Operations Management Strategies Flashcards
What are the 9 operations strategies
- Performance objectives
- Outsourcing
- Global factors
- Overcoming resistance to change
- Supply chain management
- Quality management
- Inventory management
- New product/service design and development
- Technology
What are performance objectives
- Performance objectives are goals that relate to particular aspects of the transformation processes.
- These objectives or targets are set so the business becomes more efficient and profitable as they strive to meet them.
What are the 6 main performance objectives
- Quality
- Speed
- Dependability
- Flexibility
- Customisation
- Cost
What are the 3 types of quality
- Quality of design
- Quality of conformance
- Quality of a service
What is quality of design
- Extends to how well a product is made or a service is delivered.
- Well designed and produced goods attract a high price.
How does quality of design relate to inputs and price
- Design begins prior to the creation of a product and determines the inputs and the transformation process.
- High quality inputs add cost and this will be reflected in a higher price that some consumers may (or may not) want to pay e.g. Apple, Mercedes
What is quality of conformance
- This is the focus on how well the product meets the standard of a prescribed design
Example of difference between quality of design and quality of conformance
- A Mercedes Benz vehicle combines very high-quality design with high standards of conformance.
- A cheap plastic toy is of very low‐quality design but this meets the low-quality design specifications.
What does quality of service relate to
- How reliable the service is
- How well the service meets the specific needs of the client
- How timely or responsive the service delivery is
What is speed as a performance objective
- Speed refers to the time it takes for the operations processes to respond to changes in market demand.
- As a performance objective, speed aims to satisfy customer demands as quickly as possible
What are some main goals for speed
- Reduced wait times (e.g. In a travel agent or McDonalds for example)
- Shorter lead times (i.e. Time it takes from order placement to it being received)
- Faster processing times
What is dependability as a performance objective
- Refers to how consistent and reliable a business’s products are.
How may businesses measure dependability of a good or service
- For goods, one measure of dependability is measured by warranty claims (fewer claims=more dependable/reliable products)
- For services, one measure of dependability is the number of complaints received (fewer complaints = more dependable service)
What is flexibility as a performance objective,
- Flexibility refers to how quickly a business’s operations can adjust to changes in the market such as customer wants
What are the main types of flexibility
- Product flexibility
- Mix flexibility
- Volume flexibility
- Delivery flexibility
What is product flexibility
- Business can change the products that it offers its markets
What is mix flexibility
- Business is able to change the mix of products it offers
What is volume flexibility
- Business is able to change the volume of products it produces (relates to market demand)
What is delivery flexibility
- Business is able to change the delivery time of its products (relates to lead time)
How might businesses improve their flexibility
- Increasing the capacity of production
- Using equipment better
- Buying new technology
- Changing the product design
- For services, Increasing the providers skill‐level and technology used when providing the service
What is customisation as a performance objective
- Customisation refers to the creation of individualised products to meet the specific needs of the customers , extension of product and mix flexibility
What is mass customisation
- The principle of ‘mass customisation’ is a process that allows a standard, mass-produced item
- e.g. car or computer, to be personally modified to specific customer requirements
What is cost as a performance objective
- Cost as a performance objective refers to the minimisation of expenses to ensure operations processes are conducted as cheaply as possible
How does the four V’s infuence costs
- Low cost businesses, tend to have high volume and low variety, variation in demand and visibility
- High cost businesses, tend to have low volumes and high variety, variation in demand and visibility
How does each seperate performance objective allow buisnesses to achieve cost performance objective
- Achieving quality means business will reduce costs as it will not require a large budget to fix mistakes and resources will be used efficiently
- Achieving speed will save the business time and therefore money
- Being dependable also contributes to saving time and money through reduced errors in production (lean production)
- Flexibility indirectly contributes to reducing costs by improving speed of responses
What does acheivement of a range of performance objectives ultimately lead to
- Businesses achieving a competitive advantage
- Role (Cost leadership and Product differentiation)
How does Apple relate to performance objectives
- Apple seeks to differentiate itself through quality
- 2013 Apple CEO Tim Cook “we’re not about selling the most we’re about selling the best”
- Apple must respond to changes in market demand quickly to remain competitive
- Apple must maintain its high degree of quality à 2017 iPhone X release was delayed due to issues with OLED display
What is New Product Development (NPD)
- NPD is the term used to describe the complete process of bringing a new product or service to market
- This contributes to a business’s ability to grow and attain a competitive advantage
What are the two approaches to NPD
- Consumer approach
- Technological approach
What is the consumer approach to NPD
- Cosumer approach is whereby market research determines what consumers desire
- which in turn determines what products are designed and developed
What is the technological approach to NPD
- technolgical approach to NPD is whereby innovations in technology enable new appealing products to be made which use advanced technologies giving products greater functionality
What are the main steps in product design and development
- Market research/product concept
- Product design and prototype development
- Prototype testing and assesment
- Product refinement and production process refined
- Production and product launch
What are iImportant considerations when designing and developing a product
- Quality of the product (must meet customer expectations)
- Supply chain management (new products may increase the number of suppliers, the timing of supplies needed and/or the volume of supplies)
- Capacity management (is more machinery and labour required?)
- Cost factors (what will be the cost of inputs, time and energy used in production of this new product)
In designing and developing services what must a business consider
- What the ‘explicit service’ will be, the tangible aspect of the service and,
- What the ‘implicit service’ will be, the psychological, wellbeing factor (influence on customer choice)
How does NPD relate to Apple
- Innovation is important in smart-phone market
- As such Apple spends large amounts on R&D
- 2014 spent US $6 billion to US $13 billion in 2018
- Despite R&D, due to increasing competition in Chinese market Apple’s market share has declined in recent years
What is a supply chain
- A supply chain is the sequence of activities and organisation involved in producing a good or service:
- Inputs to transformation process to outputs
What is Supply Chain Management (SCM)
- SCM is the efficient control of inputs as they move in a process from:
- Supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer
- In order to best meet the needs of customer’s
What are the three goals of SCM
- Reduce inventory
- Increase the speed of transactions
- Increase revenue by satisfying customer demands more efficiently
What 3 levels are SCM decisions made on
- Strategic
- Tactical
- Operational
What does sourcing refer to
- ‘Sourcing’ is also called ‘procurement’ or ‘purchasing’ and refers to the purchasing of inputs for the transformation process
- Sources or ‘Inputs’ are drawn from a range of suppliers
What are the factors influencing a business’s choice of suppliers
- Consumer demand
- Quality of inputs required
- Flexibility and timeliness of supply
- Cost of supplier
What are the 4 trends in sourcing or purchasing
- Supplier rationalisation
- Backwards vertical integration
- Cost minimisation
- Flexible or responsive supply chain processes
What does supplier rationalisation involve
- Involves assessing number and diversity of suppliers
- Business strategy behind this is to reduce the number of suppliers
What is a lean organisation
- A ‘lean’ organisation is one that minimises costs and improve processes
- i.e. They will not carry inventories (JIT approach) and aim to ‘make to order’ so they don’t incur unnecessary storage costs.
- This requires a responsive supply chain
What does global sourcing refer to
- Global sourcing refers to businesses purchasing supplies or services without being constrained by location.
What has prompted global sourcing
Globalisation
What is global sourcing in relation to SCM
- In the supply chain management activity, global sourcing means buying or sourcing from wherever the suppliers are that best meet the sourcing requirements.
What are potential benefits of global sourcing
- Lower cost
- Better expertise
- Access to new technology
- Access to higher quality inputs
What are potential challenges of global sourcing
- May need to relocate aspects of operations
- Increased cost of logistics
- Storage and distribution
- Managing different regulatory conditions between nations
- Increased complexity of overall operations
How has global sourcing been affected by COVID 19
- Border closures
- Reduced trade between nations
- Reduced demand from other countries
What is logistics
- Logistics is a term broadly referring to distribution but also includes:
- Transportation (including modes of transport)
- Use of storage, warehousing and distribution centres
- Materials handling and packaging
What are the three aspects of logistics
- Distribution
- Transportation
- Storage, warehousing and distribution centres
- Materials, handling and packaging
What is distribution
- Refers to ways of getting the goods to the customer
- The different forms of physical distribution that a business may use (channel choice) include
- Producer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer
What is transportation in regards to logistics
- Transportation is the aspect of logistics concerned with the physical movement of inventories
- The type of product and cost of transport will determine the mode of transport selected
What is storage
- Storage involves finding a secure place to hold stock until it is required
- Storage for inventory is necessary when there are numerous outlets through which stock is sold and when demand is variable and needs a responsive supply chain
- Storage may be short or long-term
What is warehousing
- Warehousing is the use of a facility for the storage, protection and later, distribution of stock
What are the costs associated with warehousing
- Costs associated with warehousing are: the premises, insurance, security, moving stock, damage if not stored correctly
What are distribution centres
- Facilities that are strategically located to minimise time to supply stock to retail outlets and are often highly technologically advanced facilities
What is an example of distribtution centres being used
- Amazon utilises physical distribution centres through its fulfillment centres placed in strategic locations that utlilises robotics to get goods delivered as quickly as possible
- Wadonga City Council developed freight distribution centre located off hume highway and close to major airports, ports and rail ways LOGIC
- Wooloworths has built distribution centre within the centre
Why is handling and packaging an important aspect of logistics
- Important aspect of logistics as there are particular standards and methods of operating which need to be applied for certain goods
What does e-commerce involve
- E-commerce involves the buying and selling of goods and services via the internet
What has e-commerce led to
- Increased access to important business information
- Increased interconnected amongsts businesses domestically and globally
What is e-procurement
- E-procurement is the use of on-line systems to manage supply, allowing suppliers direct access to the business’s level of supplies so that when stock falls to a pre- determined point, the supplier will supply without a formal request from the buyer. (B2B Business to Business)
What are advantages of e-commerce
- Greater availability of information
- Speed
- Time saving
- Easier and cheaper access to global markets
- Easier data management
- Flexibility and ability to create broad networks
How does SCM relate to Apple
- Inputs for iPhone are sourced from a global web of suppliers, who deliver them to Apple production facilities such as Foxconn in China
- Apple has 785 suppliers in 31 countries
- Apple uses multiple suppliers for the same component to gain competitive advantage through encouraging competition between suppliers and hence lowering costs of components
- Apple faced difficulties in supply chain in 2017 when iPhone X was delayed indefinitely due to issues with OLED display à manufacturing issues were worsened as Apple relied on one supplier for manufacturing of iPhone.
- Finding different components for different iPhone models requires continuous planning, monitoring and control measures
- Changes in demand in different models can lead to increases of inventory in certain models and shortages in others, iPhone X exceeded demand expectations whereas 8 and under performed
- Apple has implemented inventory tracking technologies to reduce company’s number of warehouses and thus reduce costs
What does outsourcing
- Outsourcing involves the use of external providers to perform business activities. Also called ‘BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING’
What are the different forms of business process outsourcing
- Operations (e.g. manufacturing, design, distribution) e.g. Apple and Foxconn
- Human resources (e.g. employee renumeration, training, counselling)
- Administrative work (e.g. data entry, back office work)
- Information Technology (e.g. network outsourcing via remotely hosted software applications)
- Finance and accounting (preparation of financial accounts, taxation etc)
- Knowledge process outsourcing (e.g. outsourcing marketing, public relations)
- Legal process outsourcing (e.g. Legal advice, drafting contracts, patents and trademarks etc)
What’s captive/in-house outsourcing
This is when a business uses a wholly owned subsidiary to carry out a business process/function
What is non-captive outsourcing
- This is when a company uses a third party to outsource to.
- Can be on-shore or off-shore.
What are the main advantages of out-sourcing
- Simplification by reducing the number of activities performed within the business.
- Capacity to focus on core business/competencies and therefore improve performance
- Cost savings and efficiencies
- Increased process capabilities due to access to improved technology
- Human resource function of the business does not need to spend time and money meeting employees
How does outsourcing result in cost savings and efficiencies
- Access to cheaper labour
- Regulatory differences
- Skilled labour elsewhere (e.g. educated workers in India and The Philippines – Telstra has call centres in The Philippines as do the four major Australian banks)
What are disadvantages of out-sourcing
- Business is now dependent on other businesses to supply components or raw materials
- Loss of control of standards and information security, e.g. Too much lead in paint used in toys manufactured for Mattel
- Payback periods: can take 2 or 3 years to make up the initial cost of organising outsourcing
- Loss of control of standards and information security
- Loss of jobs
- Loss of corporate knowledge by reliance on outsourcing provider
How does outsourcing relate to Apple
- Outsourcing for Apple has resulted in lower costs through benefiting from cheaper labour and other companies such as Foxconn’s pre-established economies of scale
- However, outsourcing has led to loss of quality control and they have become dependent on supplier, iPhone X delays due to issues with OLED display at manufacturing plant
- Due to outsourcing globally has also been affected by US-China trade war along with border restriction due to COVID 19
Why is technology an important operations strategy
- Use of technology can lead to competitive advantage
What is leading edge technology
- ‘Leading edge’ technology is technology that is the most advanced or innovative at any point in time
How can leading edge technology help businesses
- Use of leading-edge technology can help businesses to create products more quickly and to a higher standard, with less waste.
- Lead to cost-leadership
What is established technology
- Established technology is the technology that has been developed and widely used and accepted without question
What are examples of established tecnology
- Robotics for complex manufacturing (although there are new ‘leading edge’ robots too)
- Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
- Bar coding and point-of-sale data for inventory management
How does technology relate to Apple
- Foxconn factory uses leading edge robotics
- 2016 factory in China reduced workers of 110,000 to 50,000 through use of robotics
- Hence reduced costs in long-term
- However, robotics lacks flexibility of human labour that is needed for smart-phone market
- Also, technology such as robotics involves a large capital outlay
What does Inventory refer to
- Inventory refers to the total stock of goods and materials held by a business at any point in time
What are advantages of holding stock
- Unexpected increases in consumer demand can be met when there is stock available, (influence of variation in demand)
- It reduces lead times between order and delivery if there are some stocks of finished goods (improves speed)
- Some businesses maintain high levels of inventory in raw materials (inputs) to take advantage of discounts that apply to bulk purchases of inputs, (cost leadership)
- Stocks are valued as an asset and are of value to the business, reflecting well on the balance sheet, (interdependence with finance)
What are the disadvantages of holding stock
- Many businesses view holding stock as a waste, Business trend is to hold as little stock as possible and to adopt a ‘make-to-order’ approach
- The cost of holding stock can be as high as 30% of the value of the stock and include rent on warehouse, spoilage, insurance, theft and handling expenses (labour, transport etc)
- The cost of obsolescence, stock is no longer able to be sold, e.g. perishable items or demand for product has decreased
- High inventory levels place more layers of management (need inventory managers) between the customer and the product à higher costs reduced profits
What are the two inventory valuation methods
- LIFO
- FIFO
What is Just-in-Time (JIT)
- JIT is an inventory management approach (not an inventory valuation method)
- It ensures that the exact amount of material inputs will arrive only as they are needed in the operation process.
What does JIT aim to do
- Aims at overcoming the problem of end-of-period stock valuation, eliminating waste and making efficient use of time (aspect of lean production method)
What does JIT require
- Very flexible operations function with flexible processing
- Very high ability to respond quickly to changes in demand as well as reliable supplier deliveries
What are benefits of JIT
- Benefits is that business does not need to operate storage facilities or manage inventories due to the fact no stock or inputs will need to be stored
What is disadvantage of JIT
- Disadvantage is that if supplies are delayed the whole operation process may be delayed
What is Quality Management
- Quality Management refers to those processes that a business undertakes to ensure consistency, reliability, safety and fitness for purpose of the good or service
What does Quality Management include
- Quality control
- Quality assurance
- Quality improvement
What is Quality Control
- QC is a review process whereby everything that is involved in production process is reviewed and then adapted
What are the three steps in QC
- First step, set defined quality standards/parameters
- Second step, design a range of tests to assess the quality of processes against the standards
- Third step, carry out inspections and intervene where there are any shortfalls (i.e. take corrective action). à This might include an attribute inspection of goods or in a service business, an inspection of employee performance e.g. phone call recording, mystery shoppers
What is Quality Assurance
- QA involves the monitoring and evaluation of various processes of a project, service or facility to ensure that minimum levels of quality are being achieved in the production process
What is main difference between QC and QA
- QA is similar to QC but QA is process oriented while QC is output oriented
How are set quality standards established internationally
- International quality assurance standards have been exmaple such as the ISO 9000 certification
- Purpose is to ensure businesses and consumers know that a component overseas is same quality as component manufactured internationally
What is Quality Improvement/continuous improvement
- Continuous improvement is the belief that over time, processes will be made more efficient and effective, may be in the form of a monumental breakthrough due to innovation or may be gradual over time.
What is the aim of QI
- QI is a process which aims to reduce the rate at which mistakes occur in the production process.
- Leads to less defects and reduces waste, hence increases profits
How is QI achieved
- Through analysing what has happened in the operations processes and what actions will be taken to improve performance
- The basis of successful improvements in quality is the inclusion of staff into improvement processes
How does Quality Management relate to Apple
- 2013 5 million iPhones had to be returned to Foxconn factory due to defects at a cost of $1.6 billion à attributed to lack of training in Foxconn factory
What are the types of change that a business may face
- External environment (economic conditions, legislative changes, social changes, technological breakthroughs)
- Internal environment (new technology introduced, staff changes)
What is the idea of overcoming resistance to change
- Businesses must respond to changes in internal and external environment in order to maintain competitive advantage.
- Many businesses struggle to do this due factors that make change difficult including financial and psychological
What are two sources of resistance to change
- Financial
- Psychological/emotional
What are main types of financial costs associated with resistance to change
- Cost of purchasing equipment
- Redundancy payouts
- Retraining
How do redundancy payouts relate to resistance to change
- Introducing changes such as improved efficiency or new technology often creates surplus of workers
- meaning workers are made redundant
- Businesses may choose to defer changes to avoid large capital outlay associated with redundancy payouts
How does retraining relate to resistance to change
- Changes such as new systems and procedures along with flatter management structures create a need for staff retraining
- Cost of retraining may be high, workers may be reluctant to retrain
How does Reorganising plant layout relate to resistance to change
- Many internal and external influences create a need for reorganising plant layout
- Resistance is driven by cost, inconvenience, unavailability of appropriate space and the loss in production time
How does inertia relate to resistance to change
- Inertia is a term that describes a psychological resistance to change, caused by the fear of uncertainty or of the unknown
- Particularly affects managers and employees if they fear their job prospects or career opportunities may be threatened or if they are intimidated by new technology
What are change management steps for operations managers
- Identify the source(s) of change and assess whether there is a need to accommodate change through adjustments to business processes
- Setting SMART goals that aim to reduce resistance to change
- Creating a culture of change, using ‘change agents’ (internal staff or external professionals), if staff are included in the process of change and goal setting, they will be more supportive.
- Apply change models
What are two main strategies to reduce resistance to change
- Creating a culture of change, involves use of change agents and effective teams
- Positive leadership, Managers who acts as a leader and has high expectations of employee’s abilities to initiate and implement and change, leaders have open mind
What are the Global Factors
- Global sourcing
- Economies of scale
- Research and development
- Scanning and learning
What is global sourcing as a operations strategy
- Global sourcing as an operations strategy involves not only sourcing supplies globally but also any business operations that gives the business cost advantages
What’s the main form of global sourcing
Global web strategy
What does global web refer to
- global web refers to location of different parts of production process in different geographical areas
What is purpose of global web strategy
- Reason for use of global web is to reduce production costs
What are the main benefits of global sourcing
- Cost advantages
- Access to new technologies
- Advantages of expertise and labour specialisation
- Access to other resources and the ability to operate over extended hours
What are the main challenges of global sourcing
- Possible increased cost of logistics
- Managing different regulatory conditions between nations
- Contractual concerns
- Loss of control of quality
What are Economies of Sale (EOS)
- EOS are cost advantages that can be gained by increasing the size, or scale, of production
- As scale of production increases cost per unit falls as large fixed costs of production are spread over more output
What does buying in bulk (purchasing economies) and better technologies lead to
- Reduced costs
How does EOS become a global factor
- Economies of scale, becomes a global factor when businesses sell to global markets which necessitates making higher product volumes
What other ways can EOS arise apart from operations
- Marketing through global branding
- HR through global training
What is scanning and learning
- Scanning the global environment and learning from the best practice of businesses around the world
How does information gained from scanning and learnng assist operations managers
- Information gained from scanning and learning will assist managers in responding to challenges in the business environment, tactical and strategic planning
What are the three ways of scanning the business environment
- Ad-hoc scanning
- Scheduled scanning
- Continuous scanning
How does R&D help businesses
- Research and development help businesses develop leading edge technologies and to create innovative products and solutions
- R&D can lead to businesses gaining a competitive advantage
How do businesses that compete in global markets have additional advantages with R&D
- The ability to establish R&D facilities in countries which have a reputation for outstanding educational facilities or SME’s
- The cost of R&D is spread over a larger output.
How does Global Factors relate to Apple
- Apple achieves cost-savings from sourcing components from over 31 countries
- Majority are from China to reduce cost of transporting
- More affected by trade wars such as US-China and COVID 19
- Achieve economies of scale through use of skilled labour and greater production at facilities such as Foxconn
- Apple attracts employees from around the globe and learns from expertise
- Apple spends large amounts of R&D to compete on global market