Course syllabus

TEK 421 Operations planning and control

Examiner:            Patrik Jonsson patrik.jonsson@chalmers.se
Course assistant:   Hafez Shurrab, hafez@chalmers.se

Credit units:        7.5 higher education credits

 

1. 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 approaches, 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, material planning, and execution and control of operations.
• understand and compare the characteristics of common principles, processes and methods for demand management, sales & operations planning, master production scheduling, capacity planning, material planning, and execution and control of operations in a firm and a supply chain.
• evaluate and relate operations planning and control principles, 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

 

2. THE COURSE CONTENT

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

1. 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

 

2. Demand management and master planning of resources

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

 

3. Material planning

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

 

4. Execution and control of operations

• Execution and control in pull environments
• The production activity control process
• Order release
• Shop floor scheduling and control
• Basic data
• Inventory accounting

 

3. 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.

 

4. 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, guest lectures from industry, 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 good 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

The guest lectures represent manufacturing and distribution companies (Volvo AB, IKEA, SKF) and software vendors/consultancy companies (Meridion, Optilon, IFS). Focus is on the design and use of operations planning and control processes and methods at the different companies. Guest lectures are compulsory to attend.

 

Quantitative planning problem seminars

The course textbook contains several quantitative problems with answers. In the quantitative planning problem seminars the students will have the opportunity to discuss specific issues related to the problems. Each planning problem seminar will start with an introduction to the quantitative problems. Thereafter the students will solve given problems in groups. In the end of the seminar the answers are presented and discussed. 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.

 

Hand-ins and seminars 1-5

There are three individual assignments; 1. Material management, 2. Master planning of resources, 3. Execution and control of operations. Appendices A, B, and C contain detailed instructions for the respective individual assignment, and its hand-in and seminar. There is also an ERP assignment and a group-based project assignment and seminar. The instruction of the ERP and project assignments are presented in Appendices D and E. All seminars are compulsory.

 

5. LITERATURE

 

Textbook and book chapter:

• JM: Jonsson, P. and Mattsson, S-A. (2009), Manufacturing planning and control, McGraw-Hill, London, Chapters 1-14. This is the main text in the course.

 

Articles (preliminary – will be updated):

1. 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.
2. Sanders, N. and Ritzman, L. (2004), “Integrating judgmental and quantitative forecasts: methodologies for pooling marketing and operations information”, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 514-529.
3. Andersson, J. and Jonsson, P. (2018) "Big data in spare parts supply chains: The potential of using product-in-use data in aftermarket demand planning", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 524-544.
4. Oliva, R. and Watson, N. (2009), “Managing functional biases in organizational forecasts: A case study of consensus forecasting in supply chain planning, Production and Operations Management, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp.138-151.
5. Jonsson and Mattsson (2019), “An inherent differentiation and system level assessment approach to inventory management: A safety stock method comparison”, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 663-680.
6. Grimson, A. and Pyke, D. (2007), “Sales and operations planning: An exploratory study and framework”, International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 322-346.

 

6. COURSE SCHEDULE

Chalmers lecturers:
PJ: Patrik Jonsson
PM: Paulina Myrelid
RH: Robin Hanson
HS: Hafez Shurrab

Guest lecturers:
JA: Joakim Andersson, AB Volvo
SH: Stefan Holmberg, IKEA of Sweden
JB: Johan Bystedt, Meridion AB
MHu: Mikael Hultin, IFS
AH: Anna Holmberg, Optilon
HH: Harald Holtsung, SKF