We designed and delivered a defence procurement, logistics and support course for Serbia’s military and civil service, the first time such a course was delivered in Belgrade.

Key Facts

    • Serbia needed to improve the knowledge and expertise of the country’s military and civilian staff in the areas of defence procurement, logistics and support.

    • We delivered an initial five-day course covering the key elements of defence supply chains, whole-life costs, integrated logistics support, inventory management and support options.

    • The courses included a number of case studies specifically designed to reflect the unique defence support and logistics issues in the Serbian context.

  • Funded by The UK鈥檚 Ministry of Defence; we were requested by the MOD to deliver the course because of our unrivalled expertise.

Impact of our research

The course was well received and most elements of the course were rated as ‘relevant’ or ‘highly relevant’ by the students, both to their current roles and potential future employment.

In particular, the students found that the sessions on through-life management of support costs to be highly relevant and the knowledge gained is now being put to good use within the Serbian military. The participants’ feedback included comments such as ‘The course exceeded my expectations’, and ‘Everything was tailored very well (to meet Serbian requirements)’.

Because of the success of the course, we subsequently developed and delivered two further specialist courses covering configuration management and obsolescence management.

Why the research was commissioned

As a result of engagement between the UK’s regional Defence Attaché and the Serbian Ministry of Defence, a requirement for a new series of courses to develop the knowledge and expertise of Serbian military and civilian staff in the area of defence procurement, logistics and support was identified.

In January 2015, Serbia agreed to deepen cooperation with NATO through an Individual Partnership Action Plan. The need for improved expertise was aligned with NATO Partnership Goal G-4055 on supply chain management.

The UK Defence Attaché in Belgrade facilitated engagement between the Serbian MOD and ourselves to design and deliver a course to meet the country’s specific requirements. 

The course was designed for mid-seniority military officers (major and lieutenant colonel) and their civilian equivalents and was delivered at the Serbian Defence Ministry Headquarters.

Why Cranfield?

Although many universities have expertise in the disciplines of procurement and support, we have unique capability relevant to these subjects within the complex and dynamic defence environment.

Our team has a broad background covering defence and industry within the UK and internationally. Our expertise in defence procurement and logistics is unparalleled, combining practitioner experience with relevant academic research. This is reinforced by our close relationship with the .

Our teaching is research-led, ensuring that we present and discuss the latest ideas.

We analyse the requirements of our customers and produce tailored courses which reflect the unique issues faced by each country’s defence procurement and logistics activities.

Our team are expert presenters with a facilitative style which encourages discussion and mutual learning.