Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is one of the fastest growing management fields. The success of any organisation relies on the seamless processes between the internal operations, external suppliers and customers of the business. It is essential for managers to have a solid understanding of the importance of processes and activities for effective and efficient management, and what it entails to be able to manage quality and improvement in supply chains.

Dr Deon van der Merwe holds a D.Litt. et Phil. in Psychology. He started his career in higher education in 1989 as a student counsellor, at the previous Rand Afrikaans University, now known as the University of Johannesburg. As he had a passion for teaching and learning, he soon became involved in the field of academic development (AD), initially in student academic development. Recently, Dr Van der Merwe became involved in private higher education, where he also acted as academic head, and academic director, of various private higher education institutions. He currently also consults as education development specialist to various institutions.

Dr Van der Merwe has lectured in various fields of expertise, starting in the field of psychology. He ultimately extended his field of expertise into that of organisational development. This specifically included the field of organisational psychology, business management, strategic management, international business management, project management, and human resource management. He has also acted as research supervisor for numerous Masters’ dissertations and Doctoral theses.

BASIC REQUIREMENTSTo successfully access and complete this course, you will be required to have a registered email account, access to a computer/laptop/tablet and stable internet connection. You will be required to be familiar with using a computer as you may need to be able to read and download documents in Adobe PDF Reader, view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTSOur online short learning programmes may require additional software applications. These additional software applications requirements will be communicated to you in this information pack and/or on the website course page. UNi4 Online does not provide any additional software applications required for online short learning programmes.

Please note: Google, YouTube and Vimeo may be used in our online course delivery. If any of these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficult in accessing our course content.

Our online short learning programmes are broken into self-paced manageable modules designed to be interactive and engaging:

• The programme is available to be viewed on smart devices, which includes mobiles, tablets and personal computers.
• Relevant case studies, articles and recommended reading are part of supplementary resources available.
• Apply and evaluate what you have learned in each module with the self-grading quizzes and assignment submissions.
• View a range of introductory course videos by your Subject Matter Expert.
• Scheduled live webinars are included with the Online Academic Tutor.
• Network, collaborate and interact with your fellow participants and Online Academic Tutor via the discussion forum.

Your dedicated Online Academic Tutor (OAT) will provide you with necessary guidance, offer advice and answer questions on course content, to help you achieve academic success.

• MODULE 0 | Orientation Week 1
  Navigating the Virtual Learning Environment
• MODULE 1 | Supply Chain Management: An Introduction Week 2
  Understanding what supply chain management entails
• MODULE 2 | The Role of Integrated Logistics Management in the Supply Chain Week 3
  Understanding how logistics functions as part of the supply chain
• MODULE 3 | Strategic Sourcing, Distribution and Inventory Management Week 4
  The impact of strategic sourcing and managing the supply
• MODULE 4 | The Role of Transport in the Supply Chain Week 5
  The approach to and decisions for transporting

• MODULE 5 | Managing Quality in the Supply Chain Week 6
  Various approaches and criteria for evaluating the supply chain
• MODULE 6 | IT and e-Commerce as Supply Chain Management Tools Week 7
  Understanding the role of e-commerce in the supply chain
• MODULE 7 | Global Supply Chain Management Week 8
  The global supply chain process and the interrelated risks
• MODULE 8 | Improving Performance in the Supply Chain Tools Week 9
  An evaluation of a set of financial statements
• MODULE 9 | Wrap-up Week 10
  Synthesise your learning journey experience