Objectives

Identify or define :

 The set of decisions that operations managers make, The trends and challenges facing operations management, The customer-supplier relationships between processes,

 To understand the escalating importance of international logistics as competitiveness becomes increasingly dependent on cost efficiency,

To learn about materials management and physical distribution, both part of international logistics ;

To learn why international logistics is more complex than domestic logistics ;

To see how the transportation infrastructure in host countries often dictates the options open to the international manager ;

To learn why inventory management is crucial for international success  ;

To assess distribution performance through inventory management policy ,

To learn using indicators for that purpose,

To learn how to use main distribution policy available for a company worldwide, a global company, small to medium size and large company ;

To identify main distribution channels worldwide and the way to weigh them

 

Describe or explain :  Operations in terms of inputs, processes, outputs, information flows, suppliers and customers,  the importance of taking a process view to operations in a firm, Operations as a function alongside finance, accounting, marketing, management information systems, and human resources; how operations can be used as a competitive weapon

 

Method

To alter conferences and case studies

To have two main guides through powerpoint presentation and case studies

 

Evaluation

Evaluation of three case studies during the course

Final examination

 

References

 

Ballou, Business Logistics Management, Englewood Cliffs N.J. Prentice-Hall

McConville Shipping Business and maritime Economics : an annotated international bibliography , London, Mansell

Wood ed. International logistics New York, Chapman & Hall

International Business, The Dryden press, Harcourt Brace College Publishers

Global Operations and Logistics, Michel Fender,  John Wiley & Sons


This course provides students with an overview of transport and logistics issues in a global economy. Historical background and spatial dimension are associated with concrete methods of network analysis and case studies of terminals, gateways, hubs, and corridors where issues of cost, accessibility, performance, and congestion are analyzed. 

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

–   Assess the role of transport and logistics activities in local and global economic development

–   Distinguish key success factors in the elaboration of transport and logistics projects

–   Measure and compare the performance and vulnerability of transport and logistics nodes based on rigorous indicators



Resources and revision for English