ISYE 6340 Global Supply Chain Seminar, Spring 2021
Description
The Global Supply Chain Seminar is a core component of Georgia Tech’s MS in Supply Chain Engineering degree program. The course includes both site visits and on-campus seminars, and students are immersed in the supply chain domain to observe supply chain practice first-hand. For 2021, site visits will be largely virtual.
Readings
- Amazon vs. Walmart
- Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy, Pietra Rivoli, Wiley Publishers, 2nd edition (2014). Paperback, 368 pages. Begin reading immediately.
Class discussion
The GSC Seminar is designed to encourage discussion and questions so that students can form opinions and critique the state-of-practice in the supply chain domain. Students in the course will be graded in part on participation. Please be prepared to contribute to class discussions; for virtual seminars, it is best if you turn your video on so please dress appropriately for guest lectures.
Site visits
It is very important that you arrive on time for all events, but especially for site visits. The bus will depart ruthlessly on schedule. The loading location will be the corner of Hemphill Ave. and 8th Street, in front of the Crecine Apartments.
You may not travel separately to the site unless you have made prior arrangements with the instructors.
All of the sites we will visit are workplaces and appropriate dress is business casual. Furthermore, many of these are industrial sites and safety is a concern. Do not wear sandals or open-toed shoes, shoes with heels more than one inch high, or hoodies. Do not wear dangling clothing, such as scarves, or dangling jewelry. If you have long hair, put it up above your shoulders. Students not meeting the dress requirements will not be allowed to join the tour.
Bring a photo ID, a notepad, pen, and camera (but take no pictures until we have asked permission). Leave backpacks, purses, coats, etc. on the bus.
Calendar
Sites or visitors may reschedule on short notice so check this schedule frequently, and especially the morning before a site visit. Additional calendar dates will be released as the schedule becomes more firm. Unhighlighted rows will be live (synchronous) Bluejeans video lectures. Blue rows will be Bluejeans discussion sessions covering earlier course content that students should review in advance. Yellow rows will indicate dates with guest speakers. Red rows will be days that class will not meet; on offline learning days students should use the class period as instructed.
| Date | Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 20 | Introduction | Introduction to course. Student introductions. Slides available on course Canvas. |
| Jan 25 | Supply chain fundamentals | Introduction to global supply chains. Slides available on course Canvas and here. |
| Jan 27 | Supply chain fundamentals | Continuation on supply chain fundamentals, and introduction to international freight transportation. Slides available on course Canvas. |
| Feb 1 | International supply chains | Guest speaker Bruce Cutler on furniture supply chains. Domestic and international supply chains are compared with a discussion of the critical issues required for international supply chain execution. |
| Feb 3 | International supply chains | Offline learning day. Use the class time to review the video tour, posted in the Canvas Modules, of a small but modern ocean container vessel and operations at a container seaport. |
| Feb 8 | No class | Modified schedule this week. |
| Feb 10 | International supply chains | Class discussion. We will talk about what we have learned about international supply chains. What forces lead to globalized supply chains? What trade-offs exist between cost, complexity, resiliency, and sustainability? |
| Feb 12 | International supply chains | Guest speaker Tim Brown will lead a special Friday session at 12 pm on international trade logistics, with focus on INCOTERMs. Please find reading material here, here, here, and here. |
| Feb 15 | MS SCE Capstone Project Orientation | For students conducting Summer 2021 or Fall 2021 Capstone Projects. The introduction will cover the timeline and project expectations and will offer tips. Special attention will be paid to how to use internships for Capstone. |
| Feb 17 | Retail and e-commerce | Offline learning day. Use the class time to begin preparations for next week's discussion on Amazon e-commerce supply chains. Please review the materials posted in the Canvas modules providing virtual tours and descriptions of modern logistics operations in e-commerce. |
| Feb 22 | Retail and e-commerce | Class discussion. We will talk about the supply chains and logistics facilities operated by Amazon, a modern e-commerce retailer. Seller variations and inbound product. Last-mile variations. FCs and middle-mile transportation. |
| Feb 24 | Retail and e-commerce | Discussion with Hitesh Newadkar, Network Planning Manager at Amazon Air and MS SCE alumnus. |
| Mar 1 | Retail and e-commerce | Class discussion. We will continue our discussion about the logistics facilities operated by Amazon, a modern e-commerce retailer. We will focus the discussion primarily on sortable FCs, but also talk about the facilities supporting the middle-mile network and interfaces to delivery partners. |
| Mar 3 | No class | Join us for a "live" virtual tour of an Amazon FC on Tues Mar 2 at 5 pm Eastern. If you weren't able to join at that time, find a time over the next few days to book one of the live tours through the link provided in Canvas. |
| Mar 8 | No class | |
| Mar 10 | No class | Begin working on Writing Assignment 1, published on Canvas. Read the following article in the New York Times, and consider conducting some additional research about the facts presented in the article. |
| Mar 15 | Distribution centers | Guest speaker John A. White, III from Fortna (retired). We will hear perspectives on modern warehousing and distribution center design. |
| Mar 17 | Distribution centers | Class discussion. Seaport congestion, short-term growth in international trade. Popular press coverage of logistics issues. |
| Mar 22 | Inventory management | Guest speaker Aseem Kohli from o9 Solutions. We will hear perspectives on inventory and service level tradeoffs, and how to optimize accordingly. Included will be a demo of the o9 platform. |
| Mar 24 | No class. | |
| Mar 29 | Distribution centers and inventory management | Class discussion. Modern distribution center design and the role of technological advances. Multi-echelon inventory optimization. |
| Mar 31 | MS SCE Capstone Project Check-in | For students conducting Summer 2021 or Fall 2021 Capstone Projects. Join the discussion if you have questions or concerns about your Capstone Project. Recall that Sponsor Identifications and Project Pre-proposals are due in April. |
| Apr 5 | No class | |
| Apr 7 | Logistics optimization software | Guest speaker Kathryn Walter from ORTEC. |
| Apr 12 | Distribution centers | Facility tour at Americold (optional). We will tour the Americold facility operated as a multi-temperature distribution center for Kroger supermarkets. Meet at bus departure location no later than 12:45 pm. Bus will return by 4 pm. |
| Apr 14 | Distribution centers | Class discussion. We will review what we learned on the Americold tour. Those of you unable to attend the optional tour should prepare by researching supermarket supply chains and cold chain distribution facilities. |
| Apr 19 | No class | |
| Apr 21 | Freight transportation | Guest speaker Ingrid Crafford, Director Asset Planning and Optimization at Norfolk Southern Railroad. |
| Apr 26 | Course Wrap-up | Final class discussion. Thoughts on modern supply chains and logistics systems, and outlook for the near future. |
| Apr 28 | Special Extra Speaker Session, 12 pm | Guest speaker Nelson Grajales, Machine Learning Software Engineer, o9 Solutions will give a talk on "How AI/ML is Redefining Business Planning". |