Course Syllabus

Supply Chain Management – MANGT 662

Spring 2003

Instructor: Dr. Ike Ehie

Office: Calvin 107
Phone: 532-6180
Fax: 532-7809
E-mail: iehie@ksu.edu
Office Hours: MWF, 11:00 – 12 Noon & By Appointment
Class Meet: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 – 10:45 a.m., Calvin C116

Note: I will make every effort to be available during my office hours. However, due to
my administrative responsibilities, I may be away during the office hour. If this happens,
do accept my apologies and my administrative assistant should work with you to
schedule a more convenient time for me to meet with you.

I. Course Description:

This course addresses the interrelationship between operations and other functions
required to deliver value to the end customer. Topics include major processes to manage
the flows of goods, services, and information through core functions such as logistics,
operations, and purchasing. Supply chain management activities - production, inventory
management, warehousing, transportation, information flow, and facility location - have
been performed since the start of commercial activity. It is difficult to visualize any product
that could reach a customer without logistical support. Yet it is only over the last few years
that firms have started focusing on supply chain management as a source of competitive
advantage. Supply chain management represents a great challenge as well as a tremendous
opportunity for most firms.

II. Course Objectives:

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a systems approach that enables companies to be

competitive in the global economy. Companies such as Dell and Wal-Mart have used the
tools of SCM to set themselves ahead of their competition. The goal of this course is to
understand how supply chain decisions impact the performance of the firm as well as the
entire supply chain. The key will be to understand the link between supply chain structures
and capabilities of the firm.

Although SCM provides a significant competitive advantage, many companies are yet to
realize the benefits of SCM. Among the notable benefits of SCM are:

 Improve customer service by delivering the product/service to the customer when

needed and at a competitive price.
 Reduce costs across the supply chain by creating a win-win situation with
suppliers, manufacturing, distributors, retailers, and customers.
At the completion of the course, you should learn the following:
 basic framework of supply chain management
 various performance metrics of supply chain management
 matching supply and demand in an uncertain business environment
 value of partnerships and strategic alliances in SCM

III. Pre-requisite: MANGT 421 or Instructor’s Permission

IV. Primary Textbook:

1. Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies, and Case Studies,
Second Edition, David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky, and Edith Simchi-Levi, McGraw-
Hill/Irwin, New York, 2003.

2. Course Material on sale at the Bookstore. The course material includes article, notes,
and case studies.

V. Recommended Readings:

 The Wall Street Journal

 Business Week
 Journal of Business Logistics
 Supply Chain Management Review
 Harvard Business Review
 Supply Chain Management by Sunil Chopra & Peter Meindl, Prentice Hall
Publisher, 2001
 Introduction to Supply Chain Management by Robert Handfield & Ernest
Nichols, Prentice hall Publishers, 1999.

VI. Grading

Your final grade for the course is based on the following activities:

Case write-ups (4 @ 5%) 20% (200 points)

Mid-term examination 20% (200 points)
Final examination 20% (200 points)
Semester Project 20% (200 points)
Project Presentation 10% (100 points)
Industry Perspectives 10% (100 points)
--------
100% (1000 points)

Grades are distributed as follows: A= 90+%, B = 80 -89%, C = 70 -79%, D = 60 – 69%

The case write-ups will be done in groups of no more than five students. Please be
thorough in your case analysis and structure your write-up accordingly. There will be
questions attached to each case to guide you in analyzing the case.

Semester project and the presentation of the project will also be conducted in groups.
Project guideline is enclosed below. Each group should select which of the two types of
projects to be worked on.

As most of the work is in groups, individual grades will take into account a peer review
from each group member of other members in the group. It is extremely important and
part of the honor code that each member of a group contributes to the case analyses
and semester project. If there are any problems within a particular group, such
problems need to be brought to my attention immediately. It is the group’s
responsibility to ensure that this happens. Only one written report will be due per group.
However, as I have stressed, each member must contribute to the analysis leading to the
report.

The mid-term and final exam will consist of a series of short conceptual questions. The
primary objective is for you to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts covered
in class.

The industry perspectives will either be a summary of a guest lecture or a practical

example where supply chain related concepts either apply or should have been applied.
This information may be taken from one of the publications cited above. Students may
be asked to briefly present these in class.

All cases must be read before the class they are to be discussed (whether a submission is
required or not). Chapters from this book and related articles have been assigned as
background reading with the material being covered. The book is best read before and right
after the lecture to reinforce the concepts discussed. The book also provides technical details
that may not be discussed in class.

VII. Guest Speakers:

I am in the process of arranging guest speakers for the class. My goal is to have 6 to 8
guest speakers on various topics on supply chain management from various companies.

VIII. Academic Integrity:

Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punishable by failure in the
exams or exercises, failure in the course, and/or dismissal from the University. Students
are referred to Appendix F in the Faculty Handbook for further stipulations. The use of
unauthorized material, communication with fellow students during in-class examination,
attempting to benefit from the work of another students, and similar behavior defeats the
intent of an examination or other class work and these acts are unacceptable to the
University. It is often difficult to distinguish between a culpable act and an inadvertent
behavior resulting from nervous tensions accompanying examinations. Where a clear
violation has occurred, however, the instructor reserves the rights to disqualify the student’s
work as unacceptable and assign a failing grade to such work.

IX. Tentative Outline:

Week of … Topic Reading Assignment

1/16/02 Overview of the Introduction
Course Student data Sheet (in-class)
Goals and Learning Objectives for the course
1/21/03 Introduction to Chapter 1
Supply Chain Supply Chain Management by Welch & Cook
Management Case: A Pain in the (Supply) Chain, HBR Case Study, May
2002

1/28/03 Supply Chain What is the Right Supply Chain for Your Product, (M.L.
Framework Fisher) HBR , March-April 1997
The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with
Michael Dell, HBR, March-April 1998
The Beer Game, January 30, 2003
2/4/03 Logistics Network Chapter 2
Configuration Tailored Logistics: The Next Advantage, HBR (1993)
May/June
Guest Speaker: Accenture, Mr. Ramaro Rocha, Senior
Analyst, February 4, 2003
Case #1: Seven-Eleven Japan, Due 2/6/03
2/11/03 Logistics The Strategic Benefits of Logistics Alliances (D.J.
Management Bowersox) HBR (1990) July/August
Third Party Logistics: Current Issues and World Wide Web
Resources, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1997.
Case Write-up #2 Due
2/18/03 Managing A Perspective on Forecasting
Uncertainty Guest Speaker: US Army Logistics,Major Jim Porter,
February 20, 2003
2/25/03 Inventory Chapter 3
Management Guest Speaker: Payless Shoe, Mr. Cantrell, President
3/4/03 Supply Chain Integrated Supply Chain Performance Measurement, Council
Performance Metrics of Logistics Management
Improving Supply Chain Performance by Using Order
Fulfillment Metric, National Productivity Review, Johnson &
Davis, Summer 1998.
Guest Speaker:
3/11/03 Matching Supply Guest Speaker: Caterpillar, Mr.. Warren Reneau,
with Demand Production Manager March 13, 2003
3/11/03 Value of Information Chapter 4
Mid-Term
3/18/03 Spring Break

3/25/03 Supply Chain Chapter 3

Integration Making Supply Meet Demand in an Uncertain World, Fisher
et. al, HBR, May-June 1994

Effective Supply Chain Management, Tom Davis, Sloan

Management Review, Summer, 1993

4/1/03 Strategic Alliances Chapters 6 & 7

and Outsourcing Case #3: Sports Obermeyer (Due 4/3/03)
4/8/03 International Issues Chapters 7 & 9
and coordination Guest Speaker: Mr. Tom McKenna, Asst. Director,, Cargo
Development, KCI, April 10, 2003 (816) 243-3160/3167
4/15/03 Customer Value and Chapter 10
Supply Chain
Management
4/22/03 Information Chapters 11 & 12
Technology for Case: Federal Express and Laura Ashley
Supply Chain Case write-up #4 Due
Management Guest Speaker: Mr. Chris Rasche, Director of Supply
Chain, Wal-Mart Stores, April 24, 2003
4/29/03 Course Summary Project Due
5/6/03 Presentation
5/13/03 Finals Week

X. Project Guidelines
The semester project is done in groups with no more than five students. It would be best to
use the same groups that you are using for class assignments. You can select from two
possible kinds of project as follows:

 To analyze an existing supply chain process in a real company and suggest any
improvements that need to be made. Examples include a study of the distribution system
and store deliveries at best-practice companies like Wal-Mart and McDonalds, design of
a logistics system for a manufacturer of refrigeration equipment, or the application of the
Vendor-Managed Inventory or Cross-Docking at Wal-Mart.
 To identify a business opportunity (for example selling furniture on line) involving a
product or service and build a business plan with a focus on supply chain issues. The
goal is to identify the business opportunity and design the ideal supply chain for it. The
project should include implementation details.

A more detailed outline for each of these types of project is listed below:
Analyze an existing supply chain process in a company and suggest improvement
The project report should focus a specific set of observations and recommendations. It
should begin with an executive summary no longer that 250 words. Detailed information
about the project could be placed in an appendix in the form of exhibits, tables etc. The
general guidelines for the project are as follows:

1. Executive summary
2. Define the process and the context (business unit) in which it operates.
3. What is the strategy / market of the business unit?
4. What does this imply in terms of the supply chain process you are studying? What
must this process be able to do particularly well in terms of cost, time, quality, and
flexibility? The headings mentioned here are broad. You are expected to identify
specific dimensions along which the process is expected to do particularly well.
5. Describe the current process structure in terms of information, inventory,
transportation, and location.
6. Discuss the process capabilities, given the current structure, in terms of the specific
dimensions identified by you in 4.
7. Discuss existing problems and weaknesses in the current process. What additional
capabilities does the process need to develop?
8. How should the process be restructured to develop these capabilities? Discuss why
the changes suggested by you will have the desired effect along the key dimensions
identified by you.
9. What improvements could be made to have a more effective supply chain in the
company?

Please note that these are general guidelines. The items are listed to guide you in completing
your report. Please feel free to add to or alter the above list as best fits your project.

Design a Supply Chain Process for a Company

The objective of this report is to identify a business opportunity (preferably on the web)
involving products where supply chain issues are significant. You may choose to design a
supply chain for an existing company. This could be done for a particular company or an
industry in general. The business plan should detail the supply chain opportunity and how
it will help the business position itself strategically. The report should also detail
implementation issues that include the following:

1. A description of the supply chain process including its key elements and its role in the
overall supply chain
2. Major benefits of the process.
3. Major risks/cost of the process
4. Key issues in designing and implementing the process
5. Which companies is this practice ideally suited for? Which companies may it not be
suitable for?
6. Examples of companies that are successfully using the practice including best
practices.
7. Examples of companies that have been unsuccessful in their implementation of the
practice and possible reasons.

Once again, please do not feel bound by the above structure. It is simply meant to help
you get started.

Deadlines:

You should submit up to a 2-page (double-spaced) proposal for the semester project on or
before February 10, 2003. The proposal should address the following issues:

 The purpose of the project

 The goals of the project
 Why the project is important to you
 Plans for gathering information and data for the project
 Timeline for completion of the project

The final report is due on May 01, 2003. Presentation is scheduled in the week of May 5,
2003.