© Wiley Chapter 2 Operations Strategy and Competitiveness Operations Management by R. Dan Reid & Nada R. Sanders 2 nd Edition © Wiley 2005 PowerPoint Presentation by R.B. Clough - UNH

MGMT 326 Foundations of Operations Introduction Strategy Products & Processes Quality Assurance Capacity and Facilities Planning & Control

© EJR Operations Strategy - Outline Business mission and strategy Operations strategy and other functional strategies Order qualifiers & order winners How operations helps firms compete Competitive priorities in operations Strategic role of technology

© Wiley Mission Statement Explains What business the organization is in Who the customers are How the company's values will determine what the company does A mission statement explains what the organization will do.

© Wiley Business Strategy Explains how the organization will achieve its mission Long-range plan to compete in the marketplace Explains how the firm will differentiate itself from competitors Sets competitive priorities Basis for functional strategies See Figures 2.1 and 2.3

© Wiley Three Inputs to a Business Strategy

© Wiley Business Strategy and Functional Strategies

Adapted from Wiley Functional Strategies Marketing Operations Finance Management information systems Human resources management The functional strategies should be consistent with each other and with the business strategy

© Adapted from Wiley, Order Qualifiers & Order Winners Order qualifiers are characteristics that a product must have to be considered for purchase Order winners are characteristics that a product must have to make the sale. Both depend on the target market. Both change over time. If most competing products have a certain characteristic, it is likely to become an order qualifier.

© Wiley Competitive Priorities in Operations Product characteristics that can be order qualifiers & order winners. Cost Quality Time Flexibility

© Wiley Competitive Priorities (2) Meeting the needs of a target market What are the order qualifiers? What are the order winners? These dictate your competitive priorities.

Adapted from Wiley Competing on Cost In marketing books, this is called competing on price Low prices require low costs Basic product with acceptable quality

© Wiley Ways to Compete on Product Quality High performance design: Superior features, high durability, and excellent customer service Product or service consistency: Meets customer requirements in its market Product is made according to the design Error free service and delivery

© Wiley Process Quality Designing and operating a process to produce error-free products Essential for firms that compete on quality Reduces operating costs for any firm – "doing it right the first time" reduces costs and keeps customers

© Wiley Ways to Compete on Time Fast delivery: Reduce time between order placement and delivery On-time delivery: Deliver product exactly when needed every time Rapid new product development: Shorten new product development time

© Wiley Ways to Compete on Flexibility Product flexibility: Must be able to easily switch production from one item to another May customize product to customer needs Volume flexibility: Ability to increase or decrease production to match market demands

© Wiley Strategic Role of Technology Technology should support competitive priorities Product technology: used to create product characteristics and performance. Note the change from the definition in the book. PDA's, hybrid vehicles, stain-resistant fabric, package tracking, e-commerce Product technology affects costs

© Wiley Strategic Role of Technology (2) Process technology: how goods and services are produced Includes both equipment and methods Often includes information technology Just-in-time, automation, fast food process, self- service checkout, bar-code scanners Can reduce costs Can be used to produce new goods or services

© Wiley Strategic Role of Technology (3) Information technology: allows users to create, collect, process, store, and transmit information Internet, wireless, point of sale systems, management information systems, communication networks