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OPM 693: Sourcing Excellence

no offering in spring

Contents
Increased levels of outsourcing make the management of supply chains and the selection of the right suppliers more crucial than ever. This course addresses corporate sourcing from a holistic perspective including all levels of decision-making (strategic, tactical, and operational) and all activities within the sourcing process to secure the best total value from suppliers, rather than just the lowest purchase price. To this end, the scope encompasses both the theoretical background and the practical tools of sourcing, starting from internal demand analysis all the way to business award decisions and the management of the ensuing buyersupplier relationships. This course is recommended for anyone seeking a broad introduction to modern purchasing and supply management (“procurement”) with a specific focus on sourcing. Based on a modern definition of procurement, all major aspects of the sourcing process are covered from pre-transaction (requirements and specification management, supply market analysis, quotation management, negotiation, contracting) to post-transaction (governance, P2P process, expediting, conflicts, performance management) issues. Special emphasis is put on optimization levers from a technical (e.g., cost modelling) and a commercial (e.g., negotiation, reverse auctions) perspective.

Learning outcomes
Participants will learn how to set up and manage sourcing projects while considering the broader business environment and strategic direction of the organization (competitive, functional, category, and supply base). For each topic addressed, participants will learn key concepts, conceptual frameworks, and analytic tools. Furthermore, all participants will work on a case challenge that takes place in the second week of the course. The course will be a markedly international in nature with approx. 20–35 participants joining from the international partner network “GIC”. The course is scheduled as a two-week block course at the end of June/beginning of July. The first week will emphasize “theory” (lectures) while the second week will emphasize “practice” (case challenge with group work and final presentations to an audience of corporate representatives).

Necessary prerequisites

Recommended prerequisites
Basic knowledge in operations/supply chain management

Forms of teaching and learningContact hoursIndependent study time
Lecture3 SWS14 SWS
ECTS credits6
Graded yes
Workload180h
LanguageEnglish
Form of assessmentProject incl. presentation (100%)
Restricted admissionyes
Further informationYou have to apply separately via email for this course. A list of the required application documents, the application deadline and further details can be found at the following link. Please read the information carefully: https://www.bwl.uni-mannheim.de/en/international/global-innovation-challenge/#c256744
Take a look at our Partner Schools courses in Summer 2024.
Examiner
Performing lecturer
Prof. Dr. Christoph Bode
Prof. Dr. Christoph Bode, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Schlipf
Frequency of offeringSpring semester
Duration of module 1 semester
Range of applicationM.Sc. MMM, M.Sc. Bus. Edu., M.Sc. Econ., M.Sc. Bus. Inf., M.Sc. Bus. Math.
Preliminary course work
Program-specific Competency GoalsCG 1, CG 2
LiteratureNo mandatory textbook: All course materials that you need to consult during the course will be provided.
Auxiliary readings:
  • Cousins, P.D., Lamming, R.C., Lawson, B., Squire, B., 2008. Strategic Supply Management: Principles, Theories and Practice. Prentice Hall, Harlow, UK.
  • Johnson, P.F., Leenders, M.R., Flynn, A.E., 2014. Purchasing and Supply Management (15th ed.), McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
  • Monczka, R.M., Handfield, R.B., Giunipero, L.C., Patterson, J.L., 2015. Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (6th ed.), Cengage, Florence, KY.
  • van Weele, A.J., 2018. Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (7th ed.), Cengage, Florence, KY.