Operations Management: An Overview

• Operations Management (OM) involves business practices to ensure maximum efficiency by improvements for higher profitability and better customer satisfaction.
• Production encompasses the creation of goods and services

Key Aspects of Operations Management

• Design of Goods and Services: Development of products or services that meet customer needs efficiently.
• Process and Capacity Design: Determining the best way to produce goods and services via equipment, tech assessment.
• Supply Chain Management: Coordinating and managing the flow of materials, information, and finances across the supply chain.
• Quality Management: Ensuring products or services meet quality standards through continuous improvement.
• Inventory and Materials Management: Balancing inventory costs with ensuring sufficient supplies for operations.
• Scheduling: Planning production and delivery timing to optimize resource use.
• Operations management bridges strategy and execution, utilizing resources effectively to meet goals.
• Competitive advantage is achieved through improved processes, cost efficiency, and innovation.

Operations Management Charts

• Operations: Includes teller scheduling, check clearing, facilities design
• Finance: Includes investments, securities, real estate
• Marketing: Includes loans (commercial, industrial, financial, personal, and mortgage, trust department

More Operations Mangement Charts

• Operations: Includes ground support equipment, maintenance and flight ops
• Finance/Accounting: Includes accounts payable and receivable, international exchange
• Marketing: Includes traffic administration, advertising, schedules tariffs and sales

Manufacturing Operations Management Charts

• Operations: Includes facilities, maintenance, tooling and supply chain management; development of production tools.
• Finance/Accounting: Includes disbursements, international exchanged and capital requirements
• Marketing: Includes sales promotion, market research and advertising

The Supply Chain

• Supply Chain is the network of activities, organizations, and resources that produce and deliver a product or service.
• Encompasses all stages, from procurement to distribution and customer service.
• Suppliers provide the necessary raw materials.
• Manufacturers convert these materials into finished goods.
• Distributors store and transport goods to retailers
• Retailers serve as the point of contact between the product and consumers.
• Consumers are the end-users.

Key Characteristics of the Supply Chain

• Involves the movement of physical products or services.
• Includes flow of critical data, such as demand forecasts and inventory levels.
• Payments and transactions occur within the supply chain entities.
• Ensures timely delivery of services so that customer expectation are met
• Waste is minimized thus optimizing resource use.
• A well-managed supply chain increases customer value and creates a competitive edge.
• Modern supply chains often use global networks, making coordination essential
• Operations managers seek to improve supply chain activities and enhance profitability.

What Operations Managers Do

• Oversee conversion of inputs like raw materials and energy into outputs.
• Responsible for ensuring the organization is efficient, effective, aligned with goals.

Core Responsibilities of Operations Managers

• Planning: Setting goals, designing processes, and forecasting demand.
• Organizing: Allocating resources and establishing workflows.
• Leading: Motivating employees and fostering collaboration.
• Controlling: Monitoring performance and correcting actions as needed.
• Decision-Making: Strategic and tactical decisions in areas like capacity, supply chain, inventory, and scheduling.
• Continuous Improvement: Using Lean and Six Sigma to enhance efficiency and quality.
• Collaboration Across Functions: Aligning operations with other departments.
• Decisions impact company's ability to effectively compete in its market

Ten strategic decisions

• Design of goods and services ensures what is required of operations
• Managing quality
• Process and capacity strategy defines how a good or service is produced
• Location strategy involves nearness to customers
• Layout strategy integrates capacity needs
• Human resources
• Supply-chain management involves being integrated into the firm's strategy
• Optimize considering customer satisfaction
• Utilise personnel and facilities
• Maintenance must be a reliable and stable process

Just In Time (JIT) Manufacturing

• A production strategy aims to improve efficiency and reduce waste.
• Goods are only produced only when needed, and in the demanded timeframe.
• It decreases inventory using a system driven by actual demand instead of forecasts.
• JIT improves quality, but needs strong supplier relationships.
• Toyota pioneered JIT and it is a component of lean manufacturing

Current Challenges in OM

• Globalization requires management across different countries
• Sustainability involves eco-friendly practices.
• Emerging tech like automation and AI.
• Customer expectations deliver customization.

Further OM Challenges

• Workforce: Addressing labor shortages in a changing job market.
• Supply Chain Disruptions: Minimizing downtime from events like natural disasters.
• Quality Management: Reducing costs whilst maintaining quality.
• These challenges require innovative thinking and adaptation to changing conditions.

Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Sustainability

• Develop safe, high-quality products.
• Train and motivate employees.
• Honor stakeholder commitments.
• Stakeholders: all vested parties in a business.

Explore Operations Management (OM) principles for business efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Learn about goods and services design, process optimization, supply chain and quality management. Discover how OM bridges strategy and execution for effective resource utilization.