MY CURRENT TEACHING AT USD
In the Spring Semester 2009 I will be teaching the Supply Management (GSBA 561) course.
Here’s a short introduction to the course:This course is designed to provide you with a high level of understanding of the world of supply chain management, with a specific emphasis on the upstream supply chain. Graduates from this course have gone on to successful careers in all aspects of business activity, but specifically we are proud of the number of current supply executives who have passed through our program!
USD has been a world leader in this field for nearly 20 years so this course has a powerful and highly valued reputation and heritage. It is designed to provide you with a detailed and comprehensive understanding of what makes a world class organization in any sector of the economy – public or private; service or manufacturing; large or small. My focus is on ensuring that you understand the ‘why’ of world class supply so we will mix theory with a lot of practical cases and application based on my research, consultancy and global experience. The course will be marked by a series of high level executive guest speakers from a diverse range of sectors including pharmaceutical, utilities, electronic and computing services, defense, heavy manufacturing, consumer electronics, automotive and logistics.
The first class will focus on the requirements of the syllabus and provide an introduction to the nature and significance of supply management to modern organizations.
But why should you care about supply management? Consider the following critical issues in management that should help to put supply managment in context:
The management of supply by any organization is a vital activity. The cost of purchased goods and services accounts for upwards of 80% of the total revenue or budget of many organizations. The financial leverage possible through world class supply management is patently clear when one considers that every dollar saved is a dollar less cost to the business. But effective supply management isn’t just about saving money, important though that is.
In an increasingly global economy, the fashion for global outsourcing to China, India, Brazil, Eastern Europe and South America are presenting new challenges for the effective management of suppliers and supplier relationships in far off places.
Technology may enable us to communicate instantly, to access detailed and rich data about our resources, processes, suppliers, customers and partners….yet, too often expensive information systems fail to deliver accurate and timely results to the organization. And still the investment in Enterprise Systems, RFID, tracking, scanning and many other technological innovations continues almost unabated.
We are also only too aware of the vital importance placed on organizations to be accountable to their shareholders, to the wider community and to the societies in which they operate. Corporate Responsibility includes being socially, environmentally, ethically and morally alert when taking management decisions – especially sourcing and supply chain decisions.
One of the most startling differences we see between industry leading businesses and ‘also rans’ is the very high dependence such leaders have on their suppliers for change and innovation in products, services and processes. Gaining strategic advantage through supplier innovation is a theme we now see every day in the business press.
