Operations Strategy

Operations strategy is the long-term planning and structuring of work by configuring appropriate resources and processes into an operating system that best implements the organization’s strategy. Operations strategists evaluate the firm’s operational competencies, assets, and processes (which together define the firm’s ‘operating system’) and configure them to maximize value for... read morethe organization. It is closely linked to operations management which involves the specific planning and coordination of work. Operations management is especially concerned with the creation and delivery of products and services and with providing the best match of supply with demand.

This series aims to provide the audience with a framework to 1) formulate an operations strategy and 2) analyze, value, and optimize the key decisions involved in operations strategy. Our key evaluation metric will be how operations strategy impacts the net present value and risk exposure of the firm. The key decisions studied are evaluating competitive operational competencies and benchmarking; capacity expansion, timing, flexibility, and location; sourcing and supply management; risk management and operational hedging; improvement, innovation and learning.

The series also aims to guide strategic decisions that are grounded in operational reality. To this end, a variety of practical tools are introduced to help quantify the operational value of certain strategic decisions.