Please note, there are two application deadlines. The deadline for overseas applicants is 31 July 2025, and for home applicants, it is 29 August 2025. For more details, click here.
This programme is currently under development and may be subject to change
Key information
Duration: 1 year full time
Institution code: R72
Campus: Central London
UK fees*:£14,400
International/EU fees**: £23,700
The course
Logistics and Supply Chain Management (MSc)
Whatever the industry, and whether operating globally or nationally, it’s more important than ever for businesses to manage their supply chains and ecosystems carefully in order to succeed. Companies, government departments, and international organisations cannot survive for long without rigorous, efficient and strategic management of supply chains and logistics. They need to demonstrate their resilience against disruption and adversity, the incorporation of new technologies, and the application of e-security, location, and outsourcing decisions in a world of rapid technological change, global industrial restructuring and retrenchment and onset of dangerous climate change.
On our one-year Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc, taught at our central London campus, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of the forces at work and knowledge of sophisticated tools to strategically manage both large, complex, technology-based supply chains, as well as more traditional ones. You’ll cover logistics and procurement often across national boundaries, companies, regions, and time-zones.
Our focused and highly relevant curriculum is based on current thinking and real-world experience and needs in managing supply chains globally as technologies, markets and the international business and trade environment are changing fast. You’ll learn from senior academics and experienced practitioners, with input from CEOs and senior executives across a range of industries. These industry connections have informed the content and design of the course.
We recruit students from arts, sciences, manufacturing, business, management, and services and prepare them for successful careers across many industries: high technology manufacturing, engineering, electronics and computing, service sectors, fashion and clothing, food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals and bio medical, aid agencies, disaster relief and NGOs.
This MSc is accredited by The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and is studied at our campus right in the centre of London.
From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
This year we will be running the following insightful mandatory modules:
This module provides students with an understanding of operations, strategy, process, and quality management within the overall context of the supply chain. It provides examples of operations management in manufacturing and service contexts. On completion you will understand the management of operations strategies and processes, and will be able to for example, critically analyse customer profitability.
This module explores procurement from multiple perspectives such as process, technology, strategy, negotiation, relationships, and models. In doing so, you will gain a holistic understanding of the procurement function. This module will also focus on inventory management, analysis techniques, and will equip you with the necessary skills for analysing inventory and take inventory related decisions. You will furthermore develop team negotiation skills and learn how to for example, formulate buyer supplier agreements.
The effective management of supply chains has always been important for industries to operate smoothly. The increasing dependence of today’s organisations on global supply chains shows no sign of abating, which means that supply chain managers will increasingly be in demand. This module will provide you with the opportunity to interact with experts at leading supply chain organisations. You will be exposed to leading international organisations which will allow you to better understand first-hand, the complex nature of today’s supply chains. Moreover, you will discuss the challenges and complexities facing supply chain managers and given an opportunity to critically engage with such challenges and complexities, and to provide consultancy to deal with them.
On this module you’ll explore the nature of management research, its purpose, and gain an overview of the processes involved. You will link theory with practice and will learn about different academic and practitioner literature. You will explore data collection and data analysis methods. You will furthermore be able to develop your dissertation proposal by generating and refining ideas.
This module introduces you to the concept and definition of logistics and supply chain management, how it is increasingly recognised as a competitive strategy and the influence of logistics and supply chain management to other major functional activities to a firm's success. Responsiveness, reliability, resilience and relationships are the basis for successful logistics and supply chain management. These key trends are explored through lectures and case studies to understand the theoretical insights as well as the effective practices faced by international supply chains.
This module equips learners to understand the fundamental operations related to warehousing. You will also learn about picking strategies and KPIs that can be used for evaluating warehousing performance. Knowledge gained will be useful for evaluating the performance of warehousing and providing suggestions for improvement. Moreover, you will learn to evaluate various distribution network designs and provide recommendations for designing and improving distribution networks. Students will learn the concepts through a variety of techniques such as solving quantitative problems, qualitative case studies and simulation tools, and make distribution related decisions.
The aim of this module is to help students understand in detail the concepts of both risk and resilience, and how these are defining supply chain design and operation. This would include gaining a comprehensive understanding of supply chain risks, covering internal, external, and global factors, and the ability to categorise and assess these risks effectively; exploring the key components and principles of resilient supply chains, developing the skills to create and implement effective resilience strategies in the face of uncertainties; insights into the complexities of managing risks in a globalised supply chain, considering geopolitical issues, cultural nuances, and regulatory compliance; appreciate the key factors in up to date business continuity practice.
This module is an independent research project. You may select a topic of their choice related to logistics and Supply Chain management which has to be approved by the Course Director. The project should demonstrate both the technical knowledge that is being acquired throughout this Master’s degree programme, and also the ability to integrate knowledge from different subject areas in order to apply it analytically to a business-related, problem.
This module introduces you to the concept of the circular economy and how it contributes to a more sustainable supply chain. You will be introduced to key aspects of sustainability and climate change and key megatrends impacting the supply chains of the future. Sustainability is a key concern to supply chain managers particularly since the globalisation of supply chains, where economics, ethics and the environment most widely known as the triple bottom line are critical in supply chain decision-making.
Optional Modules
There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.
Analytics and optimisation methodologies and algorithma are a key component of modern data driven decision making in industry and supply chain. They are key components of modern supply chain practice and valuable tools for decision makers. This module will expose students to modern methodologies and algorithms and explore the analytics domain including descriptive, predictive and prescriptive models and tools. Particular focus will be on visualisation and business intelligence tools among others.
This module focuses on the effective design and execution of global supply chains, with emphasis on opportunities and challenges that are present in emerging economies. It covers topics related to global supply chain strategies, global network optimization, outsourcing & sourcing strategies and contract design among others. It also introduces advanced supply chain concepts relevant to the context, like supply chain coordination and incentive alignment, pricing and revenue management and sustainability.
Over the 12 months of this course, you’ll take seven taught course units, attend various seminars and workshops and complete an independent business research project. And at the end of the year, you will apply the techniques and theories you’ve learned during the taught elements in a Masters level thesis of 10,000–12,000 words on a supply chain related topic. The dissertation will typically consist of a literature review followed by empirical work, involving either qualitative or quantitative research.
You’ll learn from highly experienced practitioners, including input from CEOs and senior executives from international firms across a range of industries. These industry connections have informed the content and design of the course, in a way that will not only build on your existing knowledge and experience but increase your chances of finding employment at a salary level higher than the graduate national average wage in your chosen sector.
Graduates of our supply chain courses have proven to be highly employable and pursued careers across a range of industries.
Roles in supply chain and logistics management can vary and are not limited to professionals who oversee the implementation and operations of supply chains, outsourcing, procurement, transportation, and logistics. A typical role could include taking ownership of a specific aspect of a supply chain project, ensuring that it is delivered to all stakeholders and meets the competitive needs of an organisation. You might be the person who provides detailed knowledge on a specific supply chain management discipline, or provides professional support services to a range of supply chain and procurement needs of an organisation, including international aid and disaster relief logistics management and planning.
With an MSc, you can progress your career in a wide range of positions in industry, make substantial contributions to multidisciplinary teams, strategically managing domestic and international supply chains, logistics, procurement, global sourcing, finance, technology acquisition, and risk management, amongst others. This will help you progress through an organisation into senior management positions or change career paths across industries, government, and NGOs. Some industries you could go into include:
Electronics, Mobile Communication and Computing
Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare
Food and Agriculture
Energy
Supermarkets
Textiles, Clothing and Fashion Industries
Finance and International Banking
Manufacturing, Aerospace, Automotive, Heavy Engineering
High–tech Materials and Components Start-Ups
Minerals, Oil & Gas
Commodities Trade, Procurement and Distribution
Shipping
Airlines
Music, Film Production, TV Production
Government Departments
International Aid, Disaster Relief and NGO
Postgraduate students from our School of Business and Management have gone on to roles in a variety of companies including Amazon, Tesco, Accenture, Ogilvy, KPMG, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bloomberg LP, Ocado Group, HSBC, Fuji film, Huawei, Deutsche Bahn and Qatar Airways.
* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2025/26. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.
Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually. For further information, see fees and funding ,and terms and conditions.
** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2025/26. Find out more
*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2025/26 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.
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