Operations Performance Benchmarking

Course

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/E_TSCM_OPB

Course Objective

In this course we teach students how to assess and benchmark operations performance in practice. Upon finishing this course students will be able:
- describe the fundamental motivations behind performance evaluation;
- to identify and understand state-of-the-art methods for benchmarking and evaluating operations performance;
- to understand the strengths and limitations of performance benchmarking approaches;
- to apply theory by carrying out calculations with the performance benchmarking techniques;
- to interpret the outcome the calculations and to draw managerial conclusions.

Course Content

Performance assessment and benchmarking is a topic that has received considerable attention in both practice and academia across a wide variety of disciplines. This course is aimed at students who wish to broaden their understanding of methods related to evaluating and benchmarking performance in operations. The course will focus on academic methods relevant to benchmarking of operations performance in business practice. The course introduces an array of quantitative approaches for performance benchmarking, making use of various statistical and mathematical optimisation techniques. The course teaches how to define and compute performance indicators and how to interpret these results properly in a business context. The course is self-contained, it does not rely on other TSCM courses. It is therefore also accessible to students outside the TSCM programme.

Teaching Methods

Lectures and tutorials.

Method of Assessment

Written exam and group assignments.

Literature

Extensive handouts and additional course materials to be distributed via Canvas; supporting chapters from a handbook.

Additional Information

Students not following the TSCM master programme are kindly requested to contact the course coordinator prior to enrollment.

Recommended background knowledge

Several touched topics rely on linear programming models, therefore basic familiarity with linear programs and some solution software (such as Microsoft Excel's solver, OpenSolver, OPL Optimization Studio, and so on) is useful.
Academic year1/09/2431/08/25
Course level6.00 EC

Language of Tuition

  • English

Study type

  • Master