Global Supply Chain Management MSc

About the Course

The MSc Global Supply Chain Management is an exciting and focussed programme for those considering a career in Supply Chain or Logistics. You will study issues relating to the development of supplier relationships, operations improvement, procurement strategies, inventory control, logistics operations, sustainability, as well as contemporary issues affecting these areas.

Our students come from a number of countries, including Brazil, Mexico, USA, Canada, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Germany, France, Greece, Turkey, China and South Korea. Typically Brunel students have work experience in the Supply Chain or Logistics areas or are those seeking employment in these areas.

Aims

The aim of this programme is to equip students with the tools, techniques and skills necessary to secure employment in this exciting and increasingly important area.
Specifically, students will be able to:

• Explain and critically apply theories on logistics and supply chain management, operations and project management, business modelling and simulation;
• Integrate theories and appraise strategies on managing supply chain operations (stemming from logistics and operations management frameworks) within the context of global business management;
• Understand the inter-relationship between logistics and supply chain management and contemporary social issues;
• Gain insightful knowledge into the development of outsourcing and the role played by outsourcing organisations.

Enquiries

Course Director: Dr Emel Aktas
Email emel.aktas@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267344

For applications already submitted
Contact Admissions online
Tel +44 (0)1895 265265

Business School Enquiries:  for enquiries prior to application
Email masterbbs@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267124 or 265910

Related Courses

• Management MSc
• Marketing MSc
• International Business MSc

Special Features

The programme includes a series of guest lectures, supply chain and procurement conferences, company visits and employability workshops.

In addition, on completion of the MSc GSCM programme, successful graduates can apply to become full members of Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, subject to having satisfied the 3 year relevant work experience requirement.

Also, graduates successfully completing this degree will have met the educational requirements for Chartered Membership (CMILT) of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.  When applying for Chartered Membership, applicants will be required to demonstrate that they meet the experience requirements of 4 years relevant experience including 2 years at senior level.

• One of the few supply chain Masters programmes in the United Kingdom to have received accreditation from the top Supply Chain and Logistics bodies.
• Includes a series of guest lectures, supply chain and procurement conferences, company visits and employability workshops; past visits have included site tours of Mini and Jaguar car plants, as well as visits from LEAN specialists at Rolls Royce and Wiles Greenworld.
• Tutors are internationally recognised academics and Industry Practitioners.
• Students will acquire a wealth of networking and knowledge opportunities  to bring them close to a growing supply chain community.
• The opportunity to present research to Industry specialists.

Accreditation

The Brunel MSc Global Supply Chain Management is one of a small number of programmes in the United Kingdom to receive accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). Students on this programme will have the opportunity to become members of these organisations and receive invites to procurement and supply chain activities in and around London.

 

Brunel Business School is ranked amongst the Top 20 UK Business Schools in the Financial Times Business Schools table.

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
A number of Associate memberships to the CMI are open to graduates of Brunel Business School postgraduate programmes, offering discounted full membership rates upon application. Members of the CMI may use the following letters as appropriate: Associates can use ‘ACMI’, Members ‘MCMI’ and Fellows ‘FCMI’.

Course Content

Core Modules

Logistics and Supply Chain Management
This module offers the chance to explore logistics and supply chain management perspectives in depth. You will gain a sophisticated appreciation of logistics and supply chain management issues including inventory management, transportation and warehousing, retail logistics and relevant information technology. You will also consider the relationship with customer service and gain an understanding of demand-driven and market-driven logistics as well as of the outsourcing of key logistics functions and logistics in a global context.

Procurement Fundamentals
The aim of this module is to explore the role of procurement in both service and manufacturing organisations and to equip students to apply procurement techniques in a range of supply situations. Topics will include a study of the origins and development of purchasing as well as its strategic importance. Students will also gain an enhanced understanding of the impact of environmental factors on the purchasing function, and explore supplier selection models, contract management, purchasing law and ethics.

Business Modelling and Simulation in Supply Chains
Systems modelling is an integral part of any complex decision making process. After studying this module students will have been introduced to a range of modelling and simulation methods, tools and practices to help equip them with the capability to structure and solve supply chain, logistics and operations management problems, and the ability to evaluate different approaches.

Operations and Project Management
During this module you will explore the tools and techniques for managing operations. You will gain a greater awareness and understanding of the strategic issues involved in the way organisations manage their operational activities and facilities – both within and beyond the organisation’s boundaries. Students will also gain greater insight into the role of project work as an enabler of organisation performance and improvement.

Global Outsourcing
This module explores the development of outsourcing and analyses the role played by outsourcing organisations;  the development of outsourcing tools and the implications of the outsourcing decision for client organisations. In addition, the module explores vendor assessment procedures, the importance of effective procurement strategies and the legal aspects associated with outsourcing.

Understanding Business and Management Research
This module provides students with a balanced view of social science and business research methods enabling a critical understanding of research information. It provides students with knowledge of relevant research methods and techniques for the Master's level project work.

Dissertation
A research-based dissertation is an integral element of the programme to which considerable importance is attached. It offers students the opportunity to demonstrate their academic competence and professional potential. There are few constraints on the research topic other than that it must be directly relevant, amenable to enquiry and of appropriate intellectual depth. The dissertation involves the full cycle of proposal development, literature review, methodology, evaluation, and final reporting.

Elective Modules (one from)

Strategic Management
This module enables students to appreciate the issues and challenges that confront managers responsible for strategic management. It introduces students to concepts, topics and methodological approaches and tools relevant to the analysis of the strategic position of the organisation and the development and implementation of strategies and policies, and their major operational implications.

International Business Ethics, Sustainability and Corporate Governance
This module provides students with the chance to consider business ethics, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in the international context. These issues will be addressed from both the ‘business’ and the ‘society’ side and for both large corporations and small firms using a combination of empirical studies and the theoretical resources of moral philosophy.

International Business Strategy
During this module you will explore the sources of competitive advantage and comparative advantage when firms operate in international markets. You will gain an understanding of how to evaluate the key strategic issues facing the multinational enterprise. You will also explore the dynamic inter-relationships between international corporate governance, strategy and innovation.

Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation
This module explores the intersection between knowledge, social network technologies and innovation. It examines how organisations create, utilise and communicate knowledge in the global knowledge-based economy and the wider social and economic factors affecting knowledge transfer. The module identifies the exploitation of Web 2.0 which enables social engagement and processes for business development.

Teaching and Learning

As a research intensive university, international level research findings by Brunel Business School tutors are regularly used in student lectures. Professor Michael Bourlakis, Professor Amir Sharif, Dr Des Doran and Dr Afshin Mansouri are leaders in the field of global supply and logistics management and active researchers within the School’s Operations and Supply Chain Systems Group (OASIS).

• Professor Michael Bourlakis
  Professor Michael Bourlakis is a world renowned academic in the field of Retail Logistics. Michael has produced more than 140 publications including journal papers, book chapters and conference papers. His papers have appeared in leading supply chain management, marketing and business journals such as Inter Alia, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal; International Journal of Logistics: Research & Applications; International Journal of Logistics Management; European Journal of Marketing; Journal of Marketing Management; Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing; Environment & Planning; Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Professor Bourlakis has received funding in excess of £600,000 from various bodies including the European Union, Food Standards Agency (UK), and Regional Development Agencies (UK). Additionally, he is on the editorial board of six journals, a member of the European Technology Platform (Food for Life, European Union) and the Academic Committee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport.
  

• Dr Des Doran
  Dr Doran is a specialist in Supply Chain Modularity and lectures on Procurement and Global Outsourcing. Des earned his PhD at Portsmouth University and his MBA (with Distinction) at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick and has published widely in the field of modular supply chains and is a regular reviewer for many leading journals. Des has lectured on a number of Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes at Kingston University and Queen Mary College, University of London and has provided Supply Chain training for a number of clients including Oman Air, Dolphin Gas and Qatar Bank. His teaching is informed by his research and his consulting activities.
  

• Dr Afshin Mansouri
  Dr Mansouri is the Business School’s specialist in Operations Management and has several years of industrial work experience in production and project management areas. In 2005 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tours in France. Prior to joining Brunel University in 2007, he has held academic and research positions at the University of Tehran and King’s College London. Dr Mansouri's research on humanitarian supply chain management for disaster relief in Iran has been funded by ESRC. He has also received research funding from Brunel University to investigate the role of multi-objective optimisation as a decision aid in build-to-order supply chains. Afshin is a member of the editorial board for International Journal of Industrial Engineering Computations and Management Science Letters and co-guest editor of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.
  

In addition, tutors in this subject utilise specialists to provide sessions relating to negotiation, sustainable supply chains, retail supply chains and LEAN production.

All staff contributing to this programme are active researchers and experienced consultants. Examples of recent activities can be found by clicking on the following links:

• Humanitarian Supply Chain
• Rolls Royce Master class
• Aviation Supply Chain

Assessment

• Modules are typically assessed by individual assessment, or an examination in May.
• Teaching methods include lectures and informal small study groups.
• Coursework and examinations place considerable stress on the ability think and reason critically, but constructively.
• The dissertation (12,000 words) is the capstone demonstration of these skills, requiring students to conceive, justify, design and execute a major project.
• Individual and or group presentations using laptops, PCs and digital projectors.

Employability

 Employability Events, Visits and Training

 

The School’s Business Life Employability Programme is designed to help students to acquire a range of employability and networking skills, enabling them to gain a distinct edge in the labour market and to manage their career search and development more effectively. Typical events have included:

• Business Life Capstone Event
  As part of their Business Planning module, postgraduate business students were invited to collaborate with Brunel’s annual Made in Brunel exhibition to provide a route to market for real creative and entrepreneurial products conceived by Brunel’s engineering and design students. Students from MSc Management and MSc Marketing not only created commercialisation plans for the products, but were invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of industry professionals and academic judges.
• BAT (Bloomberg Aptitude Test) with Bloomberg
  The BAT is offered as a three-hour online test taken on campus within an invigilated environment with a Bloomberg representative. BAT was designed in conjunction with leading financial institutions and academics to uncover an individual’s knowledge and skills relevant for a financial career. Students can choose to submit their names along with test scores or anonymously during job recruitment drives.
• Meet the Professionals Showcase
  A professional association is an organisation formed to unite and inform people who work in the same occupation. There are many advantages to joining professional bodies: typically they offer training and access to research, as well as networking opportunities like conferences and forums. Brunel Business School regularly invites key professional bodies to showcase these benefits to Business School students on campus. Professional bodies who regularly take part in the Showcase include: ACCA, ICAEW, CIPFA, CIMA, BCS, OR, CMI, CILT, CIPD, CII, CBI, CFA, CIM and CIPR.
  

UK Industrial and Commercial Visits
Where possible, events and external visits are arranged with UK organisations to help demonstrate theory in practice. Typical events have included: 

• Tour of the Mini Car Plant, Oxford
  MSc in Management students joined MSc Supply Chain Management students in 2012 on a visit to BMW’s Mini car plant in Oxford.  The visit involved a guided tour around the Mini production line which was in full operation during the visit. Students witnessed in practice many of management topics covered in their degree including international business strategy, new product development, customer focused marketing, operations and supply chain management, and financial resources management.
  

• CV Writing for Masters Students

Supply Chain Management is growing in importance as a management discipline and we are confident that graduates of this programme will improve their employability in this area as a result of completing this double-accredited specialist programme.

Graduate School Workshops
In addition to the events and training sessions organised within the Business School, masters students have exclusive access to the workshops and skills training provided by the Brunel University’s Graduate School. Typical sessions have included:

• CV Writing for Masters Students
  A good quality CV is crucial and takes time to perfect. Students on taught masters are invited to attend this special training session on how to prepare Curriculum Vitae towards a targeted job or sector.
• CV Writing Drop-in Clinic for Masters Students
  Masters students are invited to bring along their CVs for a one-to-one review session with a careers advisor or as a follow-up to the Graduates School’s CVs writing for Masters Students.
• How to Succeed in Assessment Centres (Masters Students)
  This session will help students to prepare for assessment centres which are used as part of an organisation’s recruitment processes for jobs in industry or academia, in particular for highly competitive positions.
• Interview Techniques for Masters Students
  A training session especially for masters students that explores the whole competitive process of the interview from preparation to presenting and demonstrating your interest on the day.
• Transferrable Skills for Masters Students
  Students are encouraged to widen their skills base during postgraduate study in response to employer demand for transferrable skills as well as intellectual knowledge.
  

For further Masters Skills Training Courses, visit the Graduate School.

Careers

This exciting programme is suitable for recent graduates and those seeking to enhance or extend their career opportunities in the field of supply chain and logistics management.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £8,000 full-time

International students: £13,500 full-time

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

A good honours degree (2:1 or above) in management, business studies or a cognate discipline. Mature candidates with non standard qualifications; graduates with only a lower second class degree (2:2), or those with the Advanced Diploma in Purchasing and Supply (Level 5) or the Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply (Level 6) of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), may be considered provided they can demonstrate significant, relevant occupational experience.

Candidates from non-business/management disciplines (and without any business/management element) will be eligible if they have a first class honours degree or the overseas equivalent.

Students whose first language is not English will be expected to demonstrate proficiency in English, typically IELTS 6.5 (with at least 6.0 in Writing and at least 5.5 in all the other sub-tests). 

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• TOEFL Paper test: 580 (TWE 4.5)
• TOEFL Internet test: 92 (R20, L20, S20, W20)
• Pearson: 59 (51 in all subscores)
• BrunELT 65% (min 60% in all areas)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.