Logistics and Supply Chain Management with Industrial Placement
Do you have a sense of foresight and risk management? Are you interested in the processes of the supply chain?
Accreditation
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Do you have a sense of foresight and risk management? Are you interested in the processes of the supply chain?
Logistics and Supply Chain Management is the process of managing a product from creation to transportation. It involves processing orders, storing, moving and delivering goods, but also predicting the future needs of your customers.
On this detail-driven CILT and CIPS-accredited MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management with Industrial Placement course, our in-house academic experts teach you the vital theory, modes and systems to succeed in this area. You’ll graduate with the ability to plan, predict and perform in an ever-important field.
Taking a 12-month industrial placement allows you to gain work experience in the UK or overseas as part of your Master's. While the placements are self-sought, the School offers support through extra-curricular engagement with our dedicated placements team. Opting for this course with a placement takes the length of your course to up to two years.
You’ll learn vital topics of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, such as planning, modelling and analytics, operations management and digital transformation alongside the imperative topics of sustainable procurement, warehouse and global transportation management. At the end of Stage One, you start your Industrial Placement.
"The different modules gave me the tools to solve real logistics and supply chain problems."
Maria de la Luz Lino, MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 2020
A minimum of a second-class UK degree, or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification, in a range of academic subjects will be accepted. Quantitative experience desirable.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.
Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.
Examples:
IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test
A degree from a UK university
A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
Have you ever wondered what's involved in manufacturing and delivering a product to your door? A supply chain is the network of individuals and companies involved in creating a product and delivering it to the consumer. Large volumes of data are produced by supply chains, and it’s in using supply chain analytics that we can identify trends and produce insights to make sense of all this data.
Supply chain modelling and analytics skills are in high demand and are a must-have for supply chain management career success. You'll learn to formulate key activities of the supply chain, including networks and routing transportation models, resource allocation and production scheduling models, inventory management models, quality control models and project management. Learn how using analytics techniques, such as forecasting, regression, descriptive analytics, probability and decision analysis and optimisation can improve supply chains’ efficiency and effectiveness by enabling data-driven decisions.
In a growing population, how do business meet the growing demand for consumer goods? How do businesses tackle increased demand while being mindful of costs and margins? You will master inventory techniques, warehousing practices and mathematical models behind solutions that help businesses source, store and deliver their products. You'll understand the tools and techniques behind successful storage and logistics operations in the modern business setting.
Procurement is often the most significant source of immediate and long-term value creation available to any organisation. This module explores the trends and challenges of procurement and discusses its strategic role in supply chain management in today's global and digital environment. The module will also discuss the importance of sustainable procurement in creating new sales opportunities, reducing supply chain risks and providing cost savings. The module will cover the following indicative aspects of procurement:
- Procurement strategy, tactics and operations: the dynamics of make-or-buy decisions, ways of building sourcing competences and capabilities, strategical selection of suppliers and the effective management of their relationship, the ways technology enables access to data on cost structures, supply availability, lead times, financial and operational risks, and service and quality metrics.
- Key procurement issues: pitfalls in outsourcing and protectionism and de-globalisation trends, pressures for time compression, sustainability and corporate social responsibility, Procurement 4.0 as an innovation catalyst and competitive advantage.
- Procurement applications: case studies in projects, services, manufacturing and retail operations from both private and public sectors.
Weekly seminars will utilise contemporary case studies and students will be encouraged to present and explore different procurement strategies in practice.
'Do your research' is a phrase we are all familiar with. But how can we trust the sources we draw on? In an information-rich environment, how can you ensure that the research you do stands out from other sources of knowledge and is seen as trustworthy and valuable?
You'll build understanding of who you are as a researcher and the type of research that is valued in both academic and professional settings. You'll gain the knowledge you need to build a research project from an idea into a mature investigation that can make a novel contribution to broader research debates. Study how to craft research questions, build a sample of respondents, work with databases, design data collection tools, perform quantitative and qualitative analyses of data and communicate your results to the wider world.
Learn how to use an array of research tools to create world-leading research and become known as an innovative and dynamic researcher driving growth and positive change.
New technology drives change, presenting businesses with exciting new opportunities. You'll understand the role digital transformation plays in changing the way services are provided and products are made. Gaining a range of employability skills that enable you to assess and improve operations in a digital world. You’ll be able to use a range of tools and techniques to confidently manage and assess digital transformation in service or manufacturing environments throughout your career.
Simulation Modelling allows you to experiment with digital models of real world processes to make evidence-based decisions. Using industry standard simulation software, you'll develop complex models for a variety of contexts such as healthcare and manufacturing.
You'll gain an understanding of the simulation modelling process so you can go on to develop simulation models and support real world interventions aiming for efficiency and effectiveness in whatever field you want to jump into.
Logistics and supply chain management is a critical component of the global economy. Given the significant planning and operational challenges, which innovative analytical tools are needed to increase the supply chain's efficiency and avoid disruptions?
You’ll be introduced to the realm of designing and managing the processes, assets, flows of material and information required to satisfy customers’ demands. You’ll also be given a set of appropriate analytical techniques that enhance efficiency while designing, planning, executing, controlling, and monitoring supply chain activities.
Learn how to create new opportunities for using supply chain planning as a competitive tool in this new era of globalisation and e-logistics.
Finance plays an important role in everyone's decisions. It allows individuals and companies to take informed decisions on how to use money and plan for the future. You'll learn the role of various participants in the financial markets and study the theoretical framework guiding companies' long-term financial decisions - from investing in real assets to raising capital - and explore financial investors' decisions using a risk-return trade-off approach.
You’ll also learn how to use various financial databases to extract real financial data and apply all the techniques and models to assist companies and investors when investing in new long-term projects to ensure their success.
How do I use AI in business? How can it help me? At the cutting-edge of scientific thinking you'll understand what machine learning and AI is all about and how to use them productively in your career. Practising on real world cases across various forms of machine learning and forecasting algorithms, as well as mastering modelling processes. You’ll be able to effectively analyse data to achieve your business goals using a variety of forecasting software.
Global Value Chains have transformed the nature of trade and foreign direct investment and continue to bring opportunities and challenges for business enterprises around the world. Learn about how you as a manager can develop optimal relationships with your value chain partners, adapt to changing business and industry supply chain circumstances, and make responsible decisions in the context of an uncertain global economy. Evaluate the governance, policy and power relationships that shape global value chains and learn how to manage risk and make your industry supply chains resilient to external shocks. Collaborate with other students on your course to analyse the value chains of real world multinational companies and report on them, developing communication skills that you will be able to boast about.
Imagine holding the power to predict future trends, understand customer behaviour and effectively communicate findings to stakeholders. You'll gain a deep theoretical grasp of big data analytics and visualisation, coupled with hands-on Python programming skills to unlock managerial insights. You'll gain essential tools to harness the power of big data, allowing you to extract valuable insights and create impactful and meaningful visualisations. Unleash the potential of data to drive innovation, fuel growth and make informed, strategic decisions in today's data-driven world.
If you aspire to orchestrate change and drive success at the highest levels of organisational management, strategic agility and foresight are paramount. We introduce you to cutting-edge approaches in strategic programme management, including agile methodologies, systems thinking and scenario planning. This forward-thinking approach ensures that you're well-prepared to handle the challenges of tomorrow. We equip you with the skills to make informed, data-driven decisions by giving you knowledge of data analysis, interpretation and the use of analytics tools – essential for strategic planning and risk management.
You'll emerge not just as a strategic project manager, but as a strategic leader capable of shaping the future of organisations. You’ll be equipped with a deep understanding of the complexities of modern business and the strategic acumen to navigate these challenges effectively. This is more than an educational experience; it's a transformative journey that prepares students for the pinnacle of professional and personal achievement.
Accounting is often perceived as complex and obscure. But good accounting is exactly the opposite, it offers informative power that non-accountants can use to guide decision-making. Through a hands-on approach, you'll explore how accounting information is used by managers, investors and financial analysts in business. You’ll learn how real world businesses make decisions and will understand how these decisions affect their performance and sustainability. When you understand accounting as a tool for decision-making you will be able to interact meaningfully with stakeholders and critically evaluate the impact that decisions will have on the future of a company, which is crucial to kick-start your career in accounting.
We're living in the era of big data. How can you prepare to gain an in-depth understanding of your business data? You’ll understand the fundamental skills by learning basic business statistics as a stepping stone to AI and Python as a programming tool. You’ll be able to write computer programmes in Python and perform inferential reasoning based on data.
Set yourself apart and get ahead in your career when you become an expert in prescriptive analytics and how it can be used for decision-making for businesses. You'll cultivate a deep understanding of quantitative models for decision-making and solution techniques, applying industry-standard software such as Excel/OPL-CPLEX to address real world issues and provide solutions. Gain skills aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, empowering you to deliver actionable recommendations that positively impact businesses, society and the environment. You'll finish this module with the ability to strategically apply diverse optimisation techniques in a real world context. Empowered by this knowledge, you'll be poised to make informed decisions, drive positive change, and advance your career with a unique blend of analytical skills and a commitment to ethical, sustainable and diverse decision-making.
Duration: 2 years full-time
This flexible course is studied over one year full-time and consists of seven compulsory and two optional modules in Stage 1 with Stage 2 finishing with a piece of research.
If you opt for the Industrial Placement, you will be required to complete the Industrial Placement Report.
We use a variety of teaching methods, including:
Classroom-based learning is supported by the latest online technologies and learning platforms.
Your progress on this course is assessed by coursework only. Students wishing to undertake the optional industrial placement will be required to successfully complete all stage 1 modules. The Industrial Placement is assessed by the completion of the Industrial Placement Report.
Industrial placements are the perfect way for you to enhance your career prospects and deepen your understanding of a specific area of expertise. This MSc programme is available with the option to take an in-company or self-employed industrial placement, allowing you to gain work experience in the UK or overseas.
Our lively and active postgraduate community is brought about in part by our strong research culture and by the close community between our staff and students. Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books and embed their research in their teaching.
Students have regular contact with their course and module conveners with staff on hand to answer any questions and to provide helpful and constructive feedback on submitted work.
You can also get involved with extra-curricular academic and social activities with guest lectures, talks and workshops organised by our academic staff, research centres and the ASPIRE team.
Our Canterbury campus provides a welcoming environment and a close-knit student community. Kent Business School is based within the Sibson Building which opened in 2017 and its impressive design won the RIBA Regional and National Award. It houses well-equipped lecture and seminar spaces, as well as breakout spaces for group work, Bloomberg suite, computer labs, a dedicated MBA suite, and our ASPIRE Lab Space. There is also a café on site.
The School is conveniently located at the University of Kent’s campus, close to continental Europe and with easy access to London. World-famous Canterbury Cathedral is situated in the heart of the historic city centre, just a 25-minute walk or a short bus ride.
Kent Business School has close links with: ifs (Institute of Financial Services); dunnhumby, who partners the Consumer Insight Service in the Centre for Value Chain Research; Hong Kong Baptist University, with whom we offer a joint Master’s programme in Operational Research and Finance Business Statistics; University of Castellanza (Italy); Audencia Nantes Business School (France); Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences (Denmark); Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; University of Ingolstadt, Bayern (Germany); City University of Hong Kong; Renmin University of China, School of Business.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Kent Business School is a research-led business school. Our research strategy is developed around the core theme of sustainable innovation which cuts across the entire School. This theme can be seen as being divided into two sub-strands of research aimed at answering these main questions:
Kent Business School advances knowledge through constant promotion and support of innovative research. We have an impact on wider society through extensive collaborations with external partners which range from other academic institutions to a variety of local, national and international businesses as well as the NHS. Within this wider context, our main strategic aim has been geared towards establishing ourselves as a leading institution for research in sustainable innovation.
Kent Business School is a global leader in research and develops a wide portfolio of research related activities including workshops, conferences and research seminar series. This has led to a large number of international collaborations and to over 200 co-authored papers with international partners.
Specialising in public-sector critical accounting and accounting history.
Looking into a wide array of financial issues from derivatives pricing to real-estate modelling.
Innovating in wide-ranging topics such as operational research and systems thinking.
Studying issues surrounding consumer behaviours, product development and maintaining value supply chains among others.
People, Management and Organisation
Specialising in improving human resource management, organisational behaviour and leadership.
Strategy and International Business
Helping in the development of innovative business strategies for business all over the world.
Centre for Logistics and Heuristic Optimisation
Helping companies to solve complex strategic, tactical and operational problems.
Centre of Productivity and Workplace Performance
Contribute to the productivity debate and drive improvements at all levels; from the national economic output, to changes in the ways SME’s operate.
Centre for Quantitative Finance
Providing quantitative analysis of issues in the financial markets for businesses and policy makers.
Helping both academics and practitioners tackle the challenges emerging from the rapid development of new digital technologies
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Journal of Simulation, International Journal of Production Economics, Computers & Operations Research, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, European Journal of Operational Research.
Our Logistics and Supply Chain Management graduates find work in public and private sectors, both overseas and in the UK, in a wide range of companies and organisations, including:
Many of our students also stay local and find job opportunities regionally in small and medium firms or even set-up their own businesses as well-equipped entrepreneurs.
You gain much more than an academic qualification when you graduate. We enhance your student experience and accelerate your career prospects to help you achieve your ambition.
From the moment you start with us, our efforts are focused on helping you gain the knowledge, skills and experience you need to thrive in an increasingly competitive workplace. As part of the course, undertake an Industrial Placement or opt for an In-Company Scheme to work on a real business case study. Go on our Business Start-up Journey and transform your idea into a business through ASPIRE. Our qualified careers practitioners provide support for up to three years after graduation.
Additionally, the Postgraduate Employability Edge programme, available to PGT students at Kent Business School takes place from Welcome Week through to the end of the academic year and is designed to enhance your career prospects further.
This programme is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).
CIPS offers you complimentary student membership for the duration of the programme. Students who successfully complete this programme and meet the conditions specified may apply for MCIPS, the globally recognised standard for procurement and supply management professionals.
CILT is the UK‘s independent professional body for logistics, supply chains and transport. The CILT network connects members worldwide and is the greatest source of professional expertise for the industry. Accreditation and membership deliver significant benefit in terms of career prospects.
Students who graduate from MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management are exempt from the academic requirement for Chartered Membership, and while studying your student membership is paid for by Kent Business School.
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
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We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
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