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DSO 581: Supply Chain management

Spring 2025

Course Syllabus (v. 1/13/2025; under revision)

Course Description

This course focuses on management and improvement of supply chain processes and performance. It will be valuable for students who would like to pursue a career in consulting or take a position in operations, marketing or finance functions in a manufacturing or distribution firm. We explore important supply chain metrics, primary tradeoffs in making supply chain decisions, and basic tools for effective and efficient supply chain management, production planning and inventory control, order fulfillment and supply chain coordination. We will also investigate topics such as global supply chain design, logistics, and outsourcing, several other recent supply chain innovations.

The class format includes lectures, case discussions, and simulation games. The content covers both quantitative and qualitative materials. The cases will feature high-tech companies as well as firms in more traditional across a variety of industries.

Course Materials

Required:

ü Course Reader (CR) – Use the link posted in the syllabus section of Brightspace to purchase course cases and one of the games.

ü Handouts: Handouts posted on the Brightspace.

ü Data Files: Posted on Brightspace

ü Software: MS Excel

ü Simulation Games: You will buy additional games from developers of the games (instructions will be provided on BS)

Optional:

Textbook – Supply Chain Management, Strategy, Planning, and Operations by S. Chopra and P. Meindl, Pearson, 7th Edition.

Note on Selection of Cases and Materials

We will deliberately cover a wide range of settings in this course. Including a case or reading on a particular organization does not mean that the instructor necessarily endorses that organization. Almost any business has aspects that can be criticized. This course will naturally focus primarily on operational issues in each of these settings, but discussions about environmental, ethical and social aspects are welcomed, in particular in the later part of the course.

Class Format

The class will be interactive with case discussions and some lectures. Strong class participation is founded on adequate preparation. You are expected to thoroughly review the material on every case or reading prior to class. For each session, the detailed outline below provides a list of specific questions for you to think about prior to the session. When you are prepared, class discussion is greatly enhanced, and everyone learns far more.

Keep in mind thought that the students in each cohort typically have over 300 years of cumulative experience with operations; your instructor is nowhere near that old yet. Our objective is to create an environment in class for everyone to feel comfortable expressing his/her thoughts and share experiences. When you have something to say or have question, please speak up. If there are multiple people who wish to speak, I attempt to facilitate the discussions and depending on time give a chance to all to talk. We will also use PollsEverywhere to collect some answers from you to some questions about the topics discussed in class.

Evaluation and Grading

Required Assignments and Weighted Percentages

Your grade in this course will be based on continuous assessment including individual and group components.

Assignment Descriptions

The following are descriptions of your required assignments for this course. Specific instructions, submission information, and any accompanying rubrics are detailed on the course site. Make sure all sources are correctly cited in written work. Any dispute of the graded works need to be brought to the attention of the professor with one week of receiving the grade.

1. Class Participation (10%)

Your active participation in all class sessions is essential to maximize your learning experience in this course. Attending and engaging in discussions during the entire class period is strongly encouraged as it significantly impacts your performance and overall experience. Please avoid scheduling personal or professional commitments during class hours as it may impede your ability to fully engage in the course material.

In our sessions, discussions will be organic and inclusive—everyone's input is valuable. If you have industry experience related to our case studies or encounter similar issues, I encourage you to share your insights. Often, the most enriching learning experiences emerge from comparing case study lessons with real industry practices.

We'll utilize Poll Everywhere during class, allowing you to respond to questions using your electronic devices. Some questions will be surveys where participation earns full credit, while others will have graded correct answers. To receive credit for Poll Everywhere, on-campus attendance for the entire session is mandatory.

Your participation grade will be the maximum of three grades as follows:

1- Participation through Poll Everywhere: You'll be graded based on your Poll Everywhere responses for each live session. However, a few lowest grades will be dropped per student to accommodate absences, regardless of the reason, and the remaining grades will be averaged for your overall Poll Everywhere grade.

2- Contribution to Discussions: I'll evaluate your active involvement in class discussions subjectively. Higher grades require consistent, meaningful, and thought-provoking contributions during live classes.

3- All Other Work: This grade is based on all course assignments and exams except participation. It offers an option for those who must occasionally miss class but excel in other coursework. Your participation credit will be redistributed proportionally among other graded items. However, relying solely on this option is discouraged as active participation tends to enrich learning and aids performance in exams and assignments. Remember, consistent engagement through Poll Everywhere or class discussions is an easier path to earning participation credit compared to excelling solely in exams and assignments. Systematically missing class may impact your performance in other course deliverables. Hence, prioritizing active participation is highly recommended.

2. Best Six of Seven Prep Quizzes (15% total)

To ensure a rich in-class discussion, you are expected to read and analyze all cases and readings before class. To help you prepare for class, the course website includes one prep quiz for the sessions when we discuss a case.

You may choose which six prep quizzes to do out of seven. For each quiz, you will earn up to 10 points, based on a combination of your answers to the quiz. You may complete this assignment for all seven quizzes. In that case, we will determine your overall score for the quizzes based on your highest six scores. You may be called on in class to explain and defend the answers you submit.

These quizzes are NOT primarily meant for harsh grading, but to enrich class discussion. Some questions concern material that we will cover in that session; the point is not to test your knowledge of concepts we have not yet covered, but to encourage you to think about them. So, do not worry if you do not know the answer to some of the questions; often, multiple or even all answers may earn full points (even if they are incorrect). As long as you put some logical thought into your responses, you can expect to earn close to full points. The purpose is for you to think about the questions and to be able to defend your answer in class. Ideally you should only submit a quiz response if you are attending class that day as it slows all of us down if we call on you based on your response and you are not in class.

3. Best Two of Four Short Reports (5%)

You will need to read several articles assigned to each of these short reports and answer a few specific questions about the topics covered in the articles. Your submissions should be 1-2 pages total for each report with 1-2 paragraphs of YOUR OWN THOUTS IN YOUR OWN WORDS after you review the articles. Please do NOT use any tool of AI for these reports.

4. Simulations (10%)

You will be playing several games (simulations) throughout the course as a group or individually.

• Forecast Sharing Game (2%): about how mistrust can impact firms of a supply chain. Played in class individually. Has a quiz prior to the game. Your participation/performance affect your grade. You pay for the game separately.

• Supply Chain Game by Responsive (6%). Played at home over several days as a team in two rounds (first round is one region and the second round is multiple regions). A report is due prior to each round. Performance and peer evaluation affect your grade. You pay for the game directly to the developer.

• Fulfillment Frenzy (2%). Played in class in a group.

Peer Evaluation for Responsive SC and Fulfillment Frenzy Games: Team assignments provide a valuable learning experience – how to work effectively and efficiently in groups, learning from others, and honing your ability to communicate to others. Although your team’s grade depends on each member’s efforts, some students can be tempted to let others carry their load. In order to provide an incentive for all students to make maximum contributions to the study group, you will be asked to grade each team member’s contributions. Your group grades will be adjusted to obtain an individual grade based on feedback about performance provided by other members of the group (see the group assessment forms posted on the Brightspace). If you do not submit your group assessment form, it is assumed that you have assigned a rating of 100% to all your group members.

5. Homework (10%)

There will be a few homework assignments throughout the semester that you should do individually. See the schedule provided at the end of the syllabus and Brightspace for due dates. These are mostly practice problems about what is covered in class. You may need to complete your assigned readings, review class notes and sample problems solved in class prior to attempting to do your homework. These homework will be graded and returned to you.

6. Midterm (25%)

Midterm exam coves materials taught before the date for the midterm (see schedule) and involves long and short answer questions about a few supply chain problems relevant to class materials.

7. Final Exam (25%)

The final exam will cover all materials not covered in the midterm. Format will be the same as midterm.