Syllabus
Course:
PORT 616 - SUPPLY CHAIN & REVERSE LOGISTICS
SCHEDULE: THURSDAY, 7:10- 9:50PM
LOCATION: ODU, CONSTANT 2065
Professor:
Dr. Rafael Diaz
Research Assistant Professor
Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center (VMASC)
Old Dominion University
Suffolk, VA 23435
Contact Information and Office Hours:
Phone: (757) 686-6233
Fax: (757) 686-6214
E-mail: rdiaz@odu.edu
Office: VMASC, Room 1245
Office Hours: by appointment.
Textbook:
The textbook is titled Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operations
by S. Chopra and P. Meindl(C&M).
Additional materials: articles and other material will be provided by the professor.
Course Overview:
This course explores Supply Chain and Reverse Logistics concepts and Modeling and
Simulation (M&S) techniques to provide solutions to complex problems faced by
businesses and government agencies.
The background assumed on the part of the student is an introductory course in
probability and statistics. Concepts of probability sampling, estimation, and
hypothesis testing should be well understood by the student. This is a hands-on
course on analysis and M&S in Supply Chain and Reverse Logistics. Upon completion
of the course, students will be able to succeed the entire analysis of open and/or
closed-loop Supply Chains. In addition to traditional analytical and optimization tools,
three of the major paradigms in M&S that include: Monte Carlo Simulation, Discrete
Event Simulation, and System Dynamics will be studied. This course introduces basic
knowledge in creating a model, implementing it in the appropriate software,
executing the simulation, collecting and analyzing output data, and using the results
of the analysis to aid decision making.
Course Objectives:
1. Understand and apply the fundamental tools and methods of Supply Chain
and Reverse Logistics.
2. Perform conceptual design, planning, and analysis for an open and closedloop Supply Chain.
3. Develop knowledge for selecting and applying M&S to analyze forward and
reverse logistic problems.
1
4. Demonstrate capability in design, analysis, and evaluation of general Supply
Chains in a technical environment.
Course Approach:
Class periods will include lectures based on text and handout materials, class
discussion, assignments, and project. Class discussion will be on lecture material,
deliverables, and project’s presentation and report. The course will be administered
using Blackboard (www.blackboard.odu.edu) as the communication media between
the students and the professor.
Course Requirements and Expectations:
The following requirements are considered necessary to successfully complete the
course:
Course Administration: This course is paperless. Class materials and submission of
assignments will be executed electronically. The students are expected to have the
capabilities (knowledge, skills, and tools) to use: e-mail, an internet browser, and
the operating system Windows. All students must have an active Old Dominion
University e-mail account to have access to the class materials through
www.blackboard.odu.edu. The students can login into blackboard using the e-mail
name (e.g., for my e-mail rdiaz@odu.edu, the e-mail name is “rdiaz”). The password
is the same that the student uses to open the ODU e-mail. To request an e-mail
account contact the OCCS. For technical help call customer service 1-877-348-6503
or 757-683-3192 or e-mail: occshelp@odu.edu. Students are encouraged to read
Blackboard’s manuals.
Course Communication: E-mail communication between the students and the
professor and file’s label must follow the following format:




E-mail: The subject of each e-mail delivery to the professor is expected to follow
the
format:
PORT695_Last
name_First
Name_Subject.
Example:
PORT695_Diaz_Rafael_When is the first class? E-mails that do not follow this
format will not be responded promptly.
Files: Each file submitted to the professor is expected to follow the
aforementioned format.
Only the files uploaded in each designated assignment in blackboard will be
graded. Please DO NOT hand hard/soft copies to the professor in class or send it
by regular mail. Also, please verify that your file was uploaded successfully, only
those that can be opened will be graded. If for some reason you cannot upload
your file please send an email to the professor with the file attached.
Emails that do not comply with this communication rule are very likely to be not
responded promptly or ever responded at all.
Class Preparation: For each class there is an assigned set of readings. Reading
assignments must be completed prior to class for students to (a) fully gain an apply
insights developed from the content of the learning modules and (b) to be able to
participate in the class discussions.
Cases and Project: Students are required to complete 4 cases and a project during
this course individually. The purpose of the cases and project is to demonstrate
understanding of Supply Chains tools and concepts.
Format: all the project reports must be written using MS-Word, double space,
Arial 12 point font, and one inch margin all around. Tables and Figure can be
2
written using a minimum size font of 10 points and must be single space. The
reports need to be submitted by e-mail in one file to the professor using the policies
stated in the Course Communication section of the syllabus. Tables and figures are
expected to fit in one page (i.e., do not let the end of a page to break your tables or
charts) and must be written using single space Arial 10 points font. You can
break your tables or chart to make them fit in more than one page. The project
reports must contain the following items:
1. Cover page: Old Dominion University, Case study/Project name, Last name
and first name, E-mail address, Course ID, and Semester. All centered using
Arial 16 point, Bold, and single space.
2. Table of Contents with List of EXHIBITS.
3. Page number.
4. If a quantitative model is developed, the file must be submitted as well.
Important note: Elaborate your answers!
Class Participation: Students are expected to be active participants in the course.
Active participation includes raising questions, relating class material to their
experience through contributing to class discussions, providing insights to class
discussion topics. Students are expected to read the assigned material for each
week. These materials include reading from the textbooks, articles, and the power
point presentations for each class. Articles and power point presentations will be
available within the course documents section of blackboard. If a student cannot
attend a class she/he must notify the professor 24 hours before the class. Only if a
student acknowledges her/his absence from a class she/he will have the opportunity
to gain full participation credit for the class.
Academic Integrity:
The Old Dominion University honor system is in effect for all student work submitted
during the course. In effect, this stipulates that lying, cheating, or plagiarism are
violations of the honor system and will be subject to disciplinary action.
Conflict Resolution:
Any type of conflict with the course delivery and assignments must be informed in
advance to the professor. It is important to acknowledge the absence of the student
to a class 24 hours before the class. If a student is called for participation and the
student has not acknowledged his absence to the professor before the class his/her
participation grade will be negatively impacted.
Evaluation:
(1) Cases (4)
(2) Midterm
(3) Course Project (Special case study)
(4) Final Exam
(5) Participation
40%
20%
15%
20%
5%
Grades Conversion:
A=100-93, A- =92-90, B+ =89-87, B=86-83, B-= 82-80, C+ =79-77, C=76-73,
C- =72-70, F =69 or below.
3
Tentative Course Schedule:
The following is the tentative schedule for the semester. This schedule may vary
depending upon the pace of the class. Also, additional mandatory reading material
might be provided by the instructor. Optional readings are noted with an asterisk.
Class
1
2
3
4
Date
1/14/10
1/21/10
1/28/10
Due:
Case I
Chpt 3
2/4/10
Description of
Learning Module
Assigned Readings
for the Class
Introduction to the Supply
Chain, Reverse Logistics, and
Modeling and Simulation
 Chapters 1-3
Designing the supply chain
network
 Chapters 4-6
Planning demand and supply
 Chapters 7-8
Planning and supply and
economies of scales
 Chapters 9-10

Supply Chain Concepts

Forward and Reverse logistic

Case Study: Chapter 3 –Due 1/28/10

Designing distribution network

Network designs

Case Study: Chapter 5 –Due 2/11/10

Demand forecasting

Aggregate planning

Optional Case Study: Chapter 7 –Due 2/11/10

Operations planning

Managing economies of scale
Case Study: Chapter 10 –Due 2/25/10
5
2/11/10
Due:
Case II –
Either Chpt
5 or 7
Managing inventories
 Chapters 11-12
4

Managing uncertainty

Optimal levels
2/18/10
6
2/25/10
Due:
Case III
Chpt 10
7
8
3/4/10
9
3/11/10
Class
10
11
12
Date
3/18/10
3/25/10
4/1/10
Planning and managing
transportation
 Chapters 13
Fundamentals of reverse
logistics
Managing Product Returns

Designing distribution network

Network designs

Definition and activities

Strategic value and challenges

Overview of quantitative models

Reverse logistics management elements

Outsourcing
Spring Break
Description of
Learning Module
Assigned Readings
for the Class
Guest Speaker

Inventory control for reverse logistics

Product disposition options and the secondary
market

Midterm begins

Issues that lie at the intersection of green logistics
and reverse logistics

Empty marine container logistics facts, issues and
management strategies

Case Study IV –Due 4/15/10
Midterm Due - Midnight
Disposition, Environment, and
Empty Marine Container
Logistics
5
13
15
16
17
4/8/10
4/15/10
Due:
Case IV
4/22/10
Due:
Final
Project
4/29/10
Discrete Event Simulation
System Dynamics
Monte Carlo simulation
and Wrap up
Final Exam
6

Elements

Approaches

Measures of Performance

M&S Case I – Using Discrete Event Simulation to
analyze return policies

Introduction to System dynamics

The modeling process

Structure and Behavior

M&S Case II: Using SD for analyzing required
terminal capacities

Introduction

Spreadsheet simulation

Solving a Reverse Logistics problem using Monte
Carlo simulation

M&S Case III: Using Monte Carlo simulation
reverse logistics decision problem