Operations Management & Supply Chain (Week 9)

Define the term operations management

Operations Management (OM) is the management of systems or processes that convert or transform resources into good's and services.

Explain operations management’s role in business

Operations Management ranges across the organisation and includes many interrelated activities, such as:

• Forecasting
• Capacity Planning
• Scheduling
• Managing Inventory
• Assuring Quality
• Motivating and Training Employees
• Locating Facilities

Operations Management Careers In Business

Describe the correlation between operations management and information technology

Managers use IT to heavily influence operations management decisions such as:

• WHAT:  what resources will be needed and in what amounts?
• WHEN:  When should the work be scheduled?
• WHERE: Where will the work be performed?
• HOW:  How will the work be done?
• WHO:  Who will perform the work?

Explain supply chain management and its role in a business

Supply Chain Management (SCM) involves the management of information flows between and among stages in a supply chain to maximise total supply chain effectiveness and profitability.

A supply chain is a network of organisations and facilities that transform raw materials into products delivered to customers. Supply chain includes transportation companies, warehouses, and inventories.

SCM plays a major role in a business because it allows transmitting of messages and information among the organisations involved and ensures that each stage of the chain is being monitored in order to make the process more effective and efficient.

List and describe the five components of a typical supply chain


There are 5 basic supply chain components which include:

• Plan

A company must have a plan for managing all the resources that go toward meeting customer demand for products or services.

• Source

Companies must carefully choose reliable suppliers that will deliver goods and services required for making products. They must also develop a set of pricing, delivery, and payment processes with suppliers.

• Make

Companies manufacture their products or services. This can include scheduling the activities necessary for product testing, packaging, and preparing for delivery. This portion of the supply chain measures quality levels, production output and worker productivity.

• Deliver

The set of processes that plans for and controls the efficient and effective transportation and storage or supplies from suppliers to customers.

• Return

This is typically the most problematic step in the supply chain. Companies must create a network for receiving defective and excess products and support customers who have problems with delivered products.

Define the relationship between information technology and the supply chain.

Information technology's primary role in supply chain management (SCM) is creating the integrations or tight process and information linkages between functions within a firm (such as marketing, sales & finance), and between firms, which allow the smooth flow of both information and product between customers, suppliers and transportation providers across the supply chain.