Learning objectives
The aim of the course is to provide students with basic skills regarding the most important process systems in the food industry. <br />
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At the end of the course students will have acquired the main skills necessary for understanding the dynamics of the system and the main management parameters. <br />
Course unit content
<p> Evaluation of industrial investments <br />
o Value of capital over time, discount rate, calculation of depreciation rate, plant and operating costs. <br />
o Definition of industrial investment, types of investment: substitution, upgrade and expansion. Concept of depreciation, company depreciation and accumulated depreciation, straight-line, increasing-rate and declining-rate depreciation. Fiscal depreciation, impact on net income, concept of cash flow, relationship between cash flow, operating profit and depreciation. <br />
o Value-to-cost indicators: NPV, determination of interest rate for calculating NPV according to company financing methods, ROE, IRR, PBP and ROI. <br />
o Overview of balance sheets, main entries in statement of income and statement of assets and liabilities and relationship between them, exercise. <br />
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Food traceability <br />
o Definitions of traceability (ISO, tracking and traceability, tracking as risk management tool, as quality control tool, as logistics management tool and sales tool. <br />
o Elements of food traceability system: identification systems, data capture systems (bar code, RFID, OCR, magnetic strip), operating principles, selection criteria. <br />
o Traceability standards: information management systems, link and communication management systems <br />
o Traceability standards: systems for indentifying site, lot, item and logistical units. <br />
o Implementing a traceability system: setting up the project, identifying objectives, analysis of current situation and critical points, identifying scenarios-to-be and technical/economic feasibility, implementation, monitoring results, performance of tracking system. <br />
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Inventory and supplies management <br />
o Materials inventory management, demand forecasting techniques, inventory management as a logistical activity, goods in stock, calculating value of goods in stock, stocks in deposits, definition, cycle stocks and safety stocks. Cycle stocks for economies of scale, economic order quantity, management at level of reordering and reorder intervals. Safety stocks, definitions and evaluation. <br />
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Warehouses and material handling <br />
o Warehouses: functional areas, receipt of goods, design and planning, performance parameters. <br />
o Definitions and classification of material handling systems, the value of material handling systems, unrestricted material handling systems. <br />
o Restricted material handling systems, classification and sizing. <br />
o Production management. <br />
o Demand analysis, planning of continuous-flow production, planning of batch production. <br />
o Aggregate production, main production plan. <br />
o Planning of requirements, scheduling and control of production activities. <br />
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Distribution <br />
o Distribution systems, the logistics channel, coordinated and non-coordinated distribution channels; bullwhip effect in distribution chain: quantification, reduction and elimination of bullwhip effect. <br />
o Distribution strategies; traditional distribution: risk pooling, direct distribution, cross-docking, transhipment. <br />
o Push and pull logistics systems, management of a pull channel, principle of postponement. <br />
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Bibliography
Lecture notes. <br />
The reading list will be announced by the teacher. <br />
Teaching methods
The exam consists of a written test on the contents of the theory part of the course and/or exercises similar to ones done during the practical part.
