Managing a modern supply chain involves specialists in manufacturing, purchasing and distribution. However, today it is also vital to the work of chief financial officers, chief information officers, operations and customer service executives, and chief executives.
Changes in operations and supply management have been truly revolutionary, and the pace of progress shows no sign of moderating. In our increasingly interconnected and interdependent global economy, the process of delivering supplies and finished goods from one place to another is accomplished by means of mind-boggling technological innovation, clever new applications of old ideas, seemingly magical mathematics, powerful software, and oldfashioned concrete, steel, and muscle.
In this course, we will lay the foundation for understanding the dynamic field of operations and supply management. This course is about designing and operating processes that deliver a firm’s goods and services in a manner that matches customers’ expectations. Really successful firms have a clear and unambiguous idea of how they intend to make money. Be it high-end products or services that are custom-tailored to the needs of a single customer or generic inexpensive commodities that are bought largely on the basis of cost, competitively producing and distributing these products is a great challenge.
