0 or 3 credits
Fall 2025 Lecture Distance Learning Upper Division
Supply chain management is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate all parties of the supply chain to fulfill a request from a customer. Companies like Amazon, Zara, Walmart, Toyota, Dell, and Procter & Gamble are proof that excellence in supply chain management is a must to achieve industry leadership. With increasing competition around the globe, supply chain management is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies. The main goal of this course is to introduce you to the key concepts and techniques that will allow you to analyze, manage and improve supply chain processes for different industries. The course is a combination of lectures, case studies, in-class exercises, and games with the goal of defining key tradeoffs that managers need to understand and evaluate to successfully manage complex supply chains. Quantitative tools designed to evaluate these tradeoffs will be studied and used extensively throughout the course. Topics that will be covered in this course include: Managing inventory, forecasting in supply chains, the optimal design of the supply chain, transportation and distribution, bullwhip effects and dealing with uncertainty, sourcing and supply contracts.
Learning Outcomes1Develop an understanding of how supply chain management can improve operations efficiency and market responsiveness under uncertainty.
2Utilize and apply theories, concepts, and optimization techniques in analyzing, managing and improving supply chain processes for various industries.
3Obtain skills to assess supply chain performance and make recommendations to enhance supply chain competitiveness in today's business environment.
4Identify current issues and trends in global supply chain management such as sustainability, consumer health, and national security.
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.