BSc (Hons) Logistics Management

Program Overview

The BSc (Hons) Logistics Management program from the University of Lincoln is a work-based distance learning program designed for professionals seeking to enhance their management skills within the logistics field. The program offers a range of modules tailored to specific roles and functions, aligning with industry standards and providing a pathway to Chartered Manager status. Delivered through flexible distance learning, the program combines theory, practice, and application, preparing students for leadership roles in the logistics sector.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The BSc (Hons) Logistics Management program is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively manage people, operations, and systems within a logistics environment. This work-based distance learning program caters to individuals already working in relevant fields and often holding professional qualifications. The program aims to enhance their management skills, drawing upon their existing expertise and experience.

Objectives:

• Develop a broad range of logistics management knowledge and skills, including leadership, budgeting, organizational management, and systems management.
• Offer elective modules to allow students to tailor their learning journey based on their specific roles and logistics functions within their organizations.
• Align with the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) by emphasizing the development of responsible management graduates who understand their global citizenship responsibilities, entrepreneurial skills, and ethical leadership.
• Provide a learning program highly relevant to the workplace, with assessment methods focusing on theory, practice, application, and reflection.
• Offer dual accreditation from the CMI (Chartered Management Institute) and include a CMI Diploma at Level 5, leading to Chartered Manager status.
• Be accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), aligning the BSc with professional standards and providing pathways to membership.

Outline:

The program is structured as a flexible distance learning program that can be tailored to individual needs and circumstances. It offers a rigorous academic environment where students can enhance their skills, expertise, knowledge, vision, and personal/career development.

Course Schedule:

The program is designed to be completed within a two-year period, with the duration adjusted based on individual circumstances, accredited experience, prior learning, and work commitments.

Modules:

Year 1:

• Introduction to Academic Study Skills (Core): This module introduces students to various study tools and techniques, equipping them with a basic toolkit for their academic journey.
• Introduction to Operations Management (Core): This module builds upon the role of the operations manager, exploring tools and techniques for daily operational delivery.
It focuses on processes and systems, introducing the underlying concepts of operations management and their application in achieving organizational strategic outcomes.
• Managing People (Core): This module examines the development of staff within an organization, emphasizing the importance of people in operational delivery.
It outlines the theory, practice, and individual experiences of supporting and managing people to achieve operational goals.
• Planning and Control Systems (Core): This module integrates people and systems within the operational concept to develop planning and control insights into operational delivery.
While focusing on internal organizational elements, it also takes initial steps in examining the value chain the organization operates within.

Year 2:

• Academic Study Skills (Core): This module revisits academic skills, focusing on more advanced skills, particularly research skills, to prepare students for the capstone module and the Operations Challenge.
• Digital Technologies in Operations (Core): This module explores the impact of new technology on operational processes and systems management.
It presents digital technologies as a key tool for managing various activities, serving as a dashboard for operational design, delivery, and improvement.
• Leadership and Management Development (Core): This module moves beyond basic management skills, examining the role of individuals in leading and managing teams within an operational context.
It builds upon Year 1 studies to review the role of the manager as a leader within a team in an operations setting.
• Work-Based Project (Core): This capstone project provides students with the opportunity to apply, integrate, and deepen the knowledge, insights, and skills acquired throughout the program.
It has a pragmatic and practitioner focus, allowing students to apply their learning to real-life situations, mirroring the role of a producer.

Year 3:

• Critical Enquiry Skills (Core): This module equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage critically with their studies, particularly the Independent Research Project.
• The Contemporary Managerial Context (Core): This module examines the purpose and activity of an organization and the role of managers in directing this activity.
It discusses the theory, practice, and individual experiences of managing organizational activity, reviewing management principles to understand how organizations can be developed to meet their own needs and objectives.
• The Future Supply Chain (Core): This module enables students to critically examine the supply chain and understand the role of the Supply Chain Manager in successful organizations.
It evaluates key issues shaping the development and selection of supply chain strategies, focusing on achieving competitive advantage through sustainable and resilient supply chains.
• Employee Engagement and Communications (Optional): This module develops students' understanding of the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required by HR professionals and people managers, specifically relating to employee engagement and effective communication.
• Managing Operations (Optional): This module prepares students for operational roles within the logistics sector, enabling them to apply operational management attributes, tools, and techniques within a business strategy.
• Managing Projects (Optional): This module provides students with a solid foundation in project management theory and best practices, developing practical skills in planning, implementing, and controlling projects.
The module also evaluates the role and qualities of the project manager and the composition of the project team. It challenges current business-as-usual practices and explores alternative business pathways that secure long-term economic, social, and environmental value. The module examines the interactions between business, environment, and society, and how business impacts these dimensions (and vice versa) in the production, distribution, marketing, and final consumption of goods and services. It explores the use of digital technology to support managers in their daily operational roles, focusing on Industry 4.0.

Assessment:

The program utilizes a range of formative and summative assessment strategies. Formative assessments are integrated into the learning experience, providing students with opportunities for feedback on all assessment elements. Written work is submitted electronically via Blackboard, and feedback is delivered electronically in line with the University of Lincoln regulations. Each module has an assignment brief outlining the intended learning outcomes, assignment tasks, and weighting of those tasks. Portfolio assessments are extensively used, combined with alternative and innovative assessment methods. Portfolio assessments may include reports, case studies, descriptions, reviews, reflective learning accounts, presentations, projects, proposals, and plans, with accompanying critical commentary. These assessments aim to demonstrate how students have applied their knowledge, understanding, skills, and behaviors in a real work environment to achieve real work objectives.

Teaching:

The program is delivered through a flexible distance learning approach, utilizing a range of digital and technological learning tools. Students engage in independent learning, reflective debate, and practice, supported by a module tutor and a range of resources.

Careers:

The BSc (Hons) Logistics Management program is designed to help students advance their careers by enhancing their management competence and general employability. Students have the opportunity to extend their skills, knowledge, and vision, and the course provides opportunities for personal and career development.

Other:

The University of Lincoln is a member of AACSB, a global nonprofit association connecting educators, students, and businesses to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders.