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Operations Management
Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD
Operations management focuses on carefully managing the processes to produce and distribute products and services. Major, overall activities often include product creation, development, production and distribution. (These activities are also associated with Product and Service Management.) Related activities include managing purchases, inventory control, quality control, storage, logistics and evaluations of processes. A great deal of focus is on efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, operations management often includes substantial measurement and analysis of internal processes. Ultimately, the nature of how operations management is carried out in an organization depends very much on the nature of the products or services in the organization, for example, on retail, manufacturing or wholesale.
Sections of This Topic Include
Purchasing
Control and Coordinating Function of
Management
Product and Service Management
Quality Management
Inventory Management
Supply Chain Management
Logistics and Transportation Management
Facilities Management
Configuration Management
Distribution Channels
Enterprise Resource Planning
Also see
Related Library Topics
Procurement (Purchasing) Practices
This topic reviews guidelines for buying various materials from suppliers and
vendors -- materials, including computers, services from lawyers, insurance,
etc.
Procurement (Purchasing)
PracticesAn
Introduction to Supply Chain Management
Smart
Vendor Audit Checklist
Bartering
Your Services or Products
Setting
Supplier Cost Targets: -- Beyond the Basics (excellent overviews of various
aspects)
Management Control and Coordinating Function
Management control and coordination includes a broad range
of activities to ensure that organizational goals are consistently
being met in an effective and efficient fashion.
Control
Function of Management (includes major activities to ensure goals
are being met)
Product and Service Management
As noted above, the major activities involved in product and
service management are similar to those in operations management.
However, operations management is focused on the operations of
the entire organization, rather than managing a product or service.
Product/Service
Mgmt (product creation, development, production and distribution
and sales)
Quality Management
Quality management is crucial to effective operations management,
particularly continuous improvement. More recent advancements
in quality, such as benchmarking and Total Quality Management,
have resulted in advancements to operations management as well.
Quality
Management (especially continuous improvement, benchmarking and
re-engineering)
Inventory Management
Costs can be substantial to store and move inventory. Innovative methods, such as Just-in-Time inventory control, can save costs and move products and services to customers more quickly.
Basics About Inventory Control and Management
Inventory control system
Models for Inventory Control
Association
for Operations Management
RFID Solutions
Inventory System Basics
Finding the Best Inventory Management Solution – Part 1
Supply Chain Management
ABCs of Supply Chain Management
Institute for Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain
Management
The Seven Deadly Supply Chain Sins
Considering a Third Party for Supply Chain Management
Supply Quality: Today's Pressing Priority
Supply Chain Management Articles (links to
many articles)
The Sustainable Supply Chain
Supply
Chain Optimization: Learn How to Reduce Logistics Costs
Supply Chain Logistics
Supply Chain Inventory
Supply Chain Integrated Operations Planning
Supply Chain Procurement and Manufacturing
Supply Chain Customer Accommodation
General Resources About Inventory Control and Management
American Production
and Inventory Control Society
Center
for Inventory Management
Software Packages
You can often get a software package that will help you manage
your inventory. Usually, these packages are primarily for accounting.
See
Accounting
Software
Logistics and Transportation Management
Logistics is focused on the flow of materials and goods from
suppliers, through the organization and to the customers, with
priority on efficiency and cost effectiveness.
business relocation checklist
more business relocation lists
Want
to outsource logistics? Here's what you should know (free registration
required for article)
Warehousing
Transportation Operations
General Resources About Logistics and Transportation
Transportation
and Logistics Links
another extensive
list of logistics and transportation links
Glossary of Logistic Terms
Also see:
Telecommuting (working from home)
Facilities Management
Effective operations management depends a great deal on effective
management of facilities, such as buildings, computer systems,
signage, lighting, etc.
Facilities
Management (managing facilities, offices, buildings, signage,
lights, etc.)
Configuration Management
It's important to track the various versions of products and
services. Consider the various versions of software that continually
are produced, each with its own version number. Tracking these
versions is configuration management.
Configuration
Management
Distribution Channels
The means of distribution depend very much on the nature of
the product or service.
Distribution
Enterprise Resource Planning
Enterprise resource planning refers to using a software application to integrate multiple internal and external functions of a business. By facilitating the flow of information between human resources, accounting, inventory control, and other assets, planning and decision making can be made easier.
General Resources About Enterprise Resource Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning and Web Services
The Third Wave
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) - Benefits
and drawbacks of ERP
Cost-Cutting Software Targets Small Business
Enterprise Resource Planning: Do You Need It?
Practical Resources for Enterprise Resource Planning
Implementation
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for Small and
Medium Enterprises (SME)
Managing Change in the ERP Implementation: Busy
Work Vs Productivity
Managing Change in an ERP Implementation: The
Launch
Managing Change in an ERP Implementation: Post-Launch
Managing Change in an ERP Implementation: The
Transition
Managing Change in ERP Implementation: Hiring
a Consultant
Also see
Project
Management
(NOTE: The major functions of operations management are all referenced from above.)
General Resources
Institute
for Operations Management
Operations
Management Center (lots of links and resources)
Operations
Management division of the Academy of Management
Difference between Operations Managers and General
Managers
Linking
Innovation and Operations
For the Category of Operations Management:
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may
want to review some related topics, available from the link below.
Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been
selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just click on the image of the book. Also, a "bubble" of information might be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.
