Seminars
Prerequisites
This is a capstone course that combines aspects of Purchasing, Logistics, Production & Supply Chain Management. Ideally, participants have attended a number of lectures in these fields.
Registration
Please send all the application material via e-mail to kai.guender@uni-wuerzburg.de.
Application Material:
An overview of the courses that you have attended in the area of Supply Chain Management including a grade sheet (Notenübersicht).
Attendance is mandatory, since all the players are required for successful completion of the simulation.
Dates Current Semester
Application Deadline: October 22, 2025
Introduction Workshop: October 23, 2025, 6-8 pm via Zoom
Start of first round of competition: October 27, 2025
Voiting Round Workshop: October 30, 2025, 4-6 pm via Zoom
Q&A Session: November 06, 4-6 pm via Zoom
Intermediate Workshop: November 20, 2025, 4-6 pm via Zoom
End of last round of competition: December 08, 2025
Paper Deadline: January 27, 2026
Final Workshop: January 29, 2026, 4-6 pm via Zoom
Specific dates and updates can be found in our WueCampus course room. We will manually enroll all participants once the course room has been created (typically 1-2 weeks before the start of the semester) and notify you as soon as the course room is available.
ECTS
5 CPs
Description
The components of a value chain are traditionally seen and administered as separate entities: the operations manager tries to optimize processes in production and warehousing, the purchasing manager wants to minimize purchasing prices, the sales manager’s efforts are aimed at maximizing revenue, while, hopefully, a supply chain manager tries to coordinate this complex array of tasks and incentives.
However, current practices very often ignore how the decisions taken by these different managers may inadvertently affect the overall performance of a different “area” – value chains are complex systems, where changing the value of one variable affects the functioning of the whole system.
In this course, students play the supply chain simulation game "The Fresh Connection" together in groups. Every member of a group will be assigned to the role of either managing purchasing, operations, the supply chain or sales. As objective, they will be requested to improve the performance - measured by Return on Investment (ROI) - of “The Fresh Connection”, a producer of fresh fruit juice, through a series of decisions.
The game includes 6 rounds, each of which lasts a week, during which you will have to make numerous decisions for your company. After every round your current ROI is computed and can be compared to the ROI of the other groups.
You can obtain further information about the simulation game at: www.thefreshconnection.eu.
We will be finished with playing the game after a bit more than half of the semester. After that, every group has to write a paper about their decision making process and insights about every round of playing "The Fresh Connection".
The main objective of this seminar is to familiarize participants with the application of quantitative methods in a business (simulation) environment. Participants can choose their approach freely, and in the end, they should be able to apply quantitative methods to practical settings, anticipate the consequences of decisions and understand how coordination can benefit a company’s performance.
Contact
Registration
The registration for the seminar is organized via the central "Seminar und Thesenvergabe" by the Office of the Dean of Studies (Studiendekanat). Please register online via FLIP . For more information about the regristration processe click here.
Please note that students have to attend the "Scientific Writing Seminar-Master" prior to submitting their final report.
Description
In the age of Big Data, the ability to extract strategic insights from raw information is a crucial skill for supply chain managers. This Master’s seminar, 'Applied Analytics in Logistics and Supply Chain Management,' focuses on the practical application of data-driven methods to analyze complex corporate networks.
Participants will work actively with real-world datasets. While a brief qualitative analysis serves to derive the initial research question, the seminar’s clear focus lies on the empirical examination of these hypotheses. The primary objective is to reverse-engineer underlying logistics strategies based on the provided data—deducing how companies operate, identifying potential bottlenecks, and evaluating the efficiency of their supply chain configurations.
Prerequisites: Please note that programming skills are necessary to conduct the data analysis. However, the course is suitable for beginners: basic coding proficiency is sufficient, and the focus remains on applying analytical tools to logistics problems rather than advanced software engineering.
Dates & Organization
Specific dates and updates can be found in our WueCampus course room. We will manually enroll all participants once the course room has been created (typically 2–3 weeks after seminar places are assigned) and notify you as soon as the course room is available.
The seminar is structured around three key sessions.
- We begin with an introductory kickoff at the start of the lecture period, where the available topics are presented for selection.
- In the middle of the semester, an intermediate presentation takes place; this session is ungraded and offers students the opportunity to present their preliminary results and discuss their roadmap for the remaining weeks.
- The course concludes with a final workshop at the end of the semester (after the lecture period), where the results of the seminar paper are presented.
You can get individual feedback or problem-solving discussions on demand by contacting your respective supervisor.
The final grade is composed of the seminar paper (weighted 70%) and the final presentation (weighted 30%). Please note that successful completion of the module requires a passing grade (at least 4.0) in both individual assessment components.
Course Material
The course material can be found in our WueCampus course room.
ECTS
10 CPs
Contact
Registration
The registration for the seminar is organized via the central "Seminar und Thesenvergabe" by the Office of the Dean of Studies (Studiendekanat). Please register online via FLIP . For more information about the regristration processe click here.
Please note that students have to attend the "Scientific Writing Seminar-Master" prior to submitting their final report.
Description
The aim of this seminar is to bridge the gap between predictive analytics and prescriptive decision-making in operations management. Participants will explore the synergy between Machine Learning and Optimization, applying these methods to real-world challenges sourced from our Chair’s ongoing research.
The course places a strong emphasis on the practical application of these techniques. Through hands-on data and model engineering, students will learn to translate raw data into actionable decisions. The ultimate goal is for participants to design, implement, and empirically test their own solutions, proving their effectiveness in solving relevant logistics problems.
Prerequisites: Please note that programming skills are necessary to conduct the data analysis. However, the course is suitable for beginners: basic coding proficiency is sufficient, and the focus remains on applying analytical tools to logistics problems rather than advanced software engineering.
Dates & Organization
Specific dates and updates can be found in our WueCampus course room. We will manually enroll all participants once the course room has been created (typically 2–3 weeks after seminar places are assigned) and notify you as soon as the course room is available.
The seminar is structured around three key sessions.
- We begin with an introductory kickoff at the start of the lecture period, where the available topics are presented for selection.
- In the middle of the semester, an intermediate presentation takes place; this session is ungraded and offers students the opportunity to present their preliminary results and discuss their roadmap for the remaining weeks.
- The course concludes with a final workshop at the end of the semester (after the lecture period), where the results of the seminar paper are presented.
You can get individual feedback or problem-solving discussions on demand by contacting your respective supervisor.
The final grade is composed of the seminar paper (weighted 70%) and the final presentation (weighted 30%). Please note that successful completion of the module requires a passing grade (at least 4.0) in both individual assessment components.
Course Material
The course material can be found in our WueCampus course room.
ECTS
10 CPs
Contact
Registration
The registration for the seminar is organized via the central "Seminar und Thesenvergabe" by the Office of the Dean of Studies (Studiendekanat). Please register online via FLIP . For more information about the regristration processe click here.
Please note that students have to attend the "Scientific Writing Seminar-Master" prior to submitting their final report.
Description
The aim of this seminar is to familiarize participants with various approaches of data-driven operations management. For this purpose, participants explore the intersection of Machine Learning and Optimization by applying hands-on data and model engineering on real world cases from our Chair’s current research projects. The main goal of this seminar is to design, implement, empirically test, and present own solutions for practically relevant problem settings.
Prerequisites: Please note that programming skills are necessary to conduct the data analysis. However, the course is suitable for beginners: basic coding proficiency is sufficient, and the focus remains on applying analytical tools to logistics problems rather than advanced software engineering.
Dates & Organization
Specific dates and updates can be found in our WueCampus course room. We will manually enroll all participants once the course room has been created (typically 2–3 weeks after seminar places are assigned) and notify you as soon as the course room is available.
The seminar is structured around three key sessions.
- We begin with an introductory kickoff at the start of the lecture period, where the available topics are presented for selection.
- In the middle of the semester, an intermediate presentation takes place; this session is ungraded and offers students the opportunity to present their preliminary results and discuss their roadmap for the remaining weeks.
- The course concludes with a final workshop at the end of the semester (after the lecture period), where the results of the seminar paper are presented.
You can get individual feedback or problem-solving discussions on demand by contacting your respective supervisor.
The final grade is composed of the seminar paper (weighted 70%) and the final presentation (weighted 30%). Please note that successful completion of the module requires a passing grade (at least 4.0) in both individual assessment components.
ECTS
10 CPs
Contact
Description
This seminar is required for all students who would like to write their thesis or seminar paper at our chair.
Registration
Please register with your first and last name, your matriculation number and the seminar name "Seminar: Scientific Writing" via e-mail to our office (bwl11@wiwi.uni-wuerzburg.de).
Next Dates
Friday, 24.10.2025 - 10:00 to 12:00 a.m. - via Zoom
Resources
Templates:
- LaTeX
Contact
Dr. Richard Pibernik, Professor (richard.pibernik@uni-wuerzburg.de)
Dr. Nikolai Stein (nikolai.stein@uni-wuerzburg.de)
