Logistics Management - International Fresh Business Management - Fontys University

The programme
To find fresh products in today’s supermarkets is regarded as absolutely normal. But how do they find their way to the shopping baskets of the consumers? How are they produced, packed, traded, transported and sold? Who ‘develops’ new food concepts? And, very important, how is it guaranteed that everything is in good condition, healthy and ‘value for money’? All these questions and many more, have to be answered by professionals in the world of fresh business.

The world of international fresh business covers everything around fresh products in all thinkable domains: from meat over dairy, flowers, plants, mushrooms and nuts to all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Products that are indispensable for all of us.
What do you focus on in International Fresh Business Management?
-The fresh supply chain
-How fresh products are processed
-Finding out what kind of fresh products consumers want, and what you should do to get it to them
-Market research and analysis
-Developing strategic marketing plans
-Organizing the flow of fresh produce from seed to plate
-Paying attention to buying, organization, production, transport planning and packaging
-Building long term relations with satisfied suppliers and customers
-Acquiring basic knowledge in fresh business, research skills, management skills, communication skills and Foreign Language

Year 1
The study programme International Fresh Business Management is a unique programme which combines logistics, marketing and agri-business. Right away from the first day onwards you dive into fresh business. Fresh business involves products like food and flowers: products that need to stay fresh and hence have different requirements than many other products.
In the first year, you learn the basics of the fresh supply chain, retail and wholesale in local, regional and international markets. You work on projects with topics like market research and logistics. On top of that you acquire basic business knowledge, relevant soft skills (e.g. communication, negotiation, teamwork, professionalism, responsibility) and learn an additional language.

Year 2
In the second year you deepen your knowledge in the fields of fresh chain management and fresh business. You work on the development and production of fresh products. You get a good insight into practice by means of a number of projects. These are a fixed part of your study programme throughout the study programme. Next to projects specifically focussed on International Fresh Business Management you have one big project named the StartUp Factory. Within the StartUp Factory, you work together with students from different study programmes. You choose between four types of projects like setting up your own start-up company, or working on creative solutions for problems of real companies. Each kind of StartUp Factory gives you the opportunity to work on your creativity, and to learn more about communication with people from different backgrounds and different fields. Thus, in this year you get more background on the specifics of fresh business, but you also work on cooperating with professionals from other backgrounds through the StartUp Factory.

Year 3
In the first semester of year three, you do a work placement in a company and industry of your choice. As a future professional, you apply yourself for this work placement allowing you to already practice your application skills for the future. During the work placement you deepen your knowledge in the real business world. The work placement can be completed in a country of your choice.
In the second semester of year three, you deepen your knowledge in a specific theme within a minor programme. The minor programme provides you with the opportunity to acquire knowledge in another field then your major. You can choose to do this minor at Fontys, at one of our partner universities in the Netherlands, or at one of our 125 partner universities all over the world. Doing your minor abroad at one of our partner universities abroad allows you to acquire further language skills and experience a new culture.

Year 4
In semester seven you deepen your knowledge in the fresh supply chain and fresh business with different subjects and projects at Fontys.
In the final semester you do another work placement and work on a practical problem within a company. You report the solutions to this practical problem in your final product: the graduation report. Once having concluded this final part of the study programme, you are rewarded with the internationally recognized degree Bachelor of Science.

Career prospects
After your studies the world of Fresh Business will be open to you. No matter what you do, the study course International Fresh Business Management has provided you with the required know-how to meet the challenges of the economic chain and the chain of goods in the fresh industry. Our graduates find jobs in any business in the fresh supply chain, from suppliers of agricultural raw materials to food and flower retail. Relevant sectors include agriculture, horticulture and fisheries, agri- and food wholesale, food and beverage processing, food and flower retail, garden centers, food service and agri- and food consultancy agencies. Possible jobs: Product Developer, Quality Manager, Marketing Manager, Logistics Manager, Value Chain Manager, Export Manager, Account Manager, Business Owner, Consultant