Business Operations and Efficiency

Efficiency and Operations Management

• Efficiency is the productive use of resources in producing goods and services.
• Operations managers aim to maximize productivity by implementing strategies to optimize resource use, such as technological development.

Quality Control and Quality Assurance

• Quality control involves inspecting products at different stages to ensure they meet expected standards.
• Quality assurance involves achieving certified standards of quality through independent assessments of operations systems.
• Both strategies reduce faulty products and increase customer satisfaction, but quality control is reactive while quality assurance is proactive.

Artificial Intelligence in Operations

• Artificial intelligence (AI) systems imitate human intelligence to perform tasks traditionally done by humans.
• AI can analyze large amounts of data in various areas of operations, including quality and material management.
• AI improves efficiency by reducing time and labor used to complete complex tasks, allowing for more efficient resource use.
• AI improves effectiveness by providing timely and high-quality customer assistance, increasing customer satisfaction and sales.

Lean Management Principles

• Takt refers to the time it takes for one product to move through production processes.
• Applying takt ensures a continuous pace in operating processes, allowing businesses to keep up with customer demand.
• Zero defects is a lean management strategy focusing on continuous improvements to remove errors and defects.
• Production is stopped when a defect is found, and the issue is identified and fixed to prevent further defects.

Global Considerations of Overseas Manufacturing

• Overseas manufacturing provides access to highly skilled employees with expertise in production, improving production speed.
• Overseas manufacturing offers cheaper labor costs, allowing businesses to lower product prices and increase customer satisfaction and sales.
• However, overseas manufacturing can be time-consuming and may lead to local job losses, damaging the business's reputation.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Operations

• One CSR for Yakult is improving the environmental sustainability of its inputs, such as sourcing milk drinks and probiotic products from ethical and sustainable suppliers.
• This allows Yakult to minimize its environmental impact when fermenting milk drinks.