Logistics & Operations Management

Successful implementation of a business strategy requires thorough understanding of the ways in which goods and services are produced. The arrangement of resources required for the production of a company?s output is the core task of operations managers. Historically, operations managers have seen their main responsibility lying within their own operation. However, increasingly they now have to look beyond this traditional internal view, if they want to manage their operations effectively. This introduces a wide variety of logistics challenges. For example, in many industries an increasing number of services and materials is obtained from outside specialist suppliers. This, in turn, means that the way in which businesses manage the supply of products and services to their operations greatly increases in importance. Similarly, at the demand side of the business, the way in which the distribution chain is managed contributes to an operation?s ability to serve its customers. In this Master's programme the execution of a company?s primary processes, including operational linkages with suppliers and distributors, is thus the central topic.

Bachelor's Business Studies, Business Administration, International Business, Econometrics and Operations Research Semester 1 *Research & Design Methodology *International Production Management *Physical Distribution Management *Logistics and Information *Elective Semester 2 *Purchasing Management *Elective *Master's Thesis This MSc programme is accessible for all students with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (Bedrijfseconomie), International Business (IB), Business Studies (BS), Econometrics, and similar Bachelor's programmes at other universities. Bachelor graduates should have prior knowledge in the area of organization, logistics and operations management. This should be at the level of at least two undergraduate courses (12 credits) in these fields and one advanced course, for example Supply Chain Management. Students with a bachelor?s degree obtained in a programme that was not taught in English, should have developed English speaking and writing skills at the level of the skills training in the first year of IB and BS. To better meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities presented by economic globalization, firms develop global operational networks. Purchasing, production, and distribution activities take place in various parts of the world. Building an international plant network helps the enterprise to take advantage of the best available worldwide resources while accessing global markets. Graduates have interesting career opportunities in these companies with operations activities dispersed worldwide. Obviously, consultancy companies are required to offer international operations management expertise, which reveals another line of career for graduates. Last but not least, service operations is an emerging area with career opportunities, in particular in the health care sector.