CMSC also differs from first-year TOM in that first-year TOM concentrates primarily on material and information flows within an organization, whereas CMSC focuses on managing material and information flows across functional and organizational boundaries. Due to the boundary-spanning nature of supply chain management, the CMSC course also has strong links to the first year courses in marketing, leadership, control, and finance. The course emphasizes the "general manager's perspective" in supply chains. Cases in the course illustrate that barriers to integrating supply chains often relate to behavioral issues (e.g., misaligned incentives and change management challenges) and operational execution problems that fall squarely in the domain of the general manager. The course makes clear that suitable information technology and knowledge of analytical tools are necessary, but not sufficient, ingredients for supply chain integration.

Content and Organization

The CMSC course comprises four modules:

1. Logistics - This module examines transportation economics, the role of distributors, and network design for the efficient and effective flow and storage of goods and information in a supply chain.
2. Planning - This module provides an introduction to the basics of supply chain management, with an emphasis on how to design and manage a supply chain to ensure that product supply meets product demand. It introduces students to basic analytical tools for inventory and production planning as well as the role of inventory in the broader context of business strategy and financial performance.
3. Incentive Alignment - This module introduces students to the problems that arise due to conflicting channel incentives and provides a framework for analyzing these problems.
4. Operational Execution - This module considers common execution problems that undermine supply chain performance, and identifies potential approaches (such as RFID technologies and process design) for managing these problems.