Supply Chain Management (with personal educational support)

Supply Chain Management (with personal educational support)
Supply Chain Management (with personal educational support)

The globalization of trade, the widespread use of e-commerce and continuous customer pressures towards shorter lead times have created severe competition on the basis of time and cost-efficiency for contemporary enterprises and organizations. At the same time, emerging trends in the business landscape such as mass customization and postponement strategies, responsive business models (pull or make-to-order systems), innovative ICT applications, outsourcing and offshoring (and several other trends in the business landscape), pose new, challenging logistical requirements that call for well-trained logistics professionals on top of just good practitioners. Recognizing the aforementioned logistical challenges and requirements, the "Supply Chain Management" course provides a broad, horizontal training at medium level of detail/depth that is targeted to both students/graduates with relevant background studies and professionals with small empirical experience in the field.

The course has been designed in collaboration with the Hellenic Logistics Association and covers modern issues and topics related to the planning, design and operation of contemporary supply chains of companies and organizations. A balanced mixture of qualitative (mostly) but also quantitative aspects, theoretical/background knowledge and practical skills are developed within the framework of the various thematic units of the course.

Course participants will be able to build real-world competences in order to apply for jobs in “product-oriented” industrial companies, Logistics Service Providers (3PL/4PL), consulting companies in logistics and SCM, shipping companies, or SCM-related companies in the service sector (e.g., ports/airports, emergency response, public transport, health, banks).

Once the participant completes all the course units successfully, he/she receives a training certificate. Please note that you can choose, either having personal educational support during the course, or receive the required help from the educational forum you’ll have access to. Each choice comes with a different cost for the applicant. After successfully completing the lessons, the participant will receive a training certificate.

The programme covers issues related to the planning, design and operations of supply chains of companies and organizations, in collaboration with EEL (Greek Logistics Society). The programme is offered in two versions:

1) with personal educational support and total cost 800 €. In that case, elearners receive full academic support from their personal tutor, share any concerns or anxieties related to the programme and receive relevant academic material.
2) with community educational support and total cost 400 €. In that case, elearners can pose their questions/ queries in the customized blog for the course. All queries will receive feedback from our academic team.

 

Lecturer on Supply Chain Management

The "Supply Chain Management" course targets 2 categories of candidate trainees:

  1. students/graduates with relevant background studies in business/management or engineering fields, without prior exposure to logistics and SCM topics, who would like to pursue a high-potential career path in logistics and SCM-related jobs and/or
  2. professionals with small empirical experience (1-5 years) aiming to boost their employability in logistics and SCM in the international business context.

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

  • understand the basic concepts and principles with emphasis on planning, design and execution of supply chain management (SCM) operations
  • adopt a systemic and holistic approach (integrative supply chain management) with simultaneous consideration of strong interdependencies and cost trade-offs among individual SCM functions
  • select and apply the appropriate methods/tools and technologies/information systems for the optimization of supply chain design and operation with special focus on customer service measurement and demand forecasting, transport modelling, inventory and warehouse management.

The course is structured into 12 thematic units:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management

  • get familiarized with the basic concepts and principles governing logistics and Supply Chain Management
  • analyze the structure, role, as well as the key stakeholders of the supply chain system
  • recognize the strategic role and importance of Logistics and Supply Chain Management for companies / organizations and the broader economic environment

Lesson 2: Supply Chain Operation

  • recognize the role and objectives of the key and supporting logistical functions, as well as their interaction with other business functions
  • analyze the implications of product characteristics (e.g., hazardous materials, value-density ratio, substitutability) on “total logistics costs”
  • distinguish between the main types of supply chain operation (pull/make-to-order, push/make-to-stock)
  • understand the hierarchical decision making and the main types of decisions per level (e.g., strategic, tactical, operational)

Lesson 3: Customer Service & Order Management

  • familiarize with the stages, sub-processes and factors affecting order management
  • analyze customer service elements (i.e., pre-transaction, transaction, post-transaction)
  • define specific KPIs for the measurement of customer service
  • apply methods for the development of customer service strategy and the determination of optimal customer service levels

Lesson 4: Distribution Channels & Outsourcing

  • understand the role, structure and key stakeholders in distribution channels
  • select the suitable design of the distribution network based on its operational characteristics and advantages
  • understand the reasons and process of outsourcing logistics/SCM operations to a 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) Service Provider

Lesson 5: Demand Forecasting

  • understand the importance and main characteristics of demand in the supply chain
  • select and apply appropriate (quantitative) methods and techniques (e.g., time series analysis, trend projection, regression analysis) to forecast demand
  • assess the forecasting accuracy with the use of appropriate metrics and criteria

Lesson 6: Procurement Management

  • understand the main sourcing decisions and processes
  • select and implement appropriate criteria to select and evaluate suppliers
  • recognize the benefits and models of e-procurement
  • understand how to share risks and rewards in the supply chain

Lesson 7: Inventory Management

  • recognize the importance and need for efficient management of various types of inventories
  • apply methods/techniques for efficient inventory management through the determination of optimal inventory levels
  • estimate the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) and other EOQ-related metrics
  • get familiarized with the underlying principles of the continuous and periodic inventory review policies / systems

Lesson 8: Warehouse Management

  • recognize the role and the importance of warehouses
  • identify the key processes performed within a warehouse
  • analyze and make efficient warehouse design and layout decisions
  • specify the basic warehouse equipment and main systems / technologies supporting a warehouse’s operations

Lesson 9: Freight Transport

  • understand the properties and characteristics of different freight transport modes
  • recognize the main types of transport services (e.g., Full Truck Load / FTL, Less than Truck Load / LTL)
  • apply the appropriate criteria for the selection of the appropriate freight transport mode (including the intermodal/multimodal transport option)
  • specify the potential areas of application and benefits stemming from the use of Information Systems and telematics in SCM

Lesson 10: Freight Transport Pricing

  • get familiarized with the freight transport pricing scheme and its underlying charges
  • get familiarized with the Incoterms 2010 rules

Lesson 11: Transport Modelling

  • recognize the basic characteristics and decisions related to transport modelling with special emphasis on urban distribution problems
  • select and apply solution methods and algorithms in shortest path and vehicle routing problems

Lesson 12: Supply Chain Performance

  • describe how a company achieves strategic fit between its supply chain strategy and its competitive strategy
  • identify the major drivers of supply chain performance
  • define the key metrics assessing the performance of the supply chain in terms of each driver

Following the completion of each lesson, the e-learner will have to submit electronically a set of tests (e.g., multiple-choice questions) and open-ended exercise/assignment. The rating scale ranges from 0 to 100%; typically 60-70% obtained from multiple-choice questions and 30-40% from the open-ended assignment. For the successful fulfillment of the programme requirements, each student should obtain a total average grade of 50% or more. 

Online and distance training learning at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens offers a new way of combining innovative learning and training techniques with interaction with your tutor and fellow trainees from around the world.

The e-learning course is implemented via a user-friendly educational platform adjusted to the Distance Learning Principles. Courses are structured as weekly online meetings; interaction with the course tutor and other trainees takes place in a digital learning environment. The courses are designed to fit around your schedule; you access the course whenever it is convenient for you, however within the given deadlines.

The whole world becomes your classroom as e-learning can be done on laptops, tablets and phones as a very mobile method. Learning can be done on the train, on a plane or even during your trip to Greece!

The educational platform is a portal that offers access to electronic educational material based on modern distance learning technologies. The computer based nature of training means new technology is being introduced all the time to help trainees engage and learn in a tailored way that will meet their needs. E-learners have access to the educational platform with their personal code number in order to browse all relevant training material and interact with their instructors.

Moreover, an online communication system through own personal e-mail account is available in order to make the process easier and more interactive. Trainees can contact directly their tutors or the administration office of the course and share any concerns or anxieties related to the course in order to make the most of their experience.

Every week e-learners are provided with the relevant material, delivered either in the form of video-lectures, text notes and relevant presentations or as a combination of them. The educational material of the course is uploaded gradually, per educational unit. During the course, important info for the smooth conduct of the educational process, such as timetables for the submission of the exercises are announced on the Announcement section of the platform.

For successful completion of the course the e-learner should have fulfill her/his academic obligations, meaning should have submitted all corresponding assessment exercises and have achieved at least an average of 50% grade in the corresponding tests for each module. The score scale ranges from 0 to 100%. Finally, if the total score on one or more lessons of the course does not exceed 50%, trainees can ask for reassessment.

During the course trainees will be attending a training experience designed by academics and lecturers from the National University of Athens as well as from other Universities, Research Institutes and Cultural organizations around Greece.

Interactivity, flexibility and our long tradition guarantee that learning with us offers a successful and rewarding experience. Finally, access to a large variety of material and online resources available in each unit aims to excite your curiosity and guide you in exploring further your favourite topic. Part of the online material can be downloaded providing the chance to quickly refresh your memory after the completion of the course.

When will I receive the Certificate?

The Certificate will be sent to you electronically 30 working days upon completion, if you have no remaining academic or financial obligations. The Certificate will be also sent to you through traditional post services. Upon request the Certificate can be sent with the use of courier services. In this case, the relative cost should be covered by your side.