Supply chain management: Be global

Welcome to week 1 of Be global! This week you will start the discussion of global supply chains and supply chain management. You will examine a number of global supply chains and their components. You will explore global supply chains from various perspectives including their main product/service offerings and how it would affect the nature of supply chains and their characteristics. And you will investigate strategic fit in supply chains and the ways to ensure your supply chain strategies are well aligned with your operational capabilities and global market requirements. So are you ready to start this week?

You might have heard of supply chain management being associated with the term 'logistics' as 'supply chain logistics'. Logistics plays a critical role in efficient supply chain management and that is why sometimes its name is synonymous with supply chain management. This week you will be equipped with the knowledge of the main logistics drivers in supply chains and the trade-offs that can be made between each two sets of logistics drivers. These trade offs would of course reflect supply chain strategy and by using several case examples, you will learn how to consider these trade offs and when to apply them. You will also learn about the push and pull strategies in supply chains and why they complement your decisions about the logistics drivers. So if you are ready, let's jump into this week's content!

If you want to expand your business globally, or if you have been tasked to develop your supply chain network in a new country or market, how do you approach this problem? What decisions do you have to make? What are the main considerations you need to focus on? Going global or expanding your business globally has certain requirements and implications for supply chains. This week you will learn about all these requirements and how they can be formulated in a specific global context

The success or failure of many small to large businesses globally often are dependent upon their sourcing decisions. As a supply chain manager you need to make the right decisions about in-house production or outsourcing, selecting your suppliers, and how much inventory and from whom to buy as some of the most fundamental yet complex decision tasks that businesses and supply chain managers should fulfill. By the end of this week you will have tools and techniques to help you in this decision making process.