Course details

Summary

Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) is applicable to most organisations and is concerned with the design, planning and management of all facilities, processes and activities required to transform resources into goods and services.

Operational managers control more than 70% of organisational resources (people, money, materials and buildings) used in the production of goods or in providing services. Successful operations managers also need knowledge of marketing, human resource management and finance.

Why study Operations and Supply Chain Management at UC?

UC's OSCM courses focus on issues such as operations strategy, performance management, supply chain management, procurement, product design, process design, planning, inventory management, project management, quality management and continuous improvement.

Operations and Supply Chain Management is beneficial for students who study disciplines such as Marketing, Human Resource Management, Finance and Engineering. The flexibility of the Bachelor of Commerce makes double majors, as well as minors and double degrees possible. By adding OSCM to your studies, you can broaden your education and enhance the prospect of progress in your chosen career.

Recommended preparation

For the study of OSCM, proficiency in statistics and modelling up to Year 13 is desirable.

Students also do well if they have an interest in solving problems and good communication skills.

To specialise in this field some concurrent study in Economics, Accounting and Information Systems is highly desirable.

Qualification structure and duration

The three year BCom degree requires a minimum total of 360 points:

at least 255 points of Commerce courses (up to 60 points of Mathematics and/or Statistics at 100 or 200-level may be included in the 255 points)

the remaining 105 points can be from commerce courses or courses from other degrees.

A minimum of 225 points must be from courses above 100-level, with at least 90 points at 300-level.

Double Degrees

It is possible to combine a commerce degree with other degrees; a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws is a highly marketable combination. The Bachelor of Commerce also combines well with the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Forestry Science and Bachelor of Engineering with Honours.

Career opportunities

Every organisation, whether a company or a not-for-profit organisation, has some operations function to it, so the skills learnt in OSCM are widely applicable.

Operations and Supply Chain Management provides graduates with the skills and understanding to enable them to function as, for example, Supply Chain Managers, Production Planners, Operations Managers, Quality Managers, Project Managers, Procurement Managers, Business Analysts and Management Consultants. Many graduates are expected to rise to senior management levels.

Students in other disciplines often find it valuable to include some OSCM courses in their degree programme, as exposure to the principles of Operations and Supply Chain Management has become an assumed part of the training of quantitative social scientists as well as accountants, computer specialists and engineers.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Bachelor's degree. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.