"Operations" constitutes all of the activities that a company conducts in order to deliver value to its customers. It's the set of processes that transforms either materials or information into a product or service. It is the core of a company’s business. This definition of operations can be applied to almost any organisation including industrial, public sector and pure service operations. Typically over 70% of a company’s assets (and people) are the responsibility of the operations function.

Operations strategy is concerned with matching the characteristics of the operations function with the requirements of the market in order to fulfil the needs of the business i.e. using quality, cost, and service as competitive weapons.

Operations strategy is a long-range game plan for the production of a company’s products/services, and provides a road map for the production function in helping to achieve the business strategy.

Areas of benefit include;
 

	Improved flow of goods
	Lower inventories with increased turns
	Shorter cycle times
	Higher staff productivity levels
	Maximized utilisation of floor space and capacity
	Increased distribution network efficiency
	Enhanced customer satisfaction
	Greater return on assets
	Continuous improvement

Axios believes that there isn't "one best way" to do anything - whether it's creating an organisational structure or designing and managing an operations organisation. The best way to do something depends critically on the characteristics and capabilities of your organisation and the competitive context in which it finds itself.
 

Case Study The Client An SME technology company supplying bespoke hardware and software solutions to the public and private sector. The Challenge The company was experiencing rapid growth and had diversified into new markets which had required the development of new products. The existing organisational structure was not coping with the diversified product offering in terms of delivery performance and after-sales support and this was having a negative impact on profitability. The business recognised that they required assistance in making a fresh evaluation of the business. The Solution An in-depth review of the business was conducted and quickly concluded that there were three distinct market sectors being served, each with a distinct family of products and customers. The recommended approach was to migrate the organisation from a “functional” to a “business unit” structure and redeploy the employees accordingly in order to focus the appropriate processes for each market sector, its customers and products. A practical and achievable migration path was designed and support was given throughout the transition to “bed in” the new organisation. The Results Both customers and employees were positive about the new approach. Customers in each market sector were dealt with and supported by the same contacts resulting in improved customer service and satisfaction. Employees were more focused and had clear objectives. The business started to achieve its profit targets and delivery performance improved to above 95% with the resulting improvement in market reputation being instrumental in winning new contracts.