Course-PM

TEK421 Operations Planning and Control lp3 VT24 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Technology Management and Economics

Contact details

Examiner:               Patrik Jonsson patrik.jonsson@chalmers.se

Course assistant:   Sahil Ahmed, sahil.ahmed@chalmers.se

Credit units:           7.5 higher education credits

THE COURSE AIM AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is a compulsory course in the Master of Science programme Supply Chain Management. It builds on the courses in the two first study periods in the master’s programme. In line with the teaching objectives of the whole programme, the course includes a mix of practical and theoretical aspects.

The overall aim of the course is to critically analyse and evaluate common operations planning and control methods and processes, and to develop skills to design and use operations planning and control systems in firm and supply chain specific environments. It thus provides knowledge about design and practical use of planning and control processes and methods in supply chain contexts. After finishing the course the student should be able to:

• understand the role of operations planning and control in the firm and supply chain.
• define the basic data, planning parameters, activities and most common planning methods of demand management, sales & operations planning, master production scheduling, capacity planning, and material planning.
• understand and compare the characteristics of common processes and methods for demand management, sales & operations planning, master production scheduling, capacity planning, material planning and material supply in a firm and a supply chain.
• evaluate and relate operations planning and control processes and methods to the planning environment and to various aspects of performances.
• understand how to design and manage operations planning and control systems to improve supply chain performance.

THE COURSE CONTENT

The course takes a focal firm (manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, etc.) perspective in a supply chain. It contains lectures, literature and assignments covering the following topics:

Fundamentals of operations planning and control

• Structures and perspectives on manufacturing and supply chain planning
• Planning and control performances
• Planning parameters and planning variables
• Planning environment characteristics

Demand management and master planning of resources

• Forecasting
• Customer order management
• Sales and operations planning
• Master production scheduling
• Capacity management

Material planning and material supply

• Materials planning approaches and methods
• Safety stock methods
• Lot sizing methods
• Materials planning in distribution networks
• Material supply and collaborative planning

Planning data and systems

• Basic data
• Information sharing
• ERP and APS systems

 THE COURSE OPC AND THE MASTER’S PROGRAMME

The course is a compulsory course in the master’s programme Supply Chain Management. It is taught in Q3.

TEACHING FORMS

The focus on operations planning and control is both conceptual and quantitative. The course includes a mix of practical and theoretical aspects, lectures, case studies, and seminars.

Lectures

Each theme of the course is supported by literature and lectures. During the lectures, main content of the respective theme is explained and discussed. Lectures will not cover all relevant content, but they introduce themes and emphasize important issues. It is preferred to be prepared in advance and skim the chapters and articles presented at the lectures. Lectures will contain a mix of lecturing, discussion and case work.

Guest lectures

There will be guest lectures of AB Volvo, Optilon, Infor and Meridion. The focus of guest lectures is on the design and use of operations planning and control processes and methods at the different companies, and on ERP and APS systems. Guest lectures are compulsory to attend.

Quantitative planning problem seminars

The course textbook contains quantitative problems with answers. In the quantitative planning problem seminars, quantitative methods are presented and you have the opportunity to discuss specific issues related to the problems. The students should prepare for the seminar by calculating the problems in the textbook belonging to the chapters for the session. You may need to look in the textbook during the seminar so bring the textbook to the sessions. You also need to bring a calculator or computer for calculations.

Literature seminar

The first assignment is a literature seminar report on demand management and sales and operations planning (S&OP). This assignment (and hand-in) is individual. It is presented and discussed in small groups. See Appendix A.

Case study

There is a case study on material planning. It is solved and reported in groups of two students. The case solution is then presented and discussed in small groups. Students who have prepared and submitted a common report are not participating in the same seminar. See Appendices C.

Volvo SML case study

The Volvo SML (Service Market Logistics) case study is conducted in groups of 3-4 students. It focuses on AB Volvo’s aftermarket (spare part) business, and specifically on forecasting and remanufacturing. Two guest lectures and documentations introduce the current forecasting and remanufacturing practices at Volvo. The task is described in Appendix E. The group reports are handed in and presented at a seminar in the end of the course.

ERP and APS system practice assignments and seminars

There are two practical software assignments. In the first on APS you will work with a supply chain optimisation software and solve a supply chain design problem. This task is introduced and finished during a half-day session in course week 5. See Appendix B. The second focuses on ERP. Here the task is introduced on the Monday in course week 6. In groups of two students you then work with it during the week and in a session on Thursday and hand-in and present a report on the Friday session the same week. See Appendix D. There is no preparation before the scheduled APS session and first ERP session, except for reading through the respective seminar appendix.

Appendices

As described above, there is one individual hand-in, three hand-ins conducted in groups of two students, and one hand-in in groups of 3-4 students; 1. Demand management and S&OP literature seminar, 2. Materials planning case study, 3. ERP case study, 4. Volvo SML case study. There is also an APS system laboratory with a compulsory seminar but without hand-in. Appendices A-E contain detailed instructions for the respective assignment, hand-in and seminar. All seminars are compulsory.

LITERATURE

Textbook and book chapter:

• JM: Jonsson, P. and Mattsson, S-A. (2009), Manufacturing planning and control, McGraw-Hill, London. This is the main text in the course.

Articles and book chapters: 

Demand management (the process, forecasting, IT in the process)

• A1. Ross, D.F. (2015), “Chapter 6 Demand management”, Distribution Planning and Control: Managing in the Era of Supply Chain Management, Springer Science & Business Media, New York. (Read sections 6.1-6.2 on demand management and creating the demand plan. Section 6.2.5 is somewhat overlapping with the forecasting chapter in Jonsson & Mattsson, 2008).
• A2. Syntetos, A.A., Babai, Z., Boylan, J.E., Kolassa, S. (2016), “Supply chain forecasting: Theory, practice, their gap and the future”, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 353, pp. 1-26. (Describes principles and alternatives of the forecast process structure).

• A3. Sanders, N.R., Ritzman, L.P. (2004). ”Integrating judgmental and quantitative forecasts: methodologies for pooling marketing and operations information”. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 24, pp. 514-529. (Complementary content to the textbook on combining forecasting methods).
• A4. Andersson, J., Jonsson, P. (2018), “Big data in spare parts supply chains”. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 48, pp. 524-544. (Complementary content to the textbook on extrinsic forecasting methods and to the Volvo SLM guest lectures and case study).

Sales and operations planning

• A5. Danese, P., Molinaro, M., Romano, P. (2018). “Managing evolutionary paths in Sales and Operations Planning: key dimensions and sequences of implementation”, International Journal of Production Research. Vol. 56, No. 5, pp. 2036-2053. (Complementary content to the textbook on S&OP design and maturity).
• A6. Lapide, L. (2011), “S&OP: The linchpin planning process”, Journal of Business Forecasting, Fall 2011, pp. 18-20. (Complementary content about the hierarchical levels of OPC and especially S&OP).
• A7. Dittfeld, Scholten, K., Van Donk, D.P. (2021), “Proactively and reactively managing risks through sales & operations planning”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 51, No. 6, pp. 566-584. (Complementary content to the textbook on S&OP and to the S&OP assignment).
• A8. Lapide, L. (2022), “Quick response forecasting & planning: Revisited”, Journal of Business Forecasting, Summer 2022, pp. 9-12. (Complementary content to the textbook on S&OP and to the S&OP assignment).

Material planning

• A9. Ross, D.F. (2015), “Chapter 9 Replenishment in a multi-echelon channel environment”, Distribution Planning and Control: Managing in the Era of Supply Chain Management, Springer Science & Business Media, New York. (Complementary content to the textbook on DRP).
• A10. Harris, F.W. (1913), “How many parts to make at once”, Factory, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 135-136, 152. (Original article on the EOQ formula)
• A11. Wilson, R.H. (1934), “A scientific routine for stock control”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 116-128. (Original article on the re-order point).

Supply chain planning in the circular economy

• A12. Goltsos, T.E., Ponte, B., Wang, S., Liu, Y., Naim, M.M., Syntetos, A.A (2019), “The boomerang returns? Accounting for the impact of uncertainties on the dynamics of remanufacturing systems”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 57, No. 23, pp. 7361-7394.

Information systems for supply chain planning

• A13. Olhager, J. (2013), “Evolution of operations planning and control: from production to supply chains”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 51, No. 23-24, pp. 6836-6843. (historical overview of OPC).
• A14. Hvolby, H-H. and Steger-Jensen, K. (2010), ”Technical and industrial issues of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) systems”, Computers in Industry, Vol. 61, pp. 845-851. (Description of APS systems).

EXAMINATION

Grading scale:

<40 p:              Fail

40-59p:            Grade 3

60-79p:            Grade 4

>79p:               Grade 5

To pass the course you need to pass the final written exam and all individual and group assignments.

• Final written exam (individual): Maximum 80 p. A minimum of 32p is required to pass.
• Assignments and seminars: Five assignments are compulsory. A failed presentation/report has to be revised and resubmitted. A missed seminar will require an additional task to hand in.
• Assignment A is individual. Assignments B-D are conducted in groups of two students. Assignments A-D are graded Fail/Pass. Assignment E is conducted in groups of three to four students and graded with 8 to 20 credit points. A revised report can never get more than the minimum credit points.

CONTINUOUS COURSE AND PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT

Course and programme development will be discussed continuously throughout the programme by a group of students (representing the class) and teachers (representing the programme as a whole and the individual courses). There will be meetings during the first weeks of the course in order to decide about a proper development process. The following students have been randomly selected to form this group:

Hannah Marie Albuschus Svanvik   hannahalbuschussvanvik@gmail.com          

Frans Bräutigam                                fransi@student.chalmers.se   

Lingxuan Meng                                  freya_lxm@outlook.com       

Emma Nilsson                                    emmawnilsson@gmail.com  

Dilan Saleh                                         dilan.saleh@gmail.com       

APPENDICES

Appendix A:   Assignment A – Demand management and S&OP

Appendix B:   Assignment B – APS laboratory

Appendix C:   Assignment C – Material planning case study

Appendix D:   Assignment D – ERP laboratory

Appendix E:    Assignment E – Volvo SML case study