BSc (Hons) Business and Supply Chain Management

On this degree you'll investigate risk and strategic management, logistics management, and learn how to procure goods and manage supply lines. You'll use professional industry software, systems and tools to help you explore the ethics and sustainability of global supply chains. 

Supply chain management contributes to every aspect of business, not to mention everyday life.

• Recent events like Covid and Brexit have shown how important supply chains are. Ensuring the right products are in the right place at the right time — and at the right cost — is vital to life as we know it. So is ensuring those supply chains are sustainable safe for the environment.
• With a focus on global procurement and the sourcing and purchasing of goods, you’ll graduate with more than just an understanding of logistics and the movement of goods. You’ll build your specialist knowledge and understanding of business in general so that you graduate with a set of management and specific skills that are in demand in the workplace.
• You can boost your employability and apply you degree knowledge with a paid industry placement year before or after your third year. As Portsmouth is a vital supply chain hub there are great local opportunities to do a placement year with companies like IBM and Boeing, as well as other roles across the UK. 

Course highlights

• Stand out in the employment market with your knowledge of procurement and a valued skill set
• Get hands on experience of using SAP software and reporting in our SAP suite.
• Choose from specialist module options including business analytics and data modelling — skills that are in-demand in the industry
• Gain core management skills such as risk management and leadership alongside your specialist supply chain skills
• Benefit from the support of our dedicated Placement Team to help you secure a paid placement year 
• Improve your global employability by spending a year abroad at a partner university in Europe, Asia, Australia or North America
• Learn from academics who have supply chain industry experience and research expertise in data driven supply chains
• Opt to do a foundation year with ICP to get uni-ready ahead of this course, then take up a guaranteed place on this full Bachelor's degree when you successfully finish your foundation year

We have partnered with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) so that you can gain a value added professional qualification alongside your degree. Students on our BA (Hons) Business and Supply Chain Management can be awarded a CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership upon successful completion of their degree programme. Upon joining their degree course, students become members of the CMI and are able to access a range of benefits, resources and events to support their professional development.

The University of Portsmouth has earned business accreditation from the AACSB in recognition of the outstanding quality of its business and management education. Less than six percent of the world's schools offering business degree programs hold AACSB business accreditation.

Careers and opportunities

• Supply chain management is needed everywhere and there's a great shortage of supply chain skills in the UK. You could work in retail, healthcare, manufacturing, shipping and freight, charities or the public sector - the choice is yours.

Roles you can go on to with this degree include:

• Supply chain management
• Purchasing and procurement
• Procurement management
• Logistics analysis
• Distribution management
• Supply coordination

Previous graduates have gone on to work for companies such as:

• Marks and Spencer
• Apple
• Amazon
• DHL
• UPS
• Automotive (RR)
• Procter and Gamble (P&G)

Work placement year

• You can boost your employability by taking an optional paid placement after your second or third year.

Previous students have had placements in organisations such as:

• Intel
• Sony
• Johnson and Johnson
• Land Rover
• Aldi
• Nissan

Teaching
The majority of your timetabled teaching will be face-to-face and will include:

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Business suite sessions
• One-on-one tutorials

Assessment
Assessment depends on the modules that you take, but assessment methods are likely to include:

• Essays
• Presentations
• Projects
• Exams
• Reflective work
• Computer-based assignments