Elective

2

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 16 Hours, 3 Credits

Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Since Fisher’s seminal Harvard Business Review article in 1997 (“What is the Right Supply Chain for your Product?”) there has been an increasing realisation that supply chain strategies should be crafted based on the type of product and its characteristics. At the same time, large corporations such as Hewlett Packard and IBM have actively sought to consider the implications of product development and design activities on the capabilities of suppliers and other business partners as well as on the efficiency of logistics activities such as transport, warehousing and inventory management. Many organisations have integrated product design and supply chain management decisions with the aim of reducing costs, increasing customer service and even improving the environmental sustainability of their operations. The aim of this module is to address the interaction and interdependencies between product design and supply chain management. In particular, emphasis is put on how product development and design decisions influence and are being influenced by the design and management of supply chain and logistics operations.