What are the features of operational management?

Table of Contents Show

Global Strategy
Supply Chain Configuration
Operations Management
Forecasting
Product Design
Quality Management
Operations Management Explained
Roles & Responsibilities of Operations Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommended Articles

Operations management is the supply chain management team in charge of the daily business operations. These supply chain professionals follow 10 standard operations management principles to optimize the scheduling, production planning, inventory control, procurement, and quality control processes in their manufacturing organization. In addition to process management, they are also tasked with continuous improvement initiatives and utilize operations research and process improvement to gain a competitive advantage.

To better understand operation management in a lean manufacturing environment, it is helpful to break it down into its core functions.

Global Strategy

Strategic management looks at the global supply chain and how well it is achieving the organization's business objectives. Operations strategy looks at high-level performance metrics / KPIs including:

Customer Satisfaction - Is the supply chain providing products and services that consumers are satisfied with?
Marketshare - Do consumers choose these products and services over those produced by the competition?
Profitability - Is the organization able to deliver these goods profitably?

Global operations managers then use business analytics to assess the performance of the remaining 6 operations functions/processes and how well they are helping the organization achieve these core goals.

Business strategies at the global level vary, but they may focus on sales targets, how to make better use of human resources, or the best way to make use of raw materials in terms of less waste and more money for the business.

Supply Chain Configuration

Essentially, it is the operations manager's job to ensure that the supply chain is properly set up. From purchasing raw materials, through the production of the product, and even on to the sale of the finished products to customers, these are all dominos that need to be positioned correctly to ensure that every aspect of the supply chain is running correctly. This will prevent delays and lead to faster production and quicker sales.

IT operations management, which involves managing the production systems within the context of the organization's IT infrastructure, is another critical component of supply chain and operations management.

Business operations managers oversee the integration and optimization of management systems like enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution systems (MES), and manufacturing resource planning (MRP). They ensure that these information systems work well together and support critical business processes.

Operations Management

Looking at the ops of a business involves considering all activities that are required to turn raw materials or human efforts into a product or service that can ultimately be sold to customers. This includes activities like production scheduling, production planning, and control, capacity planning, assembly line configuration, materials management, and logistics planning.

An operation manager is constantly looking to find ways to make operations run smoother by eliminating bottlenecks. They often utilize management science techniques, like Six Sigma, Agile, and Kanban to drive gains in day-to-day process efficiency.

Forecasting

Operations management is also in charge of forecasting, or simply put, predicting the demand for the product in the future. Marketing operations and sales operations are an important input into this process because planned marketing promotions and sales initiatives can dramatically impact product demand.

Forecasting has a direct impact on production and is crucial to a business's success. Too many products and a business will be left with storage costs and potential waste, too little, and a business won't be positioned correctly to meet customer demand.

Finance

Being focused on finances in operations management is essential, not only for the profit of the business but also in ensuring that the product supplied to customers is of a high standard. The delicate balancing act between creating a good or service that is satisfactory to the customer, but also allows for a fair profit for the business, is an essential part of operations management.

Product Design

This is where operations management focuses on the way the product is designed. The most important aspect here is to make sure that it suits market trends and is a durable product that customers will favor. For example, customers are becoming increasingly concerned about is how the production of a product affects the environment. An operations management team might therefore design a product with a 'greener' state of mind to ensure that the production of a product has less impact on the environment, making it more attractive to customers.

Quality Management

Quality management also comes under the umbrella of operations management. Here the operations management may have a dedicated team that ensures consistency. They must rectify any defects, ensure that the quality is consistent, and ensure that each product is ready for sale.

Operations management is a business area that implements practices ensuring the conversion of inputs into goods and services with maximum efficiency. The goal is to increase an organization’s income by improving its operations and maximizing the use of existing resources. It also includes the provision and delivery of excellent customer service.

Management of the operations department is essential to achieve optimal utilization of resources. It ensures that goods or services of appropriate specification and cost are produced within the stipulated time. As a result, an organization will achieve good rates of profit and adequate levels of customer satisfaction when all these coincide.

Operations management deals with the management of processes and operations in an organization. Its primary aim is to improve its profit through optimal utilization of resources and customer service.
It involves active coordination from various other departments such as production, sales, accounting, and customer service.
It is a key component of balancing the cost incurred by the organization and the achievement of operating profit.
Operations management responsibilities include giving attention to production and process design, layout design, control of inventory and raw materials, distribution, proper sales and marketing, delivery of customer service, etc.

Operations Management Explained

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Operations management in business involves converting input into efficient outputs to achieve desired results. In other words, it aims to improve profits by achieving customer satisfaction. This is done by fulfilling customer requirements and realizing the organization’s management objectives. Operations management is, therefore, a vast field and can involve product and process designs, plant layouts, material management, maintenance, quality control, production plan, and control, etc.

The operating system is the central point of any business operations management. It is the design to work out resource utilization processes and operations. It converts the available inputs such as capital, labor, raw materialsRaw materials refer to unfinished substances or unrefined natural resources used to manufacture finished goods.read more, and information to create desired outputs effectively. The creation of goods or services involves many transformational processes such as storage, transportation, cutting, etc.

As the name suggests, a typical operations manager is responsible for managing the overall operations process. Accordingly, these managers shall oversee activities related to designing products and processes, planning on achieving targets, controlling resources and activities, and productivity improvement. They also have to indirectly interact with managers of other functional areas of the organization such as production, marketing, finance, accountingAccounting is the process of processing and recording financial information on behalf of a business, and it serves as the foundation for all subsequent financial statements.read more, human resources, etc. Therefore, the role of an operations manager in itself gives us the importance of operations management.

Roles & Responsibilities of Operations Management

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The various functions of operations management are listed below:

#1 – Forecasting

Forecasting is an attempt at predicting the future with the help of systematic analysis and scientific methods. It is an essential part of operations management as it assesses the controllable and uncontrollable factors and makes predictions for the organization. It may also involve provisions or suggestions for dealing with those predicted scenarios.

#2 – Capacity Planning

Capacity measures the rate of the production capability of a facility. One of the most important operations management responsibilities is finding out the kind and quantity of capacity needed and the time by which it needs to be produced. It involves assessing the facility’s current capacity, forecasting future needs, identifying and analyzing possible resources to fulfill those needs, evaluating alternative resources, and selecting the best among them.

#3 – Location Facility

It is important to determine a location facility of the plant that can ensure maximum operating efficiency. For example, a coal plant is best located near a water source with the availability of coal near; it provides efficiency, cost controlCost control is a tool used by an organization in regulating and controlling the functioning of a manufacturing concern by limiting the costs within a planned level. It begins with preparing a budget, evaluating the actual performance, and implementing the necessary actions required to rectify any discrepancies.read more, and profitProfit refers to the earnings that an individual or business takes home after all the costs are paid. In economics, the term is associated with monetary gains. read more. But the selection of facilities is based on the easy and regular supply of labor, resources, and raw materials. Factors like nearness to the market, power availability, transportation facilities, climate suitability, and government rules are also considered. An ideal location contributes to an organization’s smooth working, the opposite of which will hinder its growth.

#4 – Layout

A good plant layout plans for placement of machines, pieces of equipment, utilities, service areas, storage areas, and arrangement of other facilities. In addition, it ensures a safe workspace, ease of maintenance, fulfillment of requirements, and long-run efficiency in its operations with minimal investment.

#5 – Integration of Activities

Successful execution of an organization’s operations includes cordial and efficient workflow between various departments such as sales, production, and accounting. The Operations management system ensures the allocation of financial resources for purchases from the accounting department, receiving products from the production department, making the product reach the sales department, and effective delivery of goods or services from the customer service department. In addition, it ensures there is uninterrupted functioning of the organization through back and forth communications, continuous coordination, and feedback.

Examples

These examples give a basic understanding of the functions of operations management.

Example #1

Sam is an operations manager of a mobile phone manufacturing company called “ABC ltd.” The company wants to sell a batch of new phones. Therefore, the responsibilities Sam needs to fulfill are:

Ensure the products are designed to meet the criteria of customer expectations through analysis of past data.
Predict the future requirements through analysis and ensure that the production amount meets the demand in the market.
Secure the supply chain system. It involves arranging raw materials and delivering the same, maintaining existing inventory, ensuring a successful smooth production process, confirming the production numbers, distributing them in the market, and guaranteeing their sales.
Ensuring there is no loss incurred from the organization’s side by evaluating the cost and best alternatives available. This reduces the overall cost and overhead costsOverhead cost are those cost that is not related directly on the production activity and are therefore considered as indirect costs that have to be paid even if there is no production. Examples include rent payable, utilities payable, insurance payable, salaries payable to office staff, office supplies, etc.read more, efficient processes, and timely delivery of goods and services.

Example #2

One of the biggest companies in the U.S, Amazon, is a good example of successful operations management. It is an online retailer with its headquarters in the U.S. which started as an online bookstore and later evolved into an e-commerce retailer and an online marketplace.

To stand out, it had to begin with building a strong brand image. Hence, it created a robust supply chainA supply chain refers to a process beginning with the procurement of raw materials and the production of finished goods and ending with their distribution and sale.read more. As a result, it made its services highly efficient, faster, and capable of catering to many customers. This led to the introduction of the Amazon prime service that allowed customers to get their products delivered to them within a short time. Apparently, the refreshing idea of faster deliveries from an e-commerce company attracted a lot of new customers.

The company developed a supply chain that had end-to-end visibility equipped with advanced technologies to allow the company takes control of all aspects of it. The company also automated its warehouse management and established multiple delivery stations to ensure faster delivery. Presently, with its enormous success and popularity, Amazon is one of the prime examples that show how effective operations management can benefit an organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does operations management do?

The key functions of operations management are the design of product and process designs, creating plant layouts, executing material handling methods, material management, maintenance, quality control, and production planning control.

Why is operations management important?

It is important as operations management aims to reduce wastage of resources, increase profit, and ensure customer satisfaction through maximum efficiency.

Is operations management a good career?

Forming new companies or expanding existing ones will require consistent operations management and hence is a lucrative career option. The average operations management salary stands at $115,250 as of 2021. Any candidate with analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills can opt for this career.

What is an operation management strategy?

Operations management anticipates the capacity requirements by way of forecasting. Then, it plans for capacity, facility, resource aggregation, resource management, and other necessary operation management functions to layout a system that the organization can use for achieving these targets.