Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Supply Chain Management

• What is logistics and its role in supply chains?

• Structure of production/distribution networks

• Competition factors, cost drivers, and strategy

• Role of inventories in supply chains

• Decision approaches and quantitative models

• Information flows and decision rights

Case Study: Analyzing the supply chain network of a multinational retail company to identify cost drivers and strategic decisions.

Module 2: Network Design and Transportation

• The role of intermediate nodes in distribution networks

• Risk pooling effect in transportation

• Location and flow optimization models

• The transportation problem and minimum cost flow problem

• The plant location problem

Case Study: Optimizing the transportation network for a national food distribution company to minimize costs and improve efficiency.

Module 3: Demand Forecasting

• Overview of forecasting methods

• Metrics for forecast errors (ME, MAD, RMSE, etc.)

• Moving average, exponential smoothing, and regression analysis

• Forecasting new products using Delphi and Bass models

Case Study: Developing a demand forecasting model for a manufacturing company to improve inventory planning.

Module 4: Inventory Management with Deterministic Demand

• Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model

• Reorder point models and safety stock planning

• Multi-item EOQ models and nonlinear cost considerations

Case Study: Implementing an EOQ-based inventory system for a warehouse to optimize stock levels and reduce carrying costs.

Module 5: Inventory Control - Stochastic Case

• The newsvendor problem and its extensions

• Multi-period inventory models

• (Q,R) system optimization and service level constraints

• Periodic review systems (S and (s, S) policies)

Case Study: Managing stock levels for an e-commerce business with fluctuating demand using stochastic inventory models.

Module 6: Multi-Echelon Inventory Management

• Differences between installation and echelon stock systems

• Coordination in the supply chain and the Bullwhip effect

• Multi-echelon distribution chain optimization

Case Study: Streamlining inventory management for a multi-tier supply chain in the automotive industry.

Module 7: Incentives in the Supply Chain

• Pricing decisions and double marginalization

• Incentive schemes for retailers and manufacturers

• Managing inventory and pricing strategies in competitive environments

Case Study: Designing an incentive-based contract between a manufacturer and retailer to improve supply chain efficiency.

Module 8: Vehicle Routing

• Network routing problems and solutions

• Methods for solving the symmetric TSP problem

• Constructive and decomposition methods for VRP

• Additional features in real-life VRP scenarios

Case Study: Optimizing the vehicle routing system for a logistics company to minimize delivery time and costs.