Översikt

  • GENERAL

    Overview

    This course focuses on implementing operations strategy with the aim of designing and managing responsive, resilient, and sustainable operations. We will move from design of operational systems, understanding demand and forecasting, to planning processes and coordination of supply and demand. Based on the analysis of the demand, we will design competitive operations with the use of process analysis and design, factory physics and supply chain design. We will evaluate solutions to operations problems using the fundamental models and relevant analytics and simulation tools, valuing operations flexibility, costs, and optimizing capacity and decisions under uncertainty. We will also cover state-of-the art of planning and control of supply chains from practice and theory.

    Course format

    This is a case-based course. There are two types of assignments during the course. 1) Weekly case assignments with questions requiring quantitative and qualitative analysis of the given case and its topic for the week. 2) Simulation exercise assignments (three), which are done in groups. The weekly case assignments are not extensive reports but more specific questions regarding the cases that need to be answered.

    The cases have been chosen to correspond to what participants will experience in managing and improving operations in the industry. The course analysis tools are spreadsheets (student can choose to use e.g., R, Python or Matlab as an alternative). Process simulation exercises will be done with a discrete-event simulation tool Simul8.

    Lectures and Case sessions

    • Monday lectures 12:15-14:00 TU6 focus on the theoretical and technical concepts and different advanced operations management topics and how to apply the fundamental operations management concepts in analyzing operations. Teaching methods include lecturing, discussions, and small in-class assignments. Students are expected to engage in group and class discussions and prior to lectures it is recommended to take a brief look at the suggested readings. Part of the theoretical and technical concepts are provided via self-study.
    • Thursday case discussions 14:15-16:00 TU5 focus on practical applications of the operations management frameworks and theories in cases. Students will have prepared and returned their weekly case assignment (MyCourses), which will include both practical analysis of case data and reflection of the operations strategy and the value of the solutions. We will discuss the applications and solutions that students have developed for the weekly case. We will also focus on the general insights and value of the solutions for design and management of competitive operations in general.
    • Simulation sessions 4 x Mondays 08:15-10:00 TU7 Simulation exercises focus on Factory Physics from the basics to more advanced concepts of how processes behave and how to analyze and design processes to deliver on the target performance. This is done with discrete event simulation analysis. The simulation session presents some theoretical knowledge and instructs using of the simulation software that you use in small groups to solve small simulation assignments
    See syllabus for full course description.