85869 - Value Chain Management

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to provide the students a knowledge about the value chain concept and functioning: its components and phases, how it works and how it could be managed. At the end of the course, the students are able to recognise the different activities which constitute a value chain and their relationships, to analyse a value chain structure and they learn the basic knowledge to manage it. The students are knowledgeable also about the main factors influencing a value chain management and the theoretical approach to understand it.

Course contents

The student acquires the ability to understand the structure and mechanisms regulating the food value chain.

Unit 1: Introduction to the course: objectives - structure - materials evaluation. Theoretical aspects and definitions: Supply Chain, Value Chain, Logistics, Demand Networks, and Value Chain Management. (4 hours)

Unit 2: Delivering customer value: customer service and customer retention. Distribution channels and value delivery systems. Measuring logistics costs and performance. COst drivers and activity-based costing. Matching supply and demand. The Japanese approach and the agile supply chain. (16 hours)

Unit 3: The food systems and related value chain analysis tools (8 hours)

• Supply chain coordination
• Transaction costs
• Collaboration, trust commitment
• Supply chain governance models
• Performance indicators

 

Unit 4: the food value chain. Food production, Food manufacturing, Food retailing, Food logistics (4 hours)

Unit 5: Challenges in international food supply chains, Collaboration and relationships, Food sourcing and procurement, Risk management, Technology trends in food supply chains (12 hours)

Unit 6: Sustainability and future challenges, Food regulation, safety and quality, Food innovation, Sustainability challenges in food supply chains, Food security. Creating a sustainable supply chain, the triple bottom line. Waste in the supply chain. (8 hours)

Unit 7: Project work: Value chain analysis exercise (12 hours).

Readings/Bibliography

Martin Christopher (2016) Logistics & Supply Chain Management, 5th Edition, Pearson.

Samir Dani (2015) Food Supply Chain Management and LogisticsFrom Farm to Fork, KoganPage, [https://www.koganpage.com/author/samir-dani]

Gereffi & Fernandez-Stark (2016) Global Value Chain Analysis: A Primer, 2nd Edition, Technical Report · July 2016 [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305719326_Global_Value_Chain_Analysis_A_Primer_2nd_Edition]

Jodie Keane (2008) A ‘new’ approach to global value chain analysis, Oversear Development Institute, Working paper 293, [https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/2732.pdf]

 

Teaching methods

The course is based on face-to-face lectures, assignments and practical training.

The class activity is split into content units. For some units, the theoretical and practical sessions will be integrated into the same lesson.

Students are invited to propose a mandatory individual project work, aimed at preparing the analysis of a value chain that will be presented and discussed during the exam. The report length should be in the range of 30-60 thousand characters, and its discussion will be one of the oral exam questions.

A voluntary self-evaluation test will be proposed at the end of the course and before the last lecture to let the student identify possible topics where performance needs to be improved.

Assessment methods

Oral exam, approximate duration of 30 minutes. The exam consists of three questions focused on the topics dealt with during the lectures.

The questions will cover the three main course areas: theoretical aspects of the value chain (1/3), value chian analysis tools (1/3), value chain management issues (1/3).
The oral exam will start with the discussion on the short paper (value chain analysis report) submitted at least three days in advance.

Students who attended at least 70% of the lectures will have the possibility to make the online test as a replacement of two questions in the oral exam. The results of the online test will be converted to a grade using a conversion curve based on general test performance. The student can decide to discard the online test results and make the full oral exam.

Teaching tools

Teaching materials (slides, scientific articles, and grey literature) made available online.
Edmodo teaching and social network platform used to communicate notices, assignments, exchange materials and comments.

Links to further information

https://edmo.do/j/bqtttn

Office hours

See the website of Maurizio Canavari