Course content

In this course, manufacturing and logistics is viewed from a strategic perspective.

The following topics will be covered:

Strategic concepts, decisions areas, and development processes in manufacturing enterprises. Localisation of factories and processes. Engineering and establishment of manufacturing enterprises. Sourcing and automation strategies. Performance measurement, productivity improvement, and control in global value chains. Strategic network development, technology transfer, and use of best practices. The course includes several industrial cases, which will enhance the students analytical and communicative skills within these topics.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

The course provides knowledge about manufacturing strategy, and how such strategies can be developed for global enterprises.

Skills:

The course will provide skills to establish, structure, and manage manufacturing enterprises in such a way that the overall competitiveness is improved.

General competence (attitudes):

Understand the challenges facing manufacturing enterprises as they compete on the global playing field, and cooperate and contribute to multidisciplinary interaction.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, exercises and project work. A mandatory semester paper must be carried out individually for the evaluation. Lectures and exercises will be in English when students who do not speak Norwegian are attending the course. If the teaching is given in English, the semester assignment will also be in English. Students are free to answer in Norwegian or English for all written assessments. 2/3 of the exercises is required approved before the semester paper can be submitted for grading.

Compulsory assignments

• Exercises

Recommended previous knowledge

TPK4100 Operations Management or similar knowledge.

Course materials

Beckman, Sara L., Rosenfield, Donald B. (2008) Operations Strategy: Competing in the 21st Century. McGraw Hill.