POST GRADUATE PROGRAMME IN MANAGEMENT

COURSE OUTLINE COVER PAGE

AY 2020-21 TERM:
TITLE OF THE COURSE: LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
CREDITS: No. of Section(s):
Name of the Instructor/s Faculty Block/ Email Telephone Number
Room No.
Rohit Kapoor B-104 rohitk@iimidr.ac.in 9755553311

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Supply chain has become more complex due to growing product proliferations, customer
expectation and global competition. Matching demand and supply has become more difficult due
to variety of reasons in such global and complex supply chain. It is paramount for the supply chain
practitioners to bring down the cost and improve efficiency while matching the demand and
supply in order to survive in the competitive environment. However, rise of mathematical models
and information technology, provides opportunities to practitioners better manage their supply
chains. This course aims to cover the strategic, planning and operational aspects involved in
supply chain management in order to improve the supply chain performance. This course will
focus on a range of quantitative techniques (modelling, computation and analysis) that support
decision-making in supply chain management.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

 to familiarize students about supply chain and supply chain management; to develop an
understanding of the drivers of supply chain performance
 to become familiar with analytical tools necessary to develop solutions for a variety of
supply chain management & design problems
 understand the application and limitations of simple decision rules in the context of supply
chain analysis in the real world

PEDAGOGY /TEACHING METHODS:

The class will be a mix of lectures and case discussions.
EVALUATION:
Individual Component Group Component Weightage
Assignment 20%
Quizzes 30%
End-term Exam 50%
Total 100%

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

IIM Indore believes in academic honesty. Academic dishonesty or misconduct is cheating that
relates to an academic activity. It is a violation of trust between the Institute and its stakeholders.
Plagiarism, fabrication, deception, cheating and sabotage are examples of unacceptable academic
conduct. Please consult the Programme manual for the section on academic dishonesty.
MODULE I: Introduction to Supply Chain Management(SCM)

Module Objective: This module introduces participants to supply chain(SC), its role and
importance, issues and decisions involved in managing SC.

SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE:

Module II: Managing Information Flow in SC

Module Objective: This module helps participants to realize the value of information in SC. It
also exposes them to issues and challenges related to managing information flow in SC.

SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE

Sessions 1, 2 Value of information and causes of information destortion in SC

Objective: To understand main causes of information distortion and its impact on the SC.
Reading: “Bullwhip Effect in Supply Chains”, Sloan Management Review, Volume –
38, Number – 3, SMR029, Page no. 93 – 102.
Case: “Barilla Spa (a)”, Harvard Business School, 25th March, 2008, 9-694-046, Page
no. 1 -21.

Session 3 & 4 Demand forecasting

Objective: To recognize the role of forecasting demand, to understand different methods
of forecasting.
Reading: “Manager's Guide to Forecasting”, Harvard Business Review, January –
February, 1986, Page no. 1 – 9.
Case: “L.L. Bean, Inc.”, Harvard Business School, 7th September, 1993, 9-893-003,
Page no. 1 – 5.

Module III: Managing Material Flow in Supply Chain

Module Objective: This module focusses on the analytical approaches to supply chain
optimization and estimation of the drivers of cost and service.

SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE

Sessions 5, 6 Managing inventory for short-life-cycle products

Objective: Discussing analytical approaches in handling inventory of short-life-cycle
products with highly unpredictable demand. 

Reading: “Note on Optimal Ordering Strategies and Supply Chain Coordination”,
Darden Business Publishing, 12th January, 2009, UV1087, Page no. 1 – 14.
Case: “Sports Obermeyer Ltd.”, Harvard Business School, 15th August, 2006, 9-
695-022, Page no. 1 – 19.

Session 7, 8 Inventory management over a longer horizon

Objective: This session presents not only the basic factors affecting inventory but also
a few inventory models that can help firms in improving their performance
on this front.
Reading: Inventory Management and Risk Pooling, Chapter-2, SKSS
 Session 9, 10 Inventory management in multi-echelon supply chain
Objective: To present more real-life situation of handling inventory in entire SCM
instead of one demand and supply point.
Case: “Steel Frame Furniture (A) & (B)”, Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad, Copyright © 1999.

Sessions 11: Issues in distribution planning

Objective: To discuss various issues involved in distribution planning.
Reading: Distribution Strategies, Chapter-7, SKSS
Case: “Tale of Two Electronic Components Distributors”, Harvard Business
School, 19th November, 2007, 9-697-064, Page no. 1 – 20.

Sessions 12: Network planning

Objective: This session discusses concepts and analytical approaches related to
network design and operations.
Reading: Network Planning, Chapter-3, SKSS
Case: “Karnataka Engineering Company Limited”, Indian Institute of
Management, Ahmedabad, Copyright © 1992, PROD0221

Sessions 13 & 14: Transportation networks

Objective: These sessions present the options and cost structures for the available
modes of transport. It also examines the impact of product and demand
characteristics on the transportation strategy and the issues involved in
choosing the optimal transportation mode.
Reading: Network Planning, Chapter-3, SKSS
Case: “Pashukhadya Company Limited”, Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad, Copyright © 1995, PROD0230

Sessions 15: Network planning in uncertain environment

Objective: In this session, we emphasize that for the firms with multiple plants and
markets, the allocation of resources and volumes to each node is a crucial
tactical decision that hinges on a complex interplay of various factors such
as location, uncertain demand/supply characteristics and product
characteristics.
Reading: Network Planning, Chapter-3, SKSS
Case: “Applichem (A) (Abridged)”, Harvard Business School, Aug 18, 1993, 9-
694-030, Page no. 1 – 13.

Module IV: Supply Chain Innovations

Module Objective: In this module, we focus on supply chain innovations that can help firms in
improving the service level and minimizing costs simultaneously.

SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE

Session 16 & 17: Revenue management
Objective: In this session, we briefly discuss revenue management and specifically look
at pricing decisions by a firm in limited supply situations so as to generate
highest profit.
Reading: “Note on Quantity based Revenue Management: The Single Resource Case”,
 Richard Ivey School of Business, 17th December, 2010, 909E26, Page no. 1 -
7.

Session 18: Mass customization

Objective: In this session, we characterize supply chain with the dimension of point of
differentiation.
Reading: “Cracking the Code of Mass Customization”, Sloan Management Review,
Volume – 50, Number – 3, SMR315, Page no. 71 – 78.
Case: The "mi adidas" Mass Customization Initiative, International Institute for
Management Development, May 29, 2006, IMD-159, Page no. 1 -24.

Session 19 & 20: Supply chain co-ordination: contracts

Objective: In this session, we discuss the motivation and analytical models relevant to
basic supply chain contracts.
Reading: Note on Optimal Ordering Strategies and Supply Chain Coordination,
Darden Business Publishing, 12th January, 2009, UV1087, Page no. 1 – 14.
Case: “Supply Chain Close-Up: The Video Vault”, Harvard Business School, 8th
May, 2003, 9-102-070, Page no. 1 – 10.

Please give the details of the book if students need to buy the book: None
Author Title Publisher Edition Remarks, if
any

Additional Readings:

1. Simchi-Levi, D, Kaminsky, P, Simchi-Levi, E and Shankar, R (2008), Designing and

Managing the supply Chain - concepts, strategies and case studies, Tata McGraw-Hill,
New Delhi [SKSS].
2. Jeremy Shapiro, (2007), Modeling The Supply Chain, 2nd Edition, Cengage Learning
3. S G Deshmukh, R P Mohanty, (2007), Essentials of Supply Chain Management, Jaico
Publishing House
4. Raghuram, G and Rangaraj, N (2006), Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Cases
and Concepts, MacMillan, Delhi.

******