Strategic (or Competitive) Advantage
Operations
Productivity can be improved by:
Efficiency
Work in progress
Productivity
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Finished goods
The four key steps of 'operations' for retail/service environments are:
Raw materials
Stock held in store so that a customer order can quickly be met from stock on hand.
Sourcing appropriate merchandise; controlling merchandise; managing service operations and managing consumer credit.
Indicates how an organisation intends to remain competitive in the long-run i.e. overall cost leadership, differentiation, or focus strategy.
Partially finished goods waiting for completion and eventual sale.
Stock waiting to be used in the manufacturing process.
Embracing the current cyber physical system era; cutting cycle times; improving capacity utilisation and eliminating waste.
Focuses on excelling in a mix of the five competitive priorities: low cost, high quality, flexibility, on-time delivery and high value-added service.
Transforms resources into desired goods and services, and creates and delivers value to the customers.
A philosophy based on maximising competitive advantage with a solid focus on customers.
Seeks to minimise waste caused by underutilised assets, long process-cycle times, unproductive labour time and poor quality.
