materials, staff, buildings, …
Think of the time it takes to bring products from China (electronics, sneakers, solar cells, …)
to Europe
Organizations must carefully manage their operations and supply chains in order to prosper,
and indeed, survive.
Supply Chain Management = The active management of supply chain activities and relationships
over the longer term, in order to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive
advantage. Includes contracts, audits, forecasting, …
Operations Management =The planning, scheduling, and control of the activities that transform
inputs into finished goods and services. Often used interchangeably with Supply Chain Management
but typically refers to the day-to-day running of the supply chain or a particular company location.
, Upstream = Activities positioned earlier in the supply chain.
Downstream = Activities positioned later in the supply chain.
First-tier supplier = A supplier that provides products or services directly to a firm.
Second-tier supplier = A supplier that provides products or services to a first-tier supplier.
Inbound Logistics = Goods arriving to a location, either from upstream or downstream.
Outbound Logistics = Goods leaving a location, either going upstream or downstream.
Beer Supply Chain Management -> The active
management of supply chain activities and
relationships in order to maximize customer
value and achieve a sustainable competitive
advantage.
One-off versus Repeated
Many types or ways of categorizing supply chains but there are basically:
Project… one-off, unique, often unpredictable, based on some experience, heavily
supervised
Continuous… repeatable activities, managed closely through processes, automation,
supervision, based on lots of experience
Between these two there is a spectrum of supply chains which share elements of both (e.g.
building a new windfarm at sea is a project; manufacturing the windmills is continuous)
Operations Manager/Director
Officially representing the operations area in decisions with sales, finance, regulators
Process selection, design, and improvement
Forecasting for decision making
Capacity planning for capital investment and resource levels
Controlling execution
Production Manager
Inventory management for amount and location
Planning and control for work scheduling and meeting demand
Ordering from suppliers, logistics and arranging
distribution
Order Desk Administrator
Entering orders from customers into the order system
Ensuring correct documentation is included with shipments and customers are kept
informed, invoiced
Purchaser/Buyer
Purchasing, managing supplier relationships… supplier contracts
