Coordination of Supply Chains

Course information

Learning outcomes

This course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of the various strategies, structures, processes, and performance dimensions related to supply chain management (SCM). It will cover key concepts, models, and mechanisms developed for coordinating demand and supply networks. The objective of the course is to develop skills in analyzing complex supply chain systems and applying this knowledge in the course project. Each student is expected to form a personal view of the theory of SCM; critically assess qualitative & quantitative supply chain models; exercise his/her knowledge in in an innovative manner through the development of a solution, addressing a critical issue(s) in supply chain management.

Content

Main topics covered in this course are:

• Supply Chain Strategies, Structure, Processes
• Uncertainity and Risk in Supply Chains
• Supply Chain Performance
• Supply Chain Contracts & Incentives
• Collaborative Models & Information Sharing in Supply Chains
• Future Directions in SCM

There will also be a course project where the students will form teams and be able to apply their theoretical and practical knowledge towards a specific problem / issue within the supply chain domain (e.g.)demand-supply matching, flow coordination, sharing of supply chain information, collaborative planning, transportation lead time reduction, supply chain risk mitigation, logistics synchronization, supply chain contracting, etc..

Students are encouraged to exercise creative and innovative thinking in order to: propose a solution addressing a specific supply chain problem; identify size of the market; analyze the costs and benefits; and develop a business and revenue model for the proposed solution.

Teacher

Gautam Basu

Study material

Recommended textbooks in order of relevance include:

1. Matching Supply with Demand: Introduction to Operations Management (3rd edition) by Cachon & Terwiesch (highly recommended)
2. Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies and Case Studies by Simchi-Levi
3. Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation by Chopra & Meindl
4. Supply Chain Logistics Management by Donald Bowersox et al
5. Supply Chain Risk Management: Vunerability & Resilience in Logistics by Waters

In addition to this, students are required to prepare 9 reviews of academic articles related to the course topics. 

Workload

• Lecture Sessions
• Independent work
• Group work
• Exam 
   

Prerequisites

Recommended prerequisites: students should have a foundational knowledge of operations management and supply chains Strongly recommended to already have taken at least 1 or several of the following: - Sales and Operations Planning - Sustainable Supply Chains - Business Decisions 2 / Business Analytics 2

Evaluation

Students will be assessed based on the following criteria and assignements:

• Final Exam
• Article Reviews
• Course Project
• Class Participation*

* Course attendance policy is based on site learning - If a student misses 3 lectures, then he / she will not receive credit for the course unless there is a valid reason for the absence.

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Further information

Equivalences to other courses: Coordination of Supply Chains (35D100, A35E00400k)

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 23.3.2026 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 27.4.2026 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 10.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Business.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication