Synopsis of Supply Chain Management Course for Fall 2013 MGMT 691, 28569, Section 901, Topics: Supply

Chain Management 5:30 6:45 P.M Monday and Wednesday, B3207 Supply chain management is not only about the making and moving of goods, but also the relationships that exist among a chain of firms that work together to provide a product or service. As it has become increasingly obvious that financial performance in todays complex global environment is heavily influenced by the performance of the other links in the supply chain in which it operates, it is natural that the topic of supply chain management should be of considerable interest, and that interest is not limited to firms that make and move tangible goods. Goods and information are the two key things that flow though a supply chain, and whether a firm deals in tangible goods or services, the flow of information among the firms in a chain is of critical importance. No previous experience in supply chain management is assumed, although supply chain management professionals are especially welcome. Topics covered will include off-shoring issues, information flows and the role of technology, the role of analytics, selecting strategic partners, establishing trust, dealing with risk, and the marketing implications of various approaches to supply chain management. In addition to the textbook, there will be numerous readings and cases from Harvard Business Publishing as well as readings from other publications such as The Wall Street Journal. Course requirements include exams, case work, presentations to the class on various topics, and a real world group project The class will be taught by Dr. Elliott Minor who has extensive experience in supply chain management. Of particular note is his work as a group mentor with VCUs da Vinci Center which tasks groups of students from business, engineering and the arts to tackle complex realworld business projects. A comment from the CEO of the sponsor of a recent da Vinci Center project: I wanted to send you a quick note to commend you, Dr. Minor and the da Vinci students who worked on our product development project. We were extremely impressed with the results of the teams dedication, hard work and delivered resultsFurthermore, Dr. Minor was very involved and his personal interest in Chinese manufacturing, current duty rates and the concept of changing the way a product is delivered to the USA clearly helped motivate and focus the team.

Other comments concerning Dr. Minors teaching in general: The professor is an excellent instructor who provided great supplemental readings and went the extra mile in preparing course material and instruction. He clearly has not only a strong understanding and interest in the material but in teaching methods as well. I really have enjoyed this course, excellent supplementary material provided and I would say keep up the good work!