Master Class Global Supply Chain & Logistics

In this interactive session, we will review and refresh key supply chain principles, translating business strategy into an adequate supply chain strategy but also defining relevant business models. We will discuss omni-channel management in terms of delivering value to your customers and defining a clear customer value proposition. We will also zoom in on key aspects of people (change management), profit (top-line revenue versus bottomline costs), and planet (sustainability) and apply them in real-life settings.

• At the end of this session, you can:
• identify the main decision domains in supply chain management;
• connect business strategy and supply chain strategy;
• identify the key trade-offs in supply chain management.

Forecasting and planning are at the heart of all business processes. Despite efforts over the last decades to increase value chain flexibility, forecasting demand is still eminently important in many companies. Entities in the value chain are driven by the expected demand from the (end) customer. The quality of the estimation of future demand directly influences customer service levels, inventory levels, and cost levels.

At the end of this session, you can:

• analyze your company’s forecasting and demand planning processes and implement improvements;
• prepare demand planning organization for the digital age;
• assess when advanced analytics add value to your company.

The network and supply chain design is an important strategic logistics issue. Collaboration between companies in an international context is increasing. This not only involves the location of logistic activities but also the control over the whole international supply chain. One of the most important issues in designing (international) logistics networks is the potential to quickly and reliably react to changed circumstances. Multiple sourcing, hybrid network structures, and synchronization of logistics processes are examples of such flexible logistic structures.

At the end of this session, you can:

• understand the transportation chain and its components;
• recognize the dominant drivers of network and channel structure;
• understand the impact of the increased scope and scale of logistics networks.

In this module, we will look into the various modes of transport and distribution, their characteristics, and their combinations. Thus, we will dive into maritime shipping, air transport, road, rail, inland waterway, and pipeline transport. Principles of transport costing, logistics costs, and decision-making in transport will be conceptually explained and applied. With the help of a transport chain game and a chain cost model, you will get familiar with multi modal transport and the impact of policies and strategies on this. The sub-components of chains and various cost items will be illustrated and calculated, and trade-offs as well as cost shares will be indicated. We will also consider both out-of-pocket costs, time costs (i.e. generalized costs) and external costs.

At the end of this session, you can:

• understand the various players and challenges in the various sections of supply chains;
• make trade-offs in supply chain decision-making based on transport costs;
• make scientifically founded judgments on the potential of transport supply chains solutions.

In this module, we will look into the various modes of transport and distribution, their characteristics, and their combinations. Thus, we will dive into maritime shipping, air transport, road, rail, inland waterway, and pipeline transport. Principles of transport costing, logistics costs, and decision-making in transport will be conceptually explained and applied. With the help of a transport chain game and a chain cost model, you will get familiar with multi modal transport and the impact of policies and strategies on this. The sub-components of chains and various cost items will be illustrated and calculated, and trade-offs as well as cost shares will be indicated. We will also consider both out-of-pocket costs and time costs (i.e. generalized costs) and external costs.

At the end of this session, you can:

• understand the various players and challenges in the various sections of supply chains;
• make trade-offs in supply chain decision-making based on transport costs;
• make scientifically founded judgments on the potential of transport supply chains solutions.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) has been around since the early 1990s but only really took off around 2005. We have seen successes and failures. In this session, S&OP has been substituted by Integrated Business Planning (IBP). As the objectives of S&OP formulated by the Oliver Wight Companies in 1990 are the same for IBP, we can use the vast experience on S&OP processes as a guideline when implementing IBP. We will touch upon the alignment of financials, resource use, forecasting order fulfillment and inventory management across the company. We will discuss how to organize decision support for IBP, both in human resources and ICT. And we will look into the key principles toward successful implementation of S&OP / IBP.

At the end of this session, you can:

• use the bulk of knowledge of S&OP implementations of over 30 years;
• use S&OP as a main driver of effective and efficient operations, such as lead time,
• lot sizes and safety stocks across the entire supply chain.

We will discuss several supply chain trends that have emerged in the past few years and are expected to materialize in the future. The increasing role of sustainability in the supply chain will be discussed (e.g. cradle-to-cradle, circular economy). Other emerging concepts such as machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, analytics, etc. will be framed within a supply chain setting. We will look into both the applicability and the limitations of these technologies.

At the end of this session, you can:

• identify new and emerging trends within the supply chain and logistics context;
• understand the context, use and potential of these trends, including ‘de-hyping the hypes’;
• know examples and use cases that employ new trends, such as big data, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.

Optionally, this Master Class offers a unique opportunity to participate in an individual company-based project, focusing on a real-life challenge within your organization.

Within a period of three months, you will engage in five individual coaching sessions with one of our expert professors to discuss this perceived business problem or project.

Together, you will make informed decisions regarding methods and techniques necessary for data collection and analysis, enabling you to identify potential causes and explanations for the issue at hand.

The outcomes of the analysis are solid recommendations and improvements for your organization.

After this course, you will dispose of:

• a thorough knowledge and understanding of world-class supply chain management practices and their impact on creating and maintaining a competitive advantage;
• a better understanding of looking at supply chain situations from the perspective of suppliers to and customers of manufacturers and service providers;
• the tools and applications used in supply chain process evaluation and re-engineering, including sustainability aspects, people, leadership, and change management;
• experience and insights in both qualitative and quantitative data analysis;
• a solid knowledge baseline of the most important topics involved in supply chain management, including best practices.

In cooperation with: