This is a survey course in Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) that focuses on design, planning, coordination, and improvement of operations and supply chain management. The key objectives of the course are to help students think critically about the ways in which operational and supply chain concepts are fundamental to the overall functioning of the business and to provide an operations “vocabulary” for students to carry forward into the rest of their studies and beyond. During the course linkages between operations and other business functions (particularly, finance, accounting, marketing, and information technology) will be stressed. With increasing competition around the globe, supply chain management is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies. Hence a strong understanding of supply chain management concepts and the ability to recommend improvements should be in the toolbox of all managers. The objective of this course is to introduce the students to the key concepts and techniques that will allow them to analyze, manage and improve supply chain processes for different industries and markets. At completion of this course, the students will have the skills to assess supply chain performance and make recommendations to increase supply chain competitiveness.

Knowledge and understanding: This course is intended to provide students both with knowledge and understanding of OSCM theories as well as the capability to use this knowledge in actual decision-making related to operational and managerial problems. The course is structured to develop know-how and skills that allow students to elaborate and employ original ideas in complex contexts of analysis. Knowledge and understanding acquired by students will be evaluated through teamwork mid-term assignments and an individual final written exam. Applying knowledge and understanding: Classes involve a combination of traditional lectures, presentations and discussion of case studies in the OSCM domain. The course is highly interactive and aims at challenging students with exercises and cases based on real managerial problems. Case study discussions are critical to the completion of the course as they give students the opportunity to apply the constructs in real-file situations. Active class discussion is also encouraged and a mid-term teamwork assignment will be proposed to check the learning outcomes. This ability will be also evaluated with the final exam. Making judgements: The course aims at providing students with the ability to deal with complex OSCM problems autonomously. The course has strong emphasis on providing analytical skills, critical thinking, and managerial insights. The topics will be tested according to three main areas: Supply chain strategy (strategic fit, network design, global dual sourcing); Integrating relationships across the global supply chain (sales & operations planning, logistics management); Managing change in supply chain operations (sustainability and project management). Communication skills: Communication skills will be trained through continuous interaction between the students and the teacher as well as among the students themselves. To this end, students are expected to make presentations during classes both individually and in team (e.g. presentation and analysis of teaching cases, data, documents provided by the teacher). The goal is to stimulate students’ ability to communicate in front of an audience and boost their familiarity with communication techniques and tools. Learning skills: With increasing competition around the globe, supply chain management is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies. Thus, a critical goal of this course is to enable the understanding of this double face of supply chain management. Students are required to prepare materials and readings before the classes and discuss them with the teacher. This learning approach aims at fostering the students’ participation and engagement. These skills will be evaluated in-class discussions and during the final exam.

The course addresses the following topics: 1. Introduction to Operations & Supply Chain Management (OSCM) 2. Operations and Supply Chain Strategy 3. Managing Processes and Capacity 4. Manufacturing processes and product/process innovation 5. Sourcing & supply management 6. Customer Service Management & Logistics Management 7. Sustainability in global supply chains: the triple-bottom line 8. Outsourcing management and problems 9. Sustaining supply chains during crisis On successful completion of this course, students will be able to: - Understand the elements of the supply chain - Critically explain the main approaches to supply chain management - Critically understand the links between corporate strategy and supply chain design - Understand the basic process of demand and production planning - Understand the performance metrics of the supply chain - Identify the critical aspects of sustainability in supply chain management contexts

Textbook: “Managing Operations Across the Supply Chain”, by Swink et al., 4th Ed., pub by McGraw-Hill, 2020. Additional books and reading for non-attending students will be communicated through the course webpage learn.luiss.it

This course follows the enquiry-based teaching method. In order to successfully complete the course, it is therefore strongly recommended that students actively participate in all course activities. Lectures will follow and expand the main topics presented in the book. The book will be integrated by the slides that will be available to students. Every lecture will present a mix of theory and business cases. The cases will illustrate real case examples of the theoretical concepts discussed in the class. The theoretical classes will allow students to improve their knowledge and understanding of the international business environment and of the main tools that managers can use to implement international strategies. The discussions of the assignments will allow students to apply this knowledge working autonomously and developing their skill to make judgments and to take decisions. Students, working in small groups, will have the opportunity to present in class one case study in order to develop their communication abilities. Good presentation will receive extra points on the final grade. The students work in groups independently, but under the guidance of the professor, to develop a final project on current trends in international supply chain management. Students develop skills in project management, market research, problem analysis, solution finding, teamwork, communication and presentation.

Final exam – 30% of the final grade, individual work. The written exam will be made up of questions and problems taken from lectures material, case readings, assigned readings and the handbook. Final group project – 30% of the final grade. Groups will be formed during the course. Each group will work on several deliverables defined by an industry partner that are detailed during the course, including an enquiry-based learning project. Case study – 30% of the final grade, group and individual work. The student groups must analyze and present a case study during class (15%). All students must individually submit written answers to case-related questions (15%) to be uploaded to Moodle before the case study presentation. Late submissions will not be accepted. Class participation – 10% of the final grade. Your group participation in a Virtual Student Challenge and Guest Lectures will make a great contribution to the course success. Peer review evaluations as integral part of all individual sub grades. Bonus points – up to 2 BPs can be earned individually Non-Attending students: The evaluation will be based 100% on a written exam (4 open questions and exercices). The following materials are mandatory: • Textbook: “Managing Operations Across the Supply Chain”, by Swink et al., 4th Ed., pub by McGraw-Hill, 2020 (with the exclusion of: chapter 3 supplement, chapter 6 supplement, chapter 12, 14 and 15) • Fisher, M.L. (1997) What Is the Right Supply Chain for Your Product? A Simple Framework Can Help You Figure out the Answer. Harvard Business Review, 75, 105-116 • Lee, H. (2002), Aligning Supply Chain Strategies with Product Uncertainties, California Management Review [online], 44 (3), pp. 105-119 • Lee et al (1997), The Bullwhip Effect in Supply Chain, MIT Sloan Management Review, 38(3), 93-102

A genuine interest in the topics discussed in the course. Consequently, a grade above 29 is required to be accepted for the thesis. Students will have to present a proposal that will be carefully assessed. A good proposal is the key to formalize the thesis process. Two types of thesis projects will be evaluated: 1. Projects suggested by the students, which must be empirical 2. Projects that the professor is pursuing or running, for which some datasets or information are available for the students in the area of operations and supply chain management, including sustainability and digital transformation.