An operation is what a company "does". It is how it delivers its "product" to customers. It is the core of a company’s business (whatever that is). Manufacturing companies make products, stockholders purchase, store and distribute materials, while retailers procure stock and supply the public with goods. This definition of operations can be applied to almost any organization but this module is focused on industrial, rather than public sector or 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 fulfill the needs of the business. A proper appreciation of this process requires not merely an understanding of the ideas and methods used to develop an operations strategy but also knowledge of the techniques and principles involved in its implementation. Implementation requires knowledge of operations systems and polices including those that relate to resource planning and activity control, quality, plant management, motivation and organization of people, performance metrics and continuous improvement.

We believe without a proper Strategy and Operation (S&O) no business can succeed. ABMS can define strategy and operations that will enable an enterprise to:

• Define & discuss a suitable methodology for the development of an operations strategy
• Define & discuss the key characteristics of the "lean" and "agile" approaches to operations
• Assess the suitability of operations systems & techniques for a particular operations strategy
• Analyze and recommend appropriate techniques and policies in given operational circumstances
• Plan the implementation of an operations strategy
• Finalize and discuss the development of operations policies and strategies