Sustainable supply chains (ITR363)

Fall 2019, lp2 HT19 (7.5 hp)

The course is offered by the Department of Technology Management and Economics

Revision history of this page:
2019-10-22 course content went online
2019-10-29 added literature in regard to each session
2019-11-05 updated the start time in the schedule for Friday to 9:00

In program:

MPMEI MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS OF INNOVATION, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (elective)
MPMEI MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS OF INNOVATION, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
MPQOM QUALITY AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (elective)
MPSCM SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (compulsory elective)
MPSCM SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)

Contact details

Examiner:
Árni Halldórsson, Professor
Division of Service Management and Logistics
arni.halldorsson@chalmers.se, 031-772 15 82 

Course responsible:
Ceren Altuntas Vural, Specialist
Division of Service Management and Logistics
ceren.altuntasvural@chalmers.se, 031-772 69 03

Course assistant:
Jessica Wehner, PhD candidate
Division of Service Management and Logistics
jessica.wehner@chalmers.se, 031-772 17 19

Guest lecturers:
Valentina Carbone, Professor, ESCP Europe Business School
Carla Machado, PhD, Division of Supply and Operations Management, Chalmers
Oksana Mori, Global Wood Supply & Forestry Compliance Manager, IKEA
Anne-Marie Tillmann, Division of Environmental Systems Analysis, Chalmers
Aysu Göcer, PhD, Izmir University of Economics
Ala Pazirandeh Arvidsson, Division of Supply and Operations Management, Chalmers

1       Background

Supply chains are complex adaptive systems that are composed of structures, processes and managerial activities which facilitate the flows of products, services, finances and information in (to and) from raw material suppliers to (and from) consumers. They are highly affected by the sustainability challenge and trying to utilize developments in technology, alternative ways of service provision, networking strategies and other managerial initiatives to tackle with this challenge. Introduction of the circular economy concept is altering the way linear supply chains are designed which requires the development and adoption of new strategies at different layers of supply chains.

Significant changes are required in management of supply chains around the world to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. These changes are needed to be done on all three dimensions of the triple bottom line, namely the economy, the society and the environment. Furthermore, changes do not only affect the actors that are involved in production of goods and services but also all the other actors that are involved in distribution, collection or storage of those offerings. It is a mentality change in supply chain management that, as Pagell and Shevchenko (2014) argue, aims to end the difference between supply chain management and sustainable supply chain management and treat environmental and social performance of supply chains as equally and even more valid than economic performance.

2       Aim and content

Aim

The aim of the course is to provide students with knowledge on sustainability in and sustainable development of contemporary supply chains, ranging from suppliers and customers towards logistics services providers and consumers. The course is based on a full supply chain perspective including multiple actors from raw material suppliers, to customers and even post-consumption, second-cycle supply chain members. The links and flows between these actors are covered in relation to sustainable products and services being offered in these structures and managing the sustainability of the actors themselves.

Learning objectives

Having successfully completed the course, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of principles and practice of sustainable supply chains in general; what makes contemporary supply chains sustainable, and how do they become more sustainable? In particular:

• Describe and elaborate upon the role and importance of sustainability and sustainable development in different types of supply chains.
• Identify and evaluate relevant established and emerging principles, frameworks and theories in sustainable logistics and supply chain management.
• Explain the unsustainable impact of operations and inefficiencies of logistics activities, both individual, and in the wider context of the supply chain.
• Outline energy consuming activities and potential sources of emissions from transport and logistics activities.
• Identify measures, asses these and suggest environmentally responsible logistic.
• Analyse managerial challenges, and provide a structured solution to these, with clear implications for relevant stakeholders.
• Appreciate the role of technology as enabler in sustainable development of individual supply chain processes.
• Compose strategies towards sustainable development of supply chains.

Content

• How do main trends impact supply chain sustainability?
• Circular economy, Circular business models and Closed-loop supply chains
• Managing suppliers for supply chain sustainability
  • Monitoring and controlling the supply chain
  • Sustainable sourcing
  • Building, maintaining and managing supplier relationships for sustainability
• Life cycle assessment for sustainable products
• Sustainability risks and mitigation strategies for supply chains
• Socially responsible supply chains
• Consequences of climate impact (Humanitarian supply chains)
• Sustainable supply chain management examples and cases from industry

3       Course organization

The course will be delivered as a series of presentations and discussion sessions of theoretical concepts, their managerial implications for managers and relationships with other areas of supply chain management. Students are expected to read material and make themselves familiar with key concepts prior to the particular lecture and prepare for discussions of theoretical concepts and their applicability in a particular situation.

The course builds upon three learning sources. The first learning source includes lectures, guest lectures, literature seminars, and in-class activities. The second learning source is reading and active discussion of course literature. The third one is a group project which will be designed, run and presented by the students and supervised by the course assistant. This group project aims to enable students to apply the theoretical concepts they learn in the course to company data. Every group is expected to choose a company to analyse their sustainable supply chain activities based on a given framework and with the help of both primary and secondary evidence. More information about the group project is presented below.

Students will reflect about their learning experience in the form of an individual learning log at the end of the course. Learning log will be prepared in the form of a reflective paper where the students refer to concepts, ideas, thoughts put forward in the class discussion and reading material. No citations of references are needed. The structure of the learning log can be found here. Deadline for submission is December 20^th, 2019 at 23.59 pm.

4       Course schedule

(also linked to calendar in Canvas)

* Guest lectures are compulsory.

Lecturers:

ÁH:         Árni Halldórsson                                               OM:       Oksana Mori
CAV:      Ceren Altuntas Vural                                      AMT:     Anne-Marie Tillmann
JW:         Jessica Wehner                                                 AG:        Aysu Göcer
VC:         Valentina Carbone                                           AP:         Ala Pazirandeh Arvidsson
CM:        Carla Goncalves Machado

5       Literature

The fundamental reading of this course is based on the core textbook called “Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chain Management” by Grant et al. (2017) and journal articles available through online databases at Chalmers’ library. In addition, there are several articles, book chapters, cases and other reading material which are available either on Canvas or through Chalmers library.

The detailed reference list which is matched with the coding on the schedule is at the end of this document. The core textbook, book chapters and all articles given on the literature list below are subject to examination in the course.

6       Project

For detailed information, please see the related document “Group project description” in Canvas.

7       Examination and assessment

Grading: Not Passed, 3 (equal or more than 40%), 4 (equal or more than 60%), 5 (equal or more than 80%). Course examinations in total corresponds to 100 points.

• Home assignment (individual): 60 points (end of course) 24-hour take home, handout 12.00 am 19 Dec, delivery no later than 11.59am 20 Dec.
• Group project -- report and presentations (group): 40 points

All topics, presentation materials and literature addressed in the course are subject to examination.

In order to pass the course, attendance and participation at the compulsory activities are required:

• Passing the home assignment
• Active work in the project, its supervision sessions, its presentation and related opposition duties and hand-in of a report
• Attendance at guest lectures

For enhanced learning, students are also encouraged to

• Attend and actively participate in in-class activities and literature seminars

Both the home assignments and case project contribute to final course marks. At least 40% in each part are required to pass the course overall, and the marked guest lecture sessions must be “approved”. In case of a fail on any assignment, a supplementary work will be required.

8       Literature list

Balcik, B., Beamon, B. M., Krejci, C. C., Muramatsu, K. M., & Ramirez, M. (2010). Coordination in humanitarian relief chains: Practices, challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Production Economics, 126(1), 22-34.

Baumann, H. and Tillman A.-M. (2004) The hitchhiker's guide to LCA: an orientation in life cycle assessment methodology and application. Lund: Studentlitteratur. 543 s. Chapter 1 p.19-41. Available on Canvas

Blackburn, J.D., Guide Jr., V.D.R., Souza, G.C. & Van Wassenhove, L.N. (2004), Reverse Supply Chains for Commercial Returns, California Management Review, 46(2)2, pp. 6-22.

Bostrom, M.,2014. Between monitoring and trust. Commitment to extended upstream responsibility. J. Bus. Ethics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2277-6 

Bostrom, M., A.M. Jonsson, S. Lockie, A.P. Mol, P.Oosterveer Sustainable and responsible supply chain governance: challenges and opportunities J. Clean. Prod., 107 (2014), pp. 1-7 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652614012372

Carbone, V., Rouquet, A., & Roussat, C. (2018). A typology of logistics at work in collaborative consumption. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(6), 570-585.

DHL Trend Radar Report 2018/2019, available on Canvas.

Göçer, A., Fawcett, S., & Tuna, O. (2018). What Does the Sustainability-Risk Interaction Look Like? Exploring Nuanced Relationships in Emerging Economy Sustainability Initiatives. Sustainability, 10(8), 2716. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2716

Grant, David B; Wong, Chee Yew; Trautrims, Alexander (2017). Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chain Management - Principles and Practices for Sustainable Operations and Management. 2nd edition, Kogan Page, London, UK.

Hutchins, M. J., & Sutherland, J. W. (2008). An exploration of measures of social sustainability and their application to supply chain decisions. Journal of cleaner production, 16(15), 1688-1698.

Jahre, M., Pazirandeh, A., & Van Wassenhove, L. (2016). Defining logistics preparedness: a framework and research agenda. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 6(3), 372-398.

Kovács, G., & Spens, K. M. (2007). Humanitarian logistics in disaster relief operations. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 37(2), 99-114.

Large, R. O., Kramer, N. & Hartmann, R. K. (2013). Procurement of logistics services and sustainable development in Europe: Fields of activity and empirical results, Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 19(3), 122-133.

Lüdeke‐Freund, F., Gold, S., & Bocken, N. M. (2019). A review and typology of circular economy business model patterns. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 23(1), 36-61.

McKinnon, A. (2016), "Freight transport deceleration: Its possible contribution to the decarbonisation of logistics", Transport Reviews, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 419-436.

Pazirandeh, A., & Maghsoudi, A. (2017), “Improved coordination during disaster relief operations through sharing of resources”, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 1-15.

Seuring, S., & Müller, M. (2008). From a literature review to a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain management. Journal of cleaner production, 16(15), 1699-1710.

Tachizawa, E. M., & Yew Wong, C. (2014). Towards a theory of multi-tier sustainable supply chains: a systematic literature review. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 19(5/6), 643-663.

Turker, D., & Altuntas, C. (2014). Sustainable supply chain management in the fast fashion industry: An analysis of corporate reports. European Management Journal, 32(5), 837-849.

Wilhelm, M., Blome, C., Wieck, E., & Xiao, C. Y. (2016a). Implementing sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: Strategies and contingencies in managing sub-suppliers. International Journal of Production Economics, 182, 196-212.

Wilhelm, M. M., Blome, C., Bhakoo, V., & Paulraj, A. (2016b). Sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: Understanding the double agency role of the first-tier supplier. Journal of Operations Management, 41, 42-60.

Wu, Z., & Pagell, M. (2011). Balancing priorities: Decision-making in sustainable supply chain management. Journal of operations management, 29(6), 577-590.