Operations and Supply Chain Management Concentration
From large global manufacturers to local firms producing and selling goods, all companies have a supply chain function that must be managed effectively to remain competitive in today’s business marketplace. Across industries, companies require supply chain management professionals to manage production, direct the flow of materials, organize finances, coordinate internal and cross-company communication and improve service for customers. In the current economy, seamless operations and supply chain management function are crucial to business success.
About our Program
Poole College’s Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Concentration in Operations and Supply Chain Management gives students a comprehensive knowledge of global supply chain management and the skills required for executing strategic and effective practices in a dynamic business world.
The program curriculum explores business evaluation processes, strategic and tactical supply chain planning, and management of the activities and resources that transform raw materials into finished goods and services.
Students complete core courses in business functions, as well as specialized courses in operations analysis, planning and control systems, logistics management, supply management, decision modeling, and cost accounting for effective management.
Poole’s concentration in operations and supply chain management helps students develop the skills to oversee the production and movement of goods and understand the basics of decision analytics.
Donavan Favre
Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management
What Will I Learn?
Operations and Supply Chain Management concentration graduates will understand how to:
Compute key process performance measures, including capacity, flow rate, utilization, and flow time, and understand and analyze the impact of complexities like batching and yield losses on process performance.
Apply a range of quality analysis tools to guide decision-making in process improvement.
Apply basic process simulation tools to analyze and improve processes under various assumptions about uncertainty in demand and processing time.
Explain the potential contributions of purchasing and supply chain management to the competitiveness of the company.
Develop skills related to spend analysis, commodity segmentation, supplier evaluation, supplier bid evaluation, and total cost of ownership analysis.
Develop a comprehension of sustainability in the supply base, supplier quality management, global sourcing, and ethics in procurement.
Describe the parameters that critically influence planning and control decisions at various levels of aggregation in product offerings and planning time scales, and specify values of those parameters that will result in desired planning and execution outcomes.
Build an operations plan and a master schedule to support projected customer demand.
Identify and frame key issues of decisions, and obtain decision-relevant information in an unbiased manner in order to analyze, evaluate, and compare alternatives and present a cogent case to gain commitment to action.
Learn more about the learning outcomes for undergraduate programs in Poole College.
About Our Faculty
Poole College’s operations and supply chain faculty have extensive expertise—along with a passion for helping students and businesses grow—which makes them invaluable contributors to NC State’s research-learning initiatives, like the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative.
Beyond the classroom, our faculty members have decades of experience across various industries such as agriculture, chemical, energy, pharmaceutical, bioscience, healthcare, logistics and transportation. Their industry engagement includes leading companies such as Bank of America, Nortel, GlaxoSmithKline, AT&T and Chevron.
Key local and national outlets, including Forbes, The New York Times, NPR and CBS, regularly come to our faculty to get answers to the most pressing questions.
And above all, they’re dedicated to providing experiential learning that prepares career-ready graduates to make an impact in the real world.
Why Operations and Supply Chain Management at NC State?
Poole College’s supply chain undergraduate program combines business knowledge with IT and data analytics skills – both highly desired by business leaders – while also offering hands-on and project-oriented courses that give students valuable insights into understanding supply chain and operations in the real world. The college’s Supply Chain Resource Cooperative is nationally regarded as one of the preeminent thought leaders in the world of supply chain, and our students benefit from the connections they are able to make with leaders in the supply chain world.
“NC State’s Supply Chain Management program is one of the strongest in the country. We are proud of our track record of graduating students confident in their ability to communicate with both executives and technicians alike.” – Sherry Fowler, Professor of Practice in Information Technology and Business Analytics.
Hands-On Learning
For a supply chain practicum course, students work throughout the semester in small teams to solve a business problem, culminating with a presentation of their key findings and recommendations to executives at the sponsoring company during the annual Gallery Walk.
Students start their time at NC State Poole College of Management as either a management first year student (if you are a freshman) or in a major (if you are a transfer student). Regardless of your path, you will have plenty of time to explore the different things you want to do in business and operations.
The business administration, operations and supply chain management program requires that students complete 120 credits towards the degree, comprised of courses in humanities and social sciences, mathematics, natural sciences, general electives and credits specific to the operations and supply chain management program.
Operations and supply chain management majors also get a broad education in key business areas by taking core courses in accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, human resources management, IT and marketing along with a capstone business strategy course.
Business Administration major – Operations and Supply Chain Management concentration requirements include 46 credits:
Core Business Courses (34 credits), including M 210 Introduction to Business Processes, ACC 210 Concepts of Financial Reporting and BUS 340 Information Systems Management
Operations and Supply Chain Management Requirements (3 credits), including BUS 370 Operations and Supply Chain Management, BUS 472 Operations Planning and Control Systems and BUS 474 Logistics Management..
Operations and Supply Chain Management Electives (9 credits), including BUS 473 Supply Chain Strategy and BUS 474 Logistics Management.
For full degree requirements, visit the NC State Catalog. To view individual courses, descriptions and schedules, use the Course Search.
Career Opportunities
Our graduates are employed in nearly every industry and are vital in ensuring a company’s offerings provide value for its customers. Our stats speak for themselves:
Average reported salaries for Poole supply chain and operations graduates is $58,942 (as of May 2021).
Within three months of graduation, 82 to 85% of operations and supply chain graduates report back that they have accepted a job within their field.
Careers include:
Operations manager
Supply chain consultant
Process improvement manager
Logistics and distribution manager
Supply chain analyst
Procurement and supply manager
Purchasing manager
Logistics analyst
… and more!
Launch your career –– the Career Center at Poole is here to support you. #PoolePackAlum
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