Q&A: Final thoughts (100 second reflection on the course)
Think for 100 seconds, and share and final thoughts / feedback about the course
e.g. what you learned, what you would have liked to learn, what you wish the professor had done different, ….
MIS 3537 – Spring 2017
This course has taught me a lot about the supply chain in business, and how to connect it with IT. There was a lot that i learned from this class, such as RFID, the bullwhip effect and efulfillment. . I think that overall this class helped further my understanding about the behind-the-scenes workings of supply chain management and how it changes the way people do business. I enjoyed the layout of each group preparing a document on the case even when they were not presenting. That made it so everyone came to class with an understanding of what we would be talking about that day.
As a marketing major with close to no knowledge of supply chain operations, I felt this course provided a sufficient overview of general SC material. There were many concepts I have never heard of before (i.e. Bullwhip Effect, Drop-Ship, etc…), but we covered them enough to where it was easy to understand how they affect real world scenarios. Before this course, I never imagined how dependant supply chain functions are on IT. It was interesting to learn about various ERP systems, data transfer, IoT, and electronic marketplaces. I hope to work in IT sales post graduation, and I feel the lessons in this class will help tremendously. Having a brief understanding of procurement and logistics will give me a better sense of how to navigate through organizations to find key decisions makers and users of technology. As technology evolves so will the way humans consume, and it will be very interesting to see what the common supply chain looks like in 10-20 years.
I enjoyed learning about all the ways IT affects supply chains. It was very interesting to learn about the internet of things, electronic marketplaces, and the bullwhip effect. I also enjoyed how the class concepts were applied to the simulations we played. By doing the simulations we were able to see how connected a supply chain must be in order to be effective and productive.
I thought the course gave me a great understanding of the relationship between supply chain and IT. The case studies were very interesting and helpful because they discussed the different challenges companies go through and the solutions they come up with. Also, I enjoyed the simulations, and I thought they were a great way to grasp the concepts we learned in class such as Bullwhip effect, prediction and fulfillment of demand, etc… I liked the global SC simulation, and I thought it was helpful in understanding the many decisions SC manager has to make from developing product to putting it in market, and the change in demand forecast. I just wish we have done more of those simulations in class.
Being that I am pursuing a major in Marketing and a minor in Management Information Systems, I can now see how this course about supply chains related directly to my fields of study and how, the subject is likely to affect my future career. I understand how information technology and supply chains are interconnected. During the semester, we touched on topics ranging from supply chain business models to ethics and environmentally safe supply chain techniques. In addition, the Beer Game and the Global Supply Chain Management simulation really helped cement the topics we discussed in class by compiling them into a real-world simulation where you have to make the decisions that someone in supply chain management would have to consider.
I learned about the various areas of a supply chain and how that translated differently using technology. I enjoyed how we used real life cases and examples of businesses that each student has probably used. The simulations were extremely helpful in providing “real world” experiences and troubles that a supply chain may encounter.
This class is very useful and insightful. First of all, I have to say that the professor is knowledgeable about the IT and supply chain. I have learned that international, IT, ethical, e-business perspectives of the supply chain. Also, I recognized that different businesses have different supply chains, and it is important for each business to customize its supply chain based on its products, resources, distribution methods, etc. Overall, when the supply chain integrates with the information system, the opportunities is enormous, but it requires a careful and sophisticated integration between these two.
I think this class taught me more about how dependent we are on IT for successful supply chains. This class also emphasized to me that IT is going to be a huge part of our future so it is good we are getting a background on it now. As for the format of this class, I liked our weekly group projects and how we took turns presenting each week. One thing I wish was different is the amount of lecture time.
This course showed my how supply chains are not just physical. The netflix and hulu case demonstrated that companies dealing in software and digital content still rely heavily on supply chain management in order to be successful and have a competitive advantage over their competitors. I enjoyed the simulations and how they gave me first hand experience in learning about supply chain concepts such as the bullwhip effect.
I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I feel that I have gained a lot of insight into ‘internet’ aspect of supply chains. This class has made me realize that as technology advances, supply chains have been and will continue to be more and more reliant on technology to be efficient and remain competitive in a global perspective. I enjoyed reading through the case studies and answering the case questions. Overall, they paralleled the course material pretty well and provided real world examples of the topics we discussed in class. This was my first class that focused on SCs in businesses, and it gave me a great basis of SC-related content and knowledge that I will build upon through the rest of my time in Fox. Additionally, I am glad that we were able to do the global SC simulation and the beer game SC simulation. I had never done anything quite like them; they were a fun way to learn about what it’s like being a part of a SC in a simulated scenario. Thanks for a great semester!
What a great semester! The interactive classroom setting and case-based learning were fantastic. I was listening to the supply chain radio podcast earlier today and heard some of the same topics we discussed in class, which is a testament to professor Beavers knowledge of current supply chain trends. My takeaway from this course is information systems enable supply chain flexibility and visibility. Also, most supply chains are Global and consumers demand real-time solutions (whether it be where is my package, or if the supply chain is meeting ethical standards). Now, things that I would change. I found the bullwhip simulation confusing. Perhaps a more comprehensive explanation before and after the exercise. Thank you, Mr. Beaver, it was a great semester and I learned a lot.
Coming into this course as a supply chain major I have already come into contact with most of the supply chain material that we touched on. What I didn’t have as much exposure to was some of the principles of how IT plays a role in supply chain and in businesses in general. It was interesting to see the new technologies that are molding supply chains today and be exposed to the potential that we will continue to see in the future. Overall the class was a good change of pace comparatively to a supply chain specific class and I’m satisfied with the material covered in the class.
Coming into this I really did not know what to expect, even as a supply chain major. Being a SCM major, I believe that it helped me grasp the material a lot easier, as I have come in contact with a lot of the material we covered in class. This course taught me a great deal, and really expanded my knowledge on SCM as a whole, and how many different channels there are to get products from A to B. Out of everything that I learned in this class, I believe that the Bullwhip Effect Simulation (Beer Game) really stuck with me, and how important forecasting and communication throughout the supply chain is paramount. Overall, I learned a ton in this class and would recommend it to any student at TU.
As a Supply Chain major coming into this semester with the first real experience in my major, I felt that this course provided a good basis from a technology standpoint. The simulations that we got to experience really stuck with me. They applied the concepts in a visual way through the case at hand that helped me grasp it. New technology is constantly molding how businesses function and interact through their supply chains, so reading through the case studies each week was another effective way that I learned through this course. Learning about things such as different ERP systems and data transfer will be very applicable to my career one day.
As an MIS major, I had no idea what to expect from this class since I had never really discussed supply chains in previous classes. I feel like I learned a great deal on how important it is for a business to have an efficient supply chain and how technology is constantly evolving distribution strategies. I enjoyed learning about the different real life examples that we discussed when going over the weekly cases and the Harvard Business simulations that we completed in class. I would definitely recommend this course to some of the other students in MIS that want to concentrate more on the business side than the technical/coding side.
As an Accounting Major and MIS minor, I wasn’t exactly sure what I could expect to learn from this course. This course taught me a lot about real life examples of successful supply chains and all of the technology behind them. When you make a purchase from amazon you don’t think about what it takes to get that purchase to your door in 2 days. The Harvard Business simulations were also incredibly interesting helping break down the different parts of the supply chain.
Discussing the internet of things was definitely my favorite topic of this class. It is really interesting to learn how IT has changed this world in all aspect of business, but especially for supply chain managers. I typically don’t enjoy running simulations, but the beer game was very engaging and insightful. It was also cool learning about how different companies altered their supply chains over the years to become more lean and efficient. I also want to thank you for typing the notes along with us on the board. It allowed me to keep up with taking notes instead of falling behind reading a PowerPoint presentation.
Personally, I enjoyed the contents of this class, which really opened my eyes. I am excited about the lots concepts of supply chain management, and the management within IT, I learned. With a good balance between subjects’ theories, real-world case study, and guest lecture, as well two supply chain simulation games, this course allowed me to mastering the knowledge of every topic we discuss. During this semester, I not only used to surprise by the importance of Internet/(IT) to the development of modern supply chain, but also enjoyed to discovering the world by playing different role of supply chain. I realized the supply chain management will make a big different on a business. Bringing the dream of running my own business, I believe I should continuing pay attention on more knowledge of supply chain management even though the course is finished. I am so glad that I had took the opportunity to join this course.
I think this course was interesting because of how relevant it is in today’s business world. With increasing levels of globalization and the rapid development of the IoT, this course helped to prepare students for real-world business environments. The multiple different cases that were used help to provide applicable examples of how the internet and new technologies are affecting supply chain initiatives in many different types of companies. I think that the most interesting case was the Hulu case because it dealt with the transfer of information, rather than the more traditional transfer of physical goods and materials.
Prior to the course I had little knowledge of supply chains and the work that went into them. I understood the basics of acquiring materials, lead time and meeting a production schedule, but there were many things that I did not acknowledge. There are different ways to do the same thing, as is there are in life in general. The way a company does it can add a significant amount of value to the company as well as damage the company. I though a supply chain was a means to an end to create a material, but now I recognize it as a true business decision that can create value.
I found this class very interesting and I am glad I am pursing Supply Chain Management as a major. I liked how we did weekly case studies that had us answer questions that made us think more deeply about the topic. I found that the process in which businesses acquire and move their products is very complex and changes all of the time. The bullwhip effect was most interesting aspect of the class to me. I even under stood better when we did the team simulation on it. One of our team members made a small increase in production and as the “shift” went down the production line it just got larger and larger. Overall this class helped me understand how important a efficient supply chain is for a business to succeed.
This course taught me a lot about how significant online and technological resources can be for a business and its supply chain. I found the weekly cases studies to be especially helpful in the learning process because it made me actively engage in the content of the class. Also, I really enjoyed the business simulations such as the beer game and the simulation we participated in in the last week. I thought they were a good way to keep us attentive and showed us how to apply what we had learned in class to an actual business scenario.
This class really helped show the importance of a supply chain, and how in depth it can be. It also showed the important role technology plays in supply chains. All the cases that we have read help me to learn how supply chain can be changed and made more efficient by innovative technologies. This was my first supply chain focused class, so it opened my eyes to a lot of things I never thought about as a consumer. The beer game and supply chain simulations were cool ways to learn in a role playing team environment. Overall I really enjoyed this class and learned a lot along the way.
This course taught me a lot about how integrated the supply chain industry is with technology and the internet. Normally when people think of supply chain, they think of large ships and trucks carrying tons of cargo to some destination, but it’s much more than that. My two personal favorite things we did throughout the class were the two simulations: the Root Beer Game and the Global Supply Chain Management simulation. I felt like they both gave me a small taste of what it is like to make decisions as an actual supply chain manager and the challenges that come with that responsibility. Overall, I learned a lot from this class; thank you, Mr. Beaver!
Throughout the class, I learned a lot about how diverse a supply chain can be from company to company and how it must be adaptable to changing business conditions and environments (i.e. Crocs). I thought that through the weekly cases, we were able to identify different metrics that were successful for certain industries, and conversely, what didn’t work well for certain companies. I thought it was helpful to see how the class concepts applied to these cases to truly bring the core concepts together. Overall, I truly enjoyed the class and learned a great deal.
This class has given me a solid foundation of how IT is closely related to SCM. Now I have a better understanding of what factors go into the management of a SC and how you can improve efficiency through the use of different tools. The last supply chain class I took wasn’t able to make things as clear as your class did. I am really glad that this course cleared up some of the concepts I was confused with.
Through the several weeks I have spent in this course, I have learned very much about supply chain management, and how close of a relationship it has with internet technology. When you think of big companies such as Apple or Hulu, you do not think too much about their supply chains. It was cool to learn how important their supply chains are to their functionality, and how different all of their supply chains actually are from one another. Overall, I learned a great deal in the course and you made it a lot more open and exciting then many of my past professors, so thank you for a great semester professor!
I learnt a lot from in this class overall. By having a IB major, I realized how important IT connect to supply chain and make it efficient from all aspects. Especially from RFID, the bullwhip effect, and efulfillment. As well as for the cases, I understand how technology change will have the significant impact on certain industries such as movie and music industries. This class not only teach me about the importance of the supply chain, but also the emerging technology and network implemented in this field. Since supply chain management is involved in every industry, I will definitely apply these knowledge to my future business.
What first comes to mind is that I thought learning about EDI was the most revolutionary topic we discussed. I realize that it isn’t anything brand-new, but I had no clue that this was a way to businesses communicated. I always assumed that businesses just spoke via email. Additionally, I found the supply chain simulation game useful in supply chain. Having to decide on change orders for $2 million was a big choice to make, and the whole simulation made things feel real. There is not other way to go through 4 years as a supply chain manager and see the outcomes in two hours. I also found the root beer game to be a good team exercise, although the first silent round proved to be very difficult. This tied in perfectly to the concept of bullwhip, which I still believe is the most important concept in supply chain.
What did I think could have been done differently? I feel that the process in which we presented the answers to the case questions, then went over them in class with you, was quite repetitive. I did not find that the presentations were that useful, but I understand the need for engagement. I suggest that instead of presentations with the same content, you go over the case questions with mandatory participation in class. Also, I found the online participation to be a poor way to learn and engage. Personally, the posts would slip my mind. But more so, I think in person participation is far more important and valuable, especially in a night class. The online participation seemed forced and I have never felt that I gained much from it in any class. I think that you as the professor would also benefit from the online writings to be transferred to in-class. Everyone has something to say, and it is far more meaningful with personal inflection.
Thank you for this opportunity to speak about the class.