Curriculum Standards

These are ALEP’s expectations for the curriculum content of a 4-year world-class supply chain management degree program. The program needs to address the following general skills areas, general business and management skill areas, and Logistics and Supply Chain Management areas:

General Skills Areas

• English language - written and oral communication
• Research skills
• Business writing and Presentation skills
• Analytical thinking (able to analyze and frame problems)
• Information technology (able to use current technology in business and management contexts)
• Interpersonal relations and teamwork (able to work effectively with others in team environments)
• Diverse and multicultural work environments (able to work effectively in diverse environments)
• Critical thinking and Reflective thinking (Critical thinking involves a wide range of thinking skills leading towards desirable outcomes and reflective thinking focuses on the process of making judgments about what has happened.)
• Application of knowledge (able to translate knowledge of business and management into practice)

General Business Knowledge areas

• Economic, political, regulatory, legal, technological, and social contexts of organizations in a global economy
• Social responsibility, including sustainability, diversity and ethical behavior and approaches to management
• Financial theories, analysis, reporting, and markets
• Systems and processes in organizations, including planning and design, production/operations, supply chains, marketing, and distribution
• Group and individual behaviors in organizations and society Evidence-based decision making that integrates current and emerging business statistical techniques, data management, data analytics and Information technology in the curriculum.

Core Logistics and Supply Chain Management knowledge areas (Core content)

• English language - written and oral communication
• Research skills
• Business writing and Presentation skills
• Analytical thinking (able to analyze and frame problems)
• Information technology (able to use current technology in business and management contexts)
• Interpersonal relations and teamwork (able to work effectively with others in team environments)
• Diverse and multicultural work environments (able to work effectively in diverse environments)
• Critical thinking and Reflective thinking (Critical thinking involves a wide range of thinking skills leading towards desirable outcomes and reflective thinking focuses on the process of making judgments about what has happened.)
• Application of knowledge (able to translate knowledge of business and management into practice)
• Current global logistics status and developing trends.
• Logistics Management concepts and methods used to plan and manage operations, logistics, and supply chain activities in a global business environment.
• The components of logistics management and tradeoffs required to manage the integrated flow of goods through the supply chain.
• Key business processes within the firm and across the supply chain. Specific topics include operations strategy, services, customer satisfaction, value chain, demand management, forecasting, aggregate planning, production processes, scheduling, Just-In-Time, quality assurance, inventory management, ERP, and global supply chains.
• Key drivers of logistics performance and their inter-relationships with corporate strategy and other functional areas.
• Innovative strategies and best practices for improving supply chain performance with a focus on developing analytic, problem-solving, and cost trade-off management skills.
• Strategic planning process, supply chain integration, performance measures, technology sourcing, make-buy decisions, strategic partnering and outsourcing, and IT and decision-support systems for strategy formulation.
• International trade theories and history, and transportation and logistics issues associated with trade.
• Trade issues focus on macro and micro levels of international trade including trade agreements, impacts of trade, cultural factors, financial and legal aspects, export documentation, customs, and security issues.
• Modes of international transportation, logistics elements, intermediaries, customer service, and transportation options and costs.
• Economic analysis of freight transportation including cost measurement, pricing principles, project evaluation, and economic regulation in various modes of transportation including railroads, air, truck, and ocean.
• Demand and supply side concepts and their application to transport policy and planning. Topics should include cost of transport, efficient pricing, competition, traffic congestion, and the various tools available for economic evaluation of transportation projects and related investments.
• Emerging Logistics technologies and traditional logistics software technologies such as transportation management systems, warehouse management systems, and inventory management systems.
• Supply Chain management in a “big data” environment.