Operations management can be defined as the management of the supply chain logistics of an organisation to the contemporary measures of performance

of cost, time and quality. Research the literature on operations management and supply chain management and critically analyse the role of operations management, identifying the key issues, tools and techniques employed. Take into account the differences between service and manufacturing environments and the implications for operations management. Consider the areas of inventory production and distribution planning and control. Reflect on the value added impact of operations management for the client/customer/end user of the organisation.

ro!ect" Operations #anagement$ Theory and ractice

%ntroduction Operations management focuses on the delicate management of internal business processes to produce and distribute products and services. Many companies, especially those smaller in size typically dont mention "operations management", but they still carry out activities classified as operations management. Some of these activities hich are covered by operations management include product creation, development, production and distribution! although, operations management is in regard to all operations ithin a firm. Other operation management activities include managing

purchases, inventory control, "uality control, logistics and evaluations. Service sector firms operation management activities ill of course differ, slightly or greatly, from

those of companies operating in a more traditional production based manner! yet operations management is still very much necessary in all types of companies. # great deal of the focus of operations management is on the efficiency and effectiveness of the companys processes. $herefore, operations management often includes substantial

measurement and analysis of internal processes. %ltimately, the nature of ho operations management is carried out in an organization depends very much on the nature of products or services in the organization, for e&ample, retail, manufacturing, etc. holesale,

Operations #anagement &Ops #gt' #s ith all forms of management, Ops Mgt needs to be tailored to meet the specific needs and re"uirements of a company, its customers and its overall strategy. Optimization of resources isnt achieved by using a generic approach that can be universally applied to all competing companies ithin an industry. 'ather, it is gained through the utilization of thoroughly developed methods and processes, hich are created and implemented by operations manager(s), and shared ith all members of the organisation. Many factors need considering hen planning, implementing and continually developing operational processes! including size and location of company, factories, offices, etc., the type of and amount of technology to employed ithin the operations, and finally all of the logistics involved in getting the product or service to the end client* customer* user, i.e. ac"uiring, manufacturing, distributing etc. $his final point is hat is called the Supply +hain ithin the firm.

Supply Chain Management Supply +hain Management (S+M) is defined as the management of materials as ell

information flo s both in and bet een lin,s in the chain! hich include vendors, manufacturing plants, and distribution centers. $he ,ey issue for successful S+M is the effective full-scale coordination bet een these different partners. Such relationships are dependant on the data sharing through effective communication net or,s. .ssues such as purchasing prices and the levels to be purchased, as ell as, storage of ra materials, inventory, and other product components are to be overseen by the operations or supply chain manager(s). /rom an operations vie point, all of these various processes must be revie ed fre"uently and improved constantly in order to ensure 0smooth, efficient operations ithin the company. 1ere are the important issues that have to be addressed in S+M2 $he configuration of the distribution net or,2 this includes the amount of and locations of suppliers, production facilities, arehouses, centres of distribution, and finally the customers. $he strategy used for distribution2 this includes issues such as 0pull or 0push strategies, centralized versus decentralized, direct shipment, cross doc,ing, third party logistics, etc. $he management of inventory2 the optimal amount of ra materials, or,-inprocess, and finished goods need to be managed and the best location of storage determined. $he management of the information flo 2 systems and processes throughout the supply chain need to be alligned and intergrated to ensure the efficient transfer of valauble inventory, transportation, demand indicator, and forecast information.

Management of the supply chain invloves the three levels of activities ithin a firm. $hese are the strategic level, the tactical level and the operational level. 3ood management of the supply chain means smooth traffic of goods, starting as supplier inputs, right through all aspects ithin the firm, up until they leave the firm as outputs and are received by the consumer. Management of the supply chain is meant to avoid disruptions in this flo or bottle nec, type buildups in the supply chain. $he smoother the movement the more efficient the supply chain.

(ifferences in Ops #gt for )ervice )ector *nvironments Operations management theory traditionally as developed for manufacturing*production sector companies. $he theories tended to cover issues such as economic batch "uantities, line balancing and stoc, controls, hich ere very relevant to these companies. .n the mid 4567s hen it became clear that there as an ever increasing move to ards service sector companies, it as realized that these topics held little relation to the ,ey issues faced by managers running service sector operations. $hese tools and techni"ues did have some value but the real issues facing service sector firms ere issues such as customer service, service "uality and service design. %nfortunately there ere no tools or techni"ues available at that time to help. Much has been done since then and it has become clear that the production and service sector operations management must focus on different critical issues. 8hereas production sector companies may never ma,e face-to-face contact ith their end customers, service sector companies do ma,e have this contact ith their customers, usually on a more intimate, and regular basis. $his means the customer interaction and satisfaction needs to

be analysed rather differently in the t o differing sectors. 9uality is a very important issue in service sector firms, including the "uality of the service processes, such as customer ait times, efficiency of "ueues, courtesy of staff, etc. $here seems to be a bit more difficulty analyzing the performance of intangible services as opposed to tangible products. :et, this is precisely hat operations management must do to improve the service being offered to end customers.

+ey ,reas of %mportance in Ops #gt $here are ,ey or issues that are important ithin operations management! here are the most relevant2 Purchasing Practices: $he methods of a companys procurement or purchasing practices are of obvious importance. $hese practices can include buying various physical materials from suppliers and vendors such as stoc,s or ra materials, or computer systems and soft are, as ell as services such as, services from la yers, insurance companies, net or, or system assistance, e&ternal consultants, etc. Quality Management: $o have effective operations management there is the need for ;ust as effective "uality management. 9uality management ensures that products and services continually meet the standard of "uality set forth by the company originally. /urther ideas of "uality management, specifically $otal 9uality Management ($9M) and +ontinuous .mprovement 9uality Management strive even further in the pursuit to improve all aspects of a firms operations,

products and services. Product and Service Management: $his involves the activities in product creation, development, production and distribution and sales. Specific management units can be in charge of managing certain lines of products, a sort of micro environment, but operations management is involved in the bigger picture, the macro environment of managing all the products and services as a hole. Inventory Management: <ractical, cost effective and timely inventory management improves operations and saves money. .t can be a very comple& state of affairs, i.e. too much overstoc, or not enough stoc,. $he concept of 0=ust in time (=.$) manufacturing as introduced by >eming and first implemented e&tensively in =apan in the 45?7s ($oyota is one of its practitioners). .t calls for stoc, coming in ;ust hen its needed so that it doesnt have to sit on a shelf. $his allo s the money necessary to buy this stoc, to be available to the firm and its other potential investments up until the last possible moment! this has can have significant impact on a firms bottom line. @ven if this isnt the method of inventory chosen by a firm, it is still necessary to have good control over ones inventory in order to stay competitive, as most companies are favoring leaner companies as opposed to al ays running to capacity. $his is a very crucial issue for operations management. Logistics and Transport Management: $his entails the flo of goods and services from suppliers to the firm, throughout the firm and finally to the end customer. $his is also falls under supply chain management as mentioned above.

 Facilities Management: @ffective operations management depends a great deal on effective management of a companys facilities, such as buildings, computer systems, etc. Sales and Marketing: Mar,et research and feedbac, from customers are critical factors used by companies to create successful mar,eting programs. $hey are also crucial in the development of ne products. Ay adopting a close or,ing relationship ith mar,eting, operations management can help the company better fulfill their customers needs. Finance: Audget information is vital to all departments ithin a company. Operations management might have the role of providing costs for each phase of the operation in order for the accurate preparation of proper budgets and forecast accurate profit*loss information. Human esources: .dentification of the optimum number of employees for each department, as ell as the overall organization of staff and reporting structures is part of operations management. !istri"ution Channels: +ompanies typically have a ide variety of methods available to distribute their products and services. Most companies distribution channels are made up of a mi&ture of methods. 4. >irect distribution methods include providing products and services directly to the end customer. >irect methods are, for e&ample, direct mail, retail, catalogs, or even over the .nternet. B. .ndirect methods of distribution involve having a middleman. .ndirect

methods include, for e&ample, using holesalers and distributors, or retailers (Cmart is a prime e&ample of this - a large chain of retail stores, hich is a po erful middleman). $hese middlemen are the ones that get the products or services to the end customer.

Con#iguration Management: $his involves the trac,ing and management of the various different types or versions of a product or service being offered by the company. .n most companies variations tend to be numerous and continually increasing, prompting fre"uent attention.

-alue ,dded through Operations #anagement

.dentifying improvements in product production processes that can be converted into cost savings, and therefore allo ing the company to pass-on these savings to their end customers! strengthening their competitive position.

Streamlining of a companys infrastructure! ma,ing it more efficient. Streamlining of a companys inventory and supply chain issues! ma,ing it as lean and effective as possible.

.dentify and implement improvements in the companys administrative,

accounting, purchasing, and other departments to modify or eliminate those that donDt add value to the company. $here are t o beneficiaries of good operations management2 shareholders of the firm and the customers of the firm. Aoth parties en;oy the benefits of value being added through cost saving and effective and efficient processes. $he former en;oys higher dividends and share prices and the latter gains through lo er prices and better products*services. +ontinuous operations management of products and services ithin a firm, if successful, should ,eep end customer*clients*users satisfied through the timely delivery of an ever improving, cost effective product or service, hich is desirable to said customer*client*user.

Conclusion Operations Management is concerned ith the analysis of firms internal processes in order to improve performance. Successful Ops Mgt involves all aspects of a company, and includes all departments in the flo of communication. <rocesses are developed, reengineered or changed all together ith the intent of being cost considerate, efficient and effective. $he firms supply chain is of particular focus in operations management, as this covers the entire cycle of a product ithin a company, from ac"uisition of ra materials from a supplier to the delivery of finished product or service to the end customer. $he role of operations management is a very pivotal one ithin a company because it is responsible for creating an overall sound, performing company, hich lin,s all of the departments, hile utilizing their resources holly.

Reflections %pon reflecting on this paper . as struc, ith the comple&ity of this operational management role. .t seems to be a role hich demands a clear, precise macroenvironment vie of the organisation, yet enough of a specific micro environment vie of the departments to understand the day to day operations in depth. .t is a very active role ithin the company, constantly analyzing processes in search of improvement and efficiency! very much reminiscent of $otal 9uality Management. .t is li,e the bridge bet een e&ecutive management that form strategies for the company and the differing department staff that try to fulfill these strategic visions. Ops Mgt is the never ceasing entity hose function it is to ma,e sure that these t o groups live harmoniously and have the tools and processes in place to achieve success in implementing their strategy. . believe it may be the most difficult function ithin an organisation.

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