Operations management is critical to organisational performance, yet there are not enough people adequately trained in this area, argues Jeremy Johnson

The Inside Story - An artical from Supply Management (30th October 2008)

Operations management is defined as "the direction and control of the resources (facilities, people, machines, time and money) that transform inputs into finished goods and services".

While supply chain management deals with the external management of resources and the performance management of outsourced material, components and services, operations management covers the internal management of resources.

The two complement each other - they have many similar areas of expertise, as well as their own distinct skills.  For example, both require resource planning to deliver goods and services on time, but supply chain management also requires soft skills to develop good quality relationships and get the best value from suppliers.

So will studying operations management help your career?  You only have to watch The Apprentice to see that selling the product is fairly straightforward, but delivering goods or services of the right quality to the end user at the right time is where the problems start.  If you can't deliver, it doesn't matter how much you sell as you will never get paid.

The CIPS Level 5 operations management module will be useful for anyone who delivers goods and services within their supply chain.  Students of this module learn about the need for a simple but effective product design and development process to ensure new products (the life blood of any organisation) are delivered on time and on budget.  They also learn about capacity in supply chains and how to manage changing capacity requirements during the product life cycle.

The module has a final section that covers a variety of improvement tools and concepts and how to apply them, such as the "Kanban" (signal cards) system for stock reduction.

This subject is for private and public sector buyers and not just for those in the manufacturing sector.  We are all operations managers in some form.  Everyone has a customer, whether it's an end-user or internal stakeholder and we all have to deliver some sort of product or service.

With the increasing pressure to deliver more for less, there has never been a more relevant subject to assist the public sector in delivering essential services on time, to quality and budget.

Operations management skills are also necessary for managing suppliers and external resources, such as design services or consultants, which is increasingly important as business operations become more specialised and complex.

As well as providing useful skills, studying operations management makes candidates more marketable to potential employers and enhances their career prospects.

Download: Original Copy of "The Inside Story"