OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Overseen, managed and coordinated by Operations Managers (title not restricted to manufacturing) :
Involves Operational planning – what, how and when to produce.
Organizing operations – sequencing operational activities
(caned coke, 1 litre bottles, 2.5 litres).
Operations scheduling – when to produce different product lines (Monday, Tuesday, etc)
Operations control – ensures quality output
- safe output – health wise
- quick output
Operational based competitive advantage can be achieved by:
*Doing things right the first time - Quality advantage;
- defect free output, lower costs, improved competitiveness, can even lead to higher prices (e.g., Sony, Toyota, etc).
*Doing things cost effectively - Cost advantage;
- cost efficiency leads to price competitiveness and decent profits
- Lack of cost competitiveness can lead to large-scale retrenchments
*Do things fast: Speed advantage; can lose sales if slow
- Reputation for speed is important
Change things quickly: Adaptability-advantage (ability to change from making Tea, Coffee, etc)
- Change operations to meet customer demand for variety
- SME Furniture manufacturer (beds, chairs, tables, sofa)
*Do things right every time: Reliability-advantage- offer error-free products or services to customers EVERY time
*Do things better: Service-advantage and continuous improvement (e.g., TQM – all aspects of business important in delivering quality service to customer).
It involves techniques like:
Material Requirement Planning
Aggregate Planning for production and services
Inventory Control
Layout Planning
Operations Scheduling
Quality Analysis and Control
Involves Operational planning – what, how and when to produce.
Organizing operations – sequencing operational activities
(caned coke, 1 litre bottles, 2.5 litres).
Operations scheduling – when to produce different product lines (Monday, Tuesday, etc)
Operations control – ensures quality output
- safe output – health wise
- quick output
Operational based competitive advantage can be achieved by:
*Doing things right the first time - Quality advantage;
- defect free output, lower costs, improved competitiveness, can even lead to higher prices (e.g., Sony, Toyota, etc).
*Doing things cost effectively - Cost advantage;
- cost efficiency leads to price competitiveness and decent profits
- Lack of cost competitiveness can lead to large-scale retrenchments
*Do things fast: Speed advantage; can lose sales if slow
- Reputation for speed is important
Change things quickly: Adaptability-advantage (ability to change from making Tea, Coffee, etc)
- Change operations to meet customer demand for variety
- SME Furniture manufacturer (beds, chairs, tables, sofa)
*Do things right every time: Reliability-advantage- offer error-free products or services to customers EVERY time
*Do things better: Service-advantage and continuous improvement (e.g., TQM – all aspects of business important in delivering quality service to customer).
It involves techniques like:
Material Requirement Planning
Aggregate Planning for production and services
Inventory Control
Layout Planning
Operations Scheduling
Quality Analysis and Control
