Operations Management and Business Logistics [EINGB333]

Learning outcomes

This course provides a general introduction to operations and supply chain management. Operations Management studies the process by which inputs of materials, labor, capital and information are transformed into products and services which the consumers are willing to pay for. These processes can be managed well or poorly. Knowledge introduced in this course will help you understand the reasons for both. Business logistics is primarily concerned with the efficient integration of suppliers, factories, warehouses and stores so that merchandise is produced and distributed in the right quantities, to the right locations and at the right time, and so as to minimize total system cost subject to service requirements. This course will introduce you with the tools used in planning and coordinating a supply chain.

The main objective of this course is to introduce tools and techniques that are needed to understand operations and supply chain processes and to provide students with the ability to analyze and continuously improve these processes.

Objectives

Critical and Integrative Thinking

Each student shall be able to identify key issues in a business setting, develop a perspective that is supported with relevant information and integrative thinking, to draw and assess conclusions. Assessment: case reports, final exam

Content

Table of contents

1. Introduction to Operations Management: Objective and challenges in Operations Management. Introduction to manufacturing processes
2. Basics of Process Flows: Bottleneck analysis, capacity planning.
3. Application of Process Analysis. Little’s law and inventory build-up: Application of little’s law and inventory build-up diagrams
4. Capacity analysis: Cost of waiting and determining capacity of processes.
5. Application of Capacity Analysis
6. Poisson processes: Analyzing random arrivals
7. Process flow with variability: Benefits of pooling resources
8. Waiting time analysis of M/M/1 queues
9. General Queueing Theory
10. Application of Queueing theory: Cost of waiting with random arrivals and service times
11. Project planning: Critical Path Method
12. Linear programming: Review of linear programming
13. Application of Project planning tools
14. Mid-term review
15. Introduction to Supply Chain Management
16. Inventory Management: EOQ model
17. Application of EOQ Model
18. Demand forecasting: Time series and causal models of demand forecasting
19. Inventory Management: Safety-stock (Fixed order quantity and periodic review inventory models)
20. Newsvendor model: Introduction and application of newsvendor’s model
21. Beergame (simulation): Order fluctuations in supply chains
22. Bullwhip effect: Cause of order fluctuations in supply chains. Lean Operations (Toyota Production System)
23. Disruption risk management in supply chains
24. Total quality management: Six-sigma quality and statistical quality control
25. Mock exam
26. Final review: Question and answers

Exercises description

Students would be expected to hand in homework on business cases that would be discussed in the class. These reports should be submitted as group assignments. The questions for each homework will be posted online on the course website on Webcampus. 3-4 (depending on the exact schedule) case reports to be submitted during the term.