Value chain management in practice

Summary

Learn through practice (using a Value Chain Management simulation) the key drivers of effective Value Chain Management. From Purchasing to Sales, through Operations and Supply Chain Management, understand the key drivers of corporate performance.

Content

Keywords

Value Chain, Supply Chain Management, Operations, Financial Impact, Inter-Functional Collaboration

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

None

Recommended courses

> MGT-426 - Logistics and demand analysis

> MGT-482 - Principles of finance

> ME-419 - Production Management

Important concepts to start the course

Clear understanding of Business Management principles.

Good notions of Accounting (Profit & Loss statement, Investments and ROI).

Knowledge of Operations and Supply Chain Management basic concepts (Inventory Management, Demand and Supply, Batch Sizes, Capacity Management, Customers and Suppliers Relationship Management, ...).

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Analyze the interaction and interdependencies between Value Chain functions
• Demonstrate value of cross-functional collaboration and alignment
• Define effective Commercial, Operations and Supply Chain Management Strategies
• Implement Strategic orientations into Tactical and Operations decisions
• Predict and measure the financial impact of business decisions
• Design cross-functional decision process to effectively balance market demand and suppy chain capabilities

Transversal skills

• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
• Manage priorities.
• Continue to work through difficulties or initial failure to find optimal solutions.
• Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines.
• Negotiate effectively within the group.
• Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.
• Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time and other resources.
• Resolve conflicts in ways that are productive for the task and the people concerned.

Teaching methods

In a `Learn-by-Doing' mode, 70-80% of the time in class will be dedicated to the simulation, thanks to which the students will be put in very close-to-real situations.

The remaining 20-30%, lectures will be given, by academical and professional speakers, to provide insights on specific issues araised from the simulation practice.

Expected student activities

Class attendance is expected, as the course will mainly be organized into team-work.

Students' teams will be expected to work also outside class sessions, and will be asked to deliver written reports and oral presentations.

IMPORTANT: EACH STUDENT WILL HAVE TO HAVE HIS LAPTOP IN CLASS, WITH INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.

Assessment methods

Continuous assessment combining:

• 75% on teamwork assignments (reports, presentations, work on the simulation, ...)
• 25% on a final MCQ individual exam

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

Yes

Websites

• http://www.thefreshconnection.biz

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/MGT-417