Introduction to Supply Chain Management Study Guide

The course is designed to provide students with an overview of supply chain management and major flows in the supply chain. The course objectives are to provide students with an understanding of the individual processes of supply chain management and their interrelationships within individual companies and across the supply chain. Supply chain management is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers. It covers almost all activity within the organization and incorporates a number of key success factors, including a clear procurement strategy, effective control systems, and development of expertise. The course is divided into 11 units, each containing a minimum of three sections. Each section focuses on a key concept, and industry case studies are used to provide a better appreciation of the concepts and their application. Students are required to submit a written summary of their learnings for each completed unit and participate in group discussions. The course grading is based on hand-ins, including one individual assignment, one group assignment, participation in group discussions, a mid-semester examination, and an end-of-term examination. The assignments are due before the end of the specified day of delivery, and failure to deliver assignments on time will attract penalties in the form of a reduced grade. The required textbooks for the course include Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation by Chopra, Meindl, and Kalra, Operations and Supply Chain Management by Jacobs, Chase, and Lummus, and Designing and Managing the Supply Chain by Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky, Simchi-Levi, and Shankar. The course emphasizes academic and scientific writing skills, and students are required to follow the standards of scientific writing in their presentations and assignments. The term paper, which is optional, gives students the opportunity to explore one of the topics covered in the course in greater detail. The course facilitator requires students to exhibit utmost academic and scientific writing skills in their presentations and assignments. The assignments should be written in Times New Roman, Font size 12, 1.5 spaced with one-inch margins, and with a list of references based on the Harvard Style. The course assignments include a summary of learnings for unit 1, a case study on the supply chain of Spanish fast fashion retailer Inditex-Zara, a summary of learnings for unit 4, an essay on the requisition-to-pay process, and a summary of learnings for unit 7. Participation in online discussions accounts for 5% of the final grade, and the total score for all assignments is converted to 10% of the final grade. The mid-semester examination accounts for 15% of the final grade, and the facilitator may opt to use an assignment as the mid-semester examination.