Supply Chain Management

In this module we take a look at management decision making across organisations. In particular, we are concerned with the notion of supply chain management and the competitive benefits that may be gained from the adoption of a supply chain or network perspective.

It has been claimed that it is not firms, but supply chains that compete. Successful organisations today broaden their energies to the design and management of processes that extend beyond the traditional enterprise boundaries and organise them throughout a value chain of multiple interconnected companies.

The module therefore sets out to provide a holistic strategic view of supply chain management as a source of competitive advantage. It is designed to help you develop skills in designing business models and managing business processes that are characterised by this shift from single organisational management to inter-organisational networks management. It examines five core questions:

Where does supply chain management fit within the business decision making strategies?
How do supply chains behave?
Why are supply chain relationships important?
What coordinating mechanisms exist to manage supply chains?
What are the current developments in the fields of supply chain management opened up by e-commerce and the current economic and business contexts?

The module focuses on the structural elements of SCM (the design of supply networks, the design and management of business contracts and supplier relationships) and the management of business processes that extend far beyond single companies.