Operations Management

Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

Operations management focuses on carefully managing the processes to produce and distribute
products and services. Usually, small businesses don't talk about "operations management", but they
carry out the activities that management schools typically associate with the phrase "operations
management." Major, overall activities often include product creation, development, production and
distribution. (These activities are also associated with Product and Service Management. However
product management is usually in regard to one or more closely related product -- that is, a product line.
Operations management is in regard to all operations within the organization.) Related activities include
managing purchases, inventory control, quality control, storage, logistics and evaluations. 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 products or services
in the organization, for example, retail, manufacturing, wholesale, etc.

Sections of This Topic Include:

Purchasing

Control and Coordinating Function of Management

Product and Service Management

Quality Management

Inventory Management

Logistics and Transportation Management

Facilities Management

Configuration Management

Distribution Channels

General Resources
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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) Practices

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

Supply Chain Management

ABCs of Supply Chain Management

Institute for Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management

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)

General Resources About Logistics and Transportation

Transportation and Logistics Links

another extensive list of logistics and transportation links

Logistics Glossary
Also see:

Telecommuting (working from home)

Facilities Management

Effective operations management depnds 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

(NOTE: The major functions of operations management are all referenced from above.)

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General Resources

Institute for Operations Management

Operations Management Center (lots of links and resources)

Large Scale Interventions

Operations Management division of the Academy of Management