OPM 501: Logistics Management
Contents
Logistics is concerned with managing the flow and storage of goods along the supply chain, to assure that products are available at the right location at the right time. As such, logistics plays a crucial role in matching supply and demand and thus in delivering customer service, thereby generating business value. This course aims to provide insight into key decisions regarding the design and management of logistics activities. The course takes an analytics-oriented approach and introduces quantitative models that link managerial levers to logistics performance. It thereby highlights relevant trade-offs and reveals how managers can strike an optimal balance. Particular attention is given to the design of distribution networks, as a key element of a firm’s infrastructure. Other core topics include capacity management and transportation planning.
Learning outcomes
This course makes students aware of the role of logistics in managing cost and customer service. It helps students understand how to align logistics decisions with an underlying business strategy. Students will become acquainted with fundamental logistics planning tasks. They will also become familiar with relevant analytics tools and concepts. The course enables students to analyze logistics decisions by means of quantitative techniques and to make the right trade-offs between different performance criteria.
Necessary prerequisites
–
Recommended prerequisites
Basic knowledge in operations management (e.g. BSc course “OPM 301 Operations Management”), basic knowledge in mathematics (including Linear Programming) and in statistics (probability distributions).
| Forms of teaching and learning | Contact hours | Independent study time |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 SWS | 8 SWS |
| Exercise class | 2 SWS | 5 SWS |
| ECTS credits | 6 |
| Graded | yes |
| Workload | 180h |
| Language | English |
| Form of assessment | Written exam (90 min) |
| Restricted admission | no |
| Further information | – |
Examiner Performing lecturer |  | Prof. Dr. Moritz Fleischmann Prof. Dr. Moritz Fleischmann |
| Frequency of offering | Fall semester |
| Duration of module | 1 semester |
| Range of application | M.Sc. MMM, M.Sc. WiPäd, M.Sc. VWL, M.Sc. Wirt. Inf., M.Sc. Wirt. Math., MAKUWI |
| Preliminary course work | – |
| Program-specific Competency Goals | CG 1 |
| Literature | Recommended (not obligatory): Chopra, S., Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation, 7th Global Edition, Pearson, 2019 |
| Course outline | Tentative outline (subject to change)
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