Category Archives: Operations Strategy

A Short History of Operations Strategy In the period following World War II corporate strategy in the United States was usually developed by the marketing and finance functions within a company With the high demand or consumer products that had built up during the war years U.S. companies could sell virtually everything they made at comparatively high prices. In addition there was very little international comp

Key Terms Key Terms Review and Discussion Questions What is meant by competitiveness? Identify the different types of competitive priorities. How has their relationship to each other changed over the years? For each of the different competitive priorities, describe the unique characteristics of the market.niche with which it is most compatible. Describe the difference between order-qualifiers and order-winners.

Conclusion The concept of operations strategy plays an important role in determining the overall long term success of an organization. Developing an operations strategy means looking to new ways to add value for the customer in the goods and services that the firm produces and delivers Value can have many meanings  Managers must therefore align the operations strategy of their firm with the strategies of other

Customer Training Some manufacturers have recognized the benefits of providing extensive customer training in the use of their products By providing such training their customers quickly become familiar with how the products are used Such training can be viewed as a competitive advantage in that it acts as a barrier to entry for similar products that are offered by competitors For example why would a firm invest

Additional Approaches for Integrating Manufacturing and Services Demonstration of Knowledge and Expertise Dick Chase and Dave Gavin point out that firms can achieve a competitive advantage by demonstrating their technical knowledge and expertise in the production process  By showing customers all of the various steps involved in the production process and how quality is ensured at each of these steps customer

The Customer’s Activity Cycle (CAC) To provide a framework for properly aligning the goods and services that a firm offers Sandra Vanderbilt introduced the concept of the customer’s activity cycle (CAC) As seen in Exhibit 2.6, there are three major components of the CAC (a) the prepurchase activities  (b) the purchase activities and (c) the post purchase activities. 13 The prepurchase activities foc

Integration of Manufacturing and Services Many firms are now looking to integrated and user-friendly service as a mean of obtaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace. In so doing they are recognizing the need to align and integrate the products that are being offered. This is true for both manufacturing and service operations. For example. Ritz-Carlton. a hotel chain that focus e on the top 5 percent of

Focusing on Core Capabilities In order to successfully implement an operations strategy be it within a manufacturing firm or within a service, certain core capabilities must be identified. These core capabilities  allow the firm to establish its competitive priorities in the  market place. Core capabilities can thus be defined as that skill or set of skills that the operations management function has developed

Operations Management in practice JAPAN’S PERSONALIZED BIKE PRODUCTION Does your bike fit you to a Would y0u like one that does? If you are willing to pay 20 to 30 percent more than you would pay for a mass-produced bike, you can get a Panasonic bike manufactured to exactly match your size weight  and color preference You can even get your bike within three weeks of your order (only two weeks if you vi

Order-Qualifiers and Order-Winners Terry Hill of the London Business School has developed the strategic concept of order qualifiers and order-winner  Order-qualifiers can be defined as the minimum elements .