Benefits of Operations Management

For years operations managers have struggled with locating ways to further enhance their production and overall supply chain. As this problem has become prevalent among manufacturing operations, operations management has become a viable option.

Operations management can be defined as:

"The area of management concerned with designing and controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or services."

In other words, operations management pertains to the tools and techniques that a production facility utilizes to ensure efficient and optimized production. 

Using the techniques within operations management will allow you to see improvements within areas of profitability tracking, manufacturing expertise, and regulatory compliance. As operations management is related and connected to all major functions of an organization, it is important to learn about how these techniques can be beneficial. 

Main Benefits of Operations Management

The main benefits of operations management include:

1. Profitability Management - With proper operations management, executives are able to rely on the activity and find ways to come up with new ideas on how to potentially increase sales. With an experienced operations manager, monitoring revenue and expenses becomes much easier as they can dive into statements of income and profitability trends. Overall, profitability management allows you to get a much better understanding of your revenue stream.
2. Competitive Advantage - A business that can manage their operations can get a handle on any key internal and external factors. Internal factors can include operating policies, average attrition rate, and intellectual capital. External factors pertain to the state of economy and any rival strategies. When helping a firm understand internal and external factors, operations management improves the competitive standing of the company within the existing market. 
3. Regulatory Compliance - Analyzing operating activities enables corporate management to rid themselves of the days of considerably large government fines and adverse regulatory decisions. The heads of the department are able to set adequate internal controls to ensure that tasks are performed in accordance with the rules and regulations.
4. Manufacturing Edge - Changing or improving the way a good is produced can save a facility a large sum of money in the long run. With operations management, you are able to change or improve the way a product is made, as well as how to store raw materials more effectively. This extremely advantageous benefit aids the manufacturer through preventing a deterioration in affordability of debt. Overall, this component will aid the facility immensely and will utilize tools such as production software, defect-tracking programs, warehouse management software, and process re-engineering applications.

Understanding operational processes and operations management will help managers plan, organize, lead, and control resources more effectively and efficiently to achieve the goals of the organization. 

Every process, from order entry to warehouse, scheduling, materials planning, and so on, have ALL become more responsive and able to plan better than ever [with the use of PlanetTogether].

CHUCK DIPIETRO, DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT & PLANNING, BEMA INCORPORATED

Along with the benefits of operations management, advanced planning and scheduling software can provide thorough insight within your manufacturing operation. Advanced planning and scheduling is a form of operations management software that can help manufacturers improve the quality of their goods and increase profits.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software 

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software has become a must for modern-day manufacturing operations as customer demand for increased product assortment, fast delivery, and downward cost pressures become prevalent. These systems help planners save time while providing greater agility in updating ever-changing priorities, production schedules, and inventory plans. APS Systems can be quickly integrated with an ERP/MRP software to fill the gaps where these systems lack planning and scheduling flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency.

With PlanetTogether APS, you can:

• Create optimized schedules that balance production efficiency and delivery performance
• Maximize throughput on bottleneck resources to increase revenue
• Synchronize supply with demand to reduce inventories
• Provide company-wide visibility to resource capacity
• Enable scenario data-driven decision making

The implementation of an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software will take your manufacturing operations to the next level of production efficiency by taking advantage of the operational data you already possess in your ERP system. APS is a step in the right direction of efficiency and lean manufacturing production enhancement. Try out a free trial or demo!