Career Focus

This course is appropriate for students interested in pursuing careers in any management function (e.g., operations, marketing, finance) in firms that make, sell and/or distribute physical products, or in organizations (e.g., consulting firms, investment banks, private equity firms, software providers, transportation providers) that analyze, invest in, and/or offer products and services to those firms.

Educational Objectives

Supply Chain Management (SCM) builds on aspects of the first-year Technology and Operations Management (RC TOM) course. However, whereas RC TOM focuses primarily on producing and developing products and services, SCM emphasizes managing product availability, especially in a context of rapid product proliferation, short product life cycles, and global networks of suppliers and customers. Hence, topics not examined in RC TOM such as inventory management, distribution economics, and demand forecasting are explored in depth in SCM.

SCM also differs from RC TOM in that RC TOM concentrates primarily on material and information flows within an organization, whereas SCM focuses on managing material and information flows across functional and organizational boundaries. Due to the boundary-spanning nature of supply chain management, the SCM course also has strong links to the first-year courses in marketing, leadership, and strategy. The course emphasizes the "general manager's perspective" in managing supply chains. Cases in the course illustrate that barriers to integrating supply chains often relate to organizational issues (e.g., misaligned incentives or change management challenges) and operational execution problems (e.g., misplaced SKUs in a retail store) that fall squarely in the domain of the general manager. Numerous case protagonists and expert guests will join sessions throughout the semester to share their broader management perspectives.

Data-driven, analytical decision-making is often critical in supply chain management, and thus SCM also builds on aspects of the first-year Data Science and AI for Leaders (RC DSAIL) course. However, whereas RC DSAIL focuses primarily on mechanics and applications of particular data science techniques, SCA emphasizes how to deploy data science (analytics) capabilities in business operations and how employees can best leverage their own expertise and data science tools to improve business outcomes. The course makes clear that suitable information technology and appropriate use of analytical tools are necessary, but by no means sufficient, for supply chain management.

Grading

Grading will be based on class participation, engagement, and a capstone project consisting of playing a week-long “Supply Chain Game” simulation and writing a corresponding report.

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