Facility Logistics Management

Information

The Netherlands is well known for its expertise in distribution operations. Many American and Asian multinational companies have established their European logistics centre in the Netherlands (about 55%, according to HIDC, 2001), and it is the home base of many logistics service providers and operations. The logistics sector has a big impact on the Dutch economy. Warehousing and distribution are core businesses for many large and smaller firms. While most other courses in the SCM master focus primarily on external logistics and strategic issues, this course focuses on intra logistics (or facility logistics): process design and execution; operations, particularly those within facilities. External and intra logistics are strongly related and, even stronger, interdependent. We will address such questions as: what is the impact of a company’s distribution structure on the intra logistics system, and vice versa? What storage systems should be used under which circumstances, what handling systems, what is the best layout, which information systems are appropriate, and what is the resulting performance? Besides matters of system choice, operational storage and order picking strategies are also discussed.

During the course, a number of case-based assignments will be carried out. You may have to present your solutions to the case customers.

The course addresses several skills. These include presentations, consultancy (you have to defend solutions to your peers), data-mining with a database tool, design (make good quality layout drawings), and analysis of company-internal operations.