PU

BLI
C/
CY
HO
ED
DU
S

Faculty of Business and Creative

Industries
Module Handbook

Logistics Operations Management

(PS4S41)
Full-Time
Year January 2024

Module Leader - Amy Nguyen

PS4S41
Logistics Operations Management (2022/23)

1
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
Hello and welcome to the module! HO
ED
This Module Handbook aims to provide you with a clear understanding of DU
what you should expect from this module. Please take a moment to S
familiarise yourself with it.

Aims of the module

The aim of the module is to equip the student with the ability to analyse and
understand contemporary issues relating to freight transport, warehousing
operations and warehouse design within the strategic context of the wider
supply chain.

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this module the student should:

1. To demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of freight transport practices in

support of the effective management of a complex supply chain.

2. To demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of warehouse design and operation in

support of the effective management of a complex supply chain

A brief synopsis of module content

 Introduction to the management of road freight transport

 Distribution Management
 Major characteristics of international sea, air, and rail freight transport.
 3PL contract tendering and wider outsourcing developments.
 The range of storage/handling equipment and order picking methods
available.
 The importance of the Physical Logistics Internet.
 An overview of logistics modelling techniques.
 The role of warehousing in modern supply chains, storage and
handling equipment options, order picking systems and warehouse
design methodology.
 The role of Industry 4.0 in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
 Contemporary supply chain strategies: last-mile solutions,
collaboration, CAS and Social Systems Theory.
 An exploration of how we gain knowledge about logistics; philosophical
perspectives and the importance of contexts and how they relate to
normative and meta theories.

Teaching and Learning

 The module will be delivered through formal weekly lectures /

workshops session. This might include mini-lectures from guest

2
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
speakers, case studies, video news stories, discussion groups and HO
collaborative working. ED
DU
• You will progress weekly through the module by accessing the relevant S
folders of learning materials and activities via ‘Learning Materials’ on
Blackboard.

• Please refer to the resources provided on Blackboard to familiarise

yourself with this material so that you can access it when needed for
class and also your own studies too.

• Please also remember that useful information and any changes to the
module programme will be posted as Announcements on the module
Blackboard site.

Reading and wider research

Reading is an essential part of successful completion of this module. The

reading list is available via Blackboard and is organised to highlight key
reading associated with each theme of the module schedule. Each weekly
folder of learning activities has a direct link to the specific reading for that
theme of study. It is essential that you engage proactively and deeply with
these key texts/articles. It is also expected that you will research additional
journal articles to complement the key texts and to enable you to engage in
more advanced critical thinking. To guide you in this process, you are
strongly encouraged to search for articles within the following academic
journals:

 Journal of Supply Chain Management (JSCM)

 Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
 Harvard Business Review

Some additional important non-academic resources include:

 Supply Management Magazine (daily news in our field by CIPS)
 Flipboard (USW SUPPLY CHAIN MAGAZINE) – you will find a link to
our dedicated magazine on the module Blackboard site. The academic
team post news articles or relevant resources to the magazine to share
up to date and contemporary ideas to support your studies. Please
‘follow’ us to stay connected.

You may and should, of course explore articles and resources beyond these,
through the University’s library services, but a surface engagement with a
large number of resources is a poor substitute for a deep engagement with
the important texts and resources that are highlighted above and via the
module Reading List. It is expected that you will reference the key reading
from the reading list within your CW1 and CW2 assessment submission.

Referencing - All work must adopt USW Harvard referencing style. You should
refer carefully to the University’s PDF guide on Harvard Referencing which is
available from the library services.
3
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
HO
Plagiarism (submitting work that is not your own or failing to reference ED
properly). - The University regards plagiarism as a very serious offence. In DU
order that you do not accidentally commit plagiarism, you should ensure that S
you make use of the information that the University issues and check with
your lecturers if you are at all unsure. Proven cases of plagiarism can result in
varying degrees of penalties depending on the level you are studying, whether
it is a first offence and the volume of work plagiarised. In serious cases,
proven plagiarism can result in expulsion.

Key skills delivered by this module

Throughout this module you will have the opportunity to engage in active and
critical enquiry in a way which will help you to develop core graduate
attributes, including the following key skills:

1. Communication
2. Enquiry and Analysis
3. IT Skills
4. Critical Reflection
5. Problem Solving

PS4S41 - Indicative Lecture & Session Plan – Full-time 2024

CW1

CW2
LECTURE PROGRAMME LECTURE WORKSHOP
PROGRAMME
Sessions THEME TOPICS COVERED WORKSHOP
ACTIVITY
Session 1 Module Introduction  Blackboard Workshop 1

4
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
Week 35  Module Handbook The future of HO
w/c 13  Assignment tasks Logistics & ED
May Transport
DU
S
Session 2 Introduction to Logistics  To understand logistics Workshop 2
Week 36 and Supply Chain and supply chain Contemporary
w/c 20  How logistics and supply Logistics
May Logistics themes
chain management differ World trends
 Understanding of key UK trends
logistics practices Logistic
 To importance of logistics Approaches

Session 3 Transportation  The role of transportation Workshop 3

Week 37 Management and its importance Case study -
w/c 27  Determinant factors for Jaguar Land
May modal selection Rover
 Key relevant documents in
international transport

Session 4 ICT and Logistics 4.0 • The importance of Workshop 4

Week 38 effective and efficient ICT & Industry
w/c 3 Jun utilisation of information 4.0 in logistics
for logistics management management
• Types of information
systems and their
logistical applications
• Industry 4.0 and logistics
• Innovative technologies of
Industry 4.0

Session 5 Sustainable Logistics • Defining the Importance of Workshop 5

Week 39 Sustainable Logistics CW1
w/c 10 Jun • Issues in Sustainable Assignment
Guidelines
Logistics
• Sustainability in Freight
Transport
• Reverse Logistics
Session Warehousing  The role of warehousing in Workshop 6
6 Logistics operations Warehousing &
Week 40  Warehousing implications distribution
w/c 17 Jun on transportation and centres
inventory
 Is there a difference
between warehouse &
distribution centres?
Session 7 Channels of Physical  Logistics network planning Workshop 7
Week 41 Distribution  Physical distribution Channels of
w/c 24 Jun  Channels of distribution Physical
 Logistics Service Distribution
Providers
 Omni-channel
Session 8 Inventory management  What is inventory? Workshop 8
Week 24  Symptoms of poor Inventory
w/c 1 Jul inventory management Management
 Inventory decisions & cost
 EOQ
 When to order?
 Control systems

5
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
 Inventory management HO
 Forms of demand ED
Session Lean and agile strategies  Overview of logistics Workshop DU
42 strategies: Moving to a Logistics S
Week 25 lean, agile, or hybrid strategies
w/c 8 Jul strategy
Exploiting Lean and / or
Agile
Session CW2 Assignment Revision  CW2 Assignment CW2
10 Revision Assignment
Week 43 Revision
w/c 15 Jul
IN-COURSE ASSESSMENT
NATURE & LO 1 / CW 1 – To demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of freight transport
TITLE practices in support of the effective management of a complex supply
chain.

LO 2 / CW 2 – To demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of warehouse design

and operation in support of the effective management of a complex supply
chain

Planned Issue CW 1 & 2 will be uploaded to Blackboard / Issued by Session 1 Week 17

(i.e., on Monday 8TH January 2024)
Planned CW 1 – 21-Jun-24
Submission
CW 2 – 10-Jul-24

N.B. Both parts MUST be submitted via turn-it-in on the designated Bb site
Planned CW 1 – Approximately 20 working days after the assignment submission
Returned
CW 2 – Approximately 20 working days after the assignment submission

Module Assessment requirements

Your learning on this module will be assessed by the following assessments:

1. Assignment 1 – Individual Written Assignment. You will write an

assignment of 3,000 words in the form of a critical discussion based on
a review of the academic literature. The topic/title/task for this
assignment will be set in the first week of the module. You will submit
the work by the agreed deadline to the appropriate TURN-IT-IN link
on Blackboard.

6
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
HO
2. Assignment 2 (Essay– Individual Written Assignment) . You will ED
write an assignment of 2,000 words. The topic/title/task for this DU
assignment will be set in the first week of the module. You will submit S
the work by the agreed deadline to the appropriate TURN-IT-IN link
on Blackboard.

The purpose of the assignments is to allow you to demonstrate your ability to

research by reviewing appropriate academic literature and to critically
evaluate the implications of the ideas presented in the literature. Therefore, it
will be necessary to include references to relevant frameworks, models,
concepts and techniques in your response (i.e. using the Harvard Referencing
System).

The assessments are equally weighted. Both assessments are worth 50% of
your overall module grade.

To pass the module, students will need to achieve an average mark of 40

across the two assessments (therefore if you fail one element, but still achieve
a mark of 40 overall, you will not need to re-sit). Students will have the
opportunity to re-sit one or both elements of the module assessment if
required, although the mark achieved for any re-sits will be capped at 40.

Module Leader/Module Tutor

Amy Nguyen – Lecturer - Operations Management

PS4S41 Logistics Operations Management - 2024

As has been indicated through the Module Handbook, this module is

assessed through two individual written assignments. This document outlines
the specific requirements for each of these assignments this academic year.
This is applicable for students who are studying this module (PS4S41)
from January 2024.

7
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
Coursework 1 (CW1) – Specific requirements and guidelines HO
ED
DU
For the CW1 element of this module, you are required to address the
S
following assignment question:

Critically evaluate how the emerging, strategic role of technology is

influencing sustainable logistics operations management today in
2024 & in the future.

 Word Count: 3,000 words (+/- 10%, not including references)

 Submission: via Turnitin link on Blackboard
 Deadline: 21st June 2024 (10am)

To address CW1 assignment you should consider some of the the

following points:
 The economic life cycle currently influencing logistics operations
management, e.g., Industry 4.0 and its links to technological innovation
for logistics operations management.
 What are the technologies that have been adopted in logistics
systems? What are the functions or activities of logistics management?
You might want to decide to focus your discussion on a single function
or more than one function of logistics.
 What does sustainability in logistics management mean?
 How are companies strategically incorporating sustainability or CSR
into their logistics functions?
 How do they impact organisational performance?
 What do the various technological developments in the Transport and
Logistics industry contribute to the sustainable development of logistics
systems?
 You may draw upon any relevant case examples from across industries
to explore and provide examples of technological impacts on
sustainable performance.
 Discuss how using a variety of technologies can contribute to creating
different outcomes from competitors or maintain a competitive position
in the industry.
 Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of logistics management theory and
concepts utilizing relevant approaches, tools, frameworks, and/or
theories.
 Evaluate academic literature within a controlled and relevant discussion

8
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
critically. Higher marks will be awarded where a practical application HO
and critique of the academic theory/debate are displayed. ED
DU
S

Coursework 2 (CW2) – Specific requirements and guidelines

For the CW2 element of this module, you are required to address the
following assignment question:

Write a 2,000-word literature review that critiques the differences (if

any) between warehousing and distribution centers in logistics
operations management today in 2024 & in the future.

 Word Count: 2,000 words (+/- 10%, not including references)

 Submission: via Turnitin link on Blackboard
 Deadline: 10th July 2024 (10am)

To address CW2 assignment you should consider some of the following

points: -
 You are expected to reference your work correctly using the Harvard
Referencing system.
 You should think about – what are warehousing and distribution
centers, their roles, and what are the warehousing and distribution
centers implications on transportation, inventory & sustainability?
 How do warehousing and distribution centers operations impact
organizational performance? What can you as logistics managers do to
improve the logistics performance of these types of operations?
 Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of these key logistics operations
using management theory and concepts, utilizing relevant approaches,
tools, frameworks, and/or theories.
 Evaluate academic literature within a controlled and relevant discussion
critically. Higher marks will be awarded where a practical application
and critique of the academic theory/debate are displayed.

Proposed Structure
 Take time to plan and present your assignment. You should organise
your work with well-chosen and informative sub-headings. This will
help to structure and develop the discussion. (Please note that ‘Main
Body’ is not a helpful sub-heading.)

9
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
 You must include an Introduction, main body and Conclusion HO
sections ED
DU
S
 The introduction section must include the following:
- A practical and theoretical rationale
- A summary of the key ideas you will present in the discussion, and
the key argument you are presenting.

 The conclusion section must include the following:

- A brief discussion of the key ideas presented in the main
discussion. Use the conclusion to demonstrate that you have
addressed the assignment title. Do not include any new
ideas/arguments/information in the conclusion section.

Quality research and sources

 This assignment will require you to undertake specific research into
contemporary practitioner and academic articles. The quality of your
work is related to the quality of your sources, and therefore you
should think carefully about the sources you are using.

 In terms of practitioner resources, company websites, reputable news

outlets, CIPS Supply Management magazine are useful and
appropriate resources. You always provide correct citations of the
sources that you reference.

 In terms of academic resources, you are expected to demonstrate

engagement with the key texts on the reading list as a bare minimum.
These should be used to develop your ideas and discussion. Beyond
these, additional wider reading should be pursued through quality
journals such as those listed in the ‘Reading’ section earlier in this
module handbook.

Reference Guidance
 You must carefully consider and reference the academic theory. Be
sure to reference all the literature and secondary data that you use.
Use the USW Guide to Harvard Referencing to make sure that your
in-text referencing and reference lists are applied and formatted
correctly.
 Your reference list should consist of a single list of all sources
organized alphabetically. You do not need to organize the sources
into different categories (for example, journal articles, news articles,
websites etc.).
 It is very important that the sources of material used in your
assignments are appropriately referenced. The system of referencing

10
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
adopted by the University of South Wales Business School is known HO
as the Harvard Referencing System. ED
DU
 Help will be provided by the Tutor on how to use the correct S
referencing style. In addition, please use the link provided below to
the USW guide to Harvard system -
http://unilife.southwales.ac.uk/pages/3168

 You should examine and research this link and the guidelines that
are provided in PDF format in this link & in the learning materials in
Bb too. This is very important for success in both of your
assignments in this module!

 To help and support your research and access to suitable academic

sources through current academic journals and papers, please use
the following links to the USW library and learning resources: -
http://studentlibrary.southwales.ac.uk/findit/
http://capitadiscovery.co.uk/southwales-ac/

N.B. that inappropriate or absence of referencing in your work WILL

affect the final grade of your work and could result in your work being
submitted to the Academic Conduct Panel for ‘suspected unfair
practice’.

Using case examples to support your analysis

 You should provide examples to support your discussion which may
be taken from experience, published case studies or from academic
debate. Be sure to reference appropriately. Be sure to link these
examples to any relevant theory, to demonstrate critical analysis of
the cases presented in terms of the theory. (Do not simply describe).

Academic Integrity
 You may work collaboratively with your colleagues to discuss your
ideas, but your assignment must be an original and individual piece
of work.

Proof-reading
 This is a formal piece of work and as such should be afforded careful
attention in terms of accuracy of spelling, grammar, punctuation.
Take time to plan and present your assignment.

Diagrams and Tables

 Be careful to use these powerfully by thinking carefully about the
purpose for their inclusion. Do not simply ‘copy and paste’ diagrams
or tables from another piece of work/journal article etc. You can
produce an adapted version which is adapted to highlight the salient

11
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
features or points of the figure. They must be provided with full HO
reference in line with Harvard referencing. Please always insert them ED
DU
in the appropriate point in the main assignment (not in an appendix)
S
and be sure to appropriately introduce and explain the diagram/table
within the surrounding discussion.

 Please aim to keep words used in tables to a minimum. All words

used within diagrams/tables are included within the overall word
count.

Formatting
 Your work should be professionally and consistently formatted
throughout. Arial, Font size 10-12, 1.15-1.5 line spacing, and justified
text as used in this document are recommended.

Submission
 N.B. Submission must be made via the appropriate link on
Turnitin, multiple submissions will be permitted.

Marking Criteria:
For a piece of assessment (CW1 & CW2), your work will be assessed using
the following assessment criteria, which roughly have different weightings.
Please see the table below.

You are strongly encouraged to conduct a self-audit your work using this
outline marking criteria prior to submission.

Criteria Weighting

Knowledge, understanding and relevance 30%

Argument Analysis and Evaluation 30%
Relevant application in practice 30%
Communication, Research/Information Literacy and 10%
referencing

The following provides a further indication of the key indicators of success

across different grade bands: -

12
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
Distinction (70s and above) HO
 Work in this grade range will be classed as excellent. ED
DU
 It will demonstrate excellent knowledge and understanding of key S
concepts and issues explored through the module content, drawing upon
excellent sources of evidence to build coherent arguments and
discussions in response to the assignment task. It will show very clear
focus on the specific requirements of the assignment task, as detailed in
the assessment instructions.
 It will demonstrate an excellent level of criticality and original thinking,
drawing upon multiple, strong and relevant sources of evidence to defend
key ideas, and to critically explore key issues.
 It will link theory and practice clearly and fluently, exploring the detail of
key practical issues in terms of specific theoretical concepts, showing how
theory may or may not be reflected in practical case experiences. It may
also explore opportunities and recommendations for practice.
 The work will be very well-structured and well-written, with excellent
attention to detail regarding spelling, grammar, sentence structures,
paragraphing, and the use of Harvard Referencing protocols.

Merit (60s)
 Work in this grade range will be classed as very good.
 It will demonstrate a very good range of knowledge and understanding of
the key concepts and issues that have been explored through the module
content. It will draw upon appropriate sources of evidence to support the
discussion. It will demonstrate a good focus on the specific requirements
of the assignment task, as detailed in the assessment instructions.
 It will demonstrate a very good level of criticality, drawing upon a good set
of sources of evidence to support the discussion and explore key issues.
 The work will link theory and practice, identifying and discussing
appropriate practical case evidence that is relevant in illustrating or
critiquing key issues. These case examples will have a good amount of
relevant detail to make clear their significance to the wider discussions.
 The work will have a clear and relevant structured, with a good level of
accuracy relating to spelling, grammar, sentence structures, paragraphing
and the use of Harvard Referencing protocols.

Pass (40s-50s).
 Work in this grade range will be classed as good.
 It will demonstrate sufficient knowledge and understanding of the concepts
and issues that have been explored through the module content. It will
draw upon some appropriate sources of evidence, as well as some weaker
sources of evidence. Referencing to these sources of evidence may be
less consistent and robust, with some unsubstantiated statements and
ideas.
13
 PU
BLI
C/
CY
 It will demonstrate some criticality, with a focus on describing, rather than HO
critically evaluating key issues. ED
DU
 The work will link theory and practice by providing some relevant but S
isolated examples with only a small amount of descriptive detail. There
will be less analysis of the case examples in terms of theory.
 Work in this grade range may be less clearly structured, with errors
relating to spelling, grammar and Harvard Referencing.

Narrow Fail (30-40) and Fail below 30).

 Work in this grade range has failed to demonstrate the skills and
knowledge depicted in the module learning outcomes (this may be due to
failure to comply with stipulated word counts).
 The work may show little relevance to the requirements of the assignment
task.
 The work may show insufficient knowledge and understanding of the core
concepts and issues depicted through the module content.
 There will use very few or no use of relevant sources of knowledge to
support the discussion.
 There will be little or no connection between theory and practice.
 The work will be weak in terms of structure, spelling, grammar and
Harvard Referencing.

14