1. Operations Strategies
Chapter 2
Operations Strategies
in a Global Economy

2. Overview Introduction Today’s Global Business Conditions
Operations Strategy
Forming Operations Strategies
Wrap-Up: What World-Class Producers Do

3. Introduction Need for Better Business Strategy
Foreign competitors focus on long-range strategy
Operation’s Role in U.S. Business Strategy
Equal footing with Marketing and Finance

4. Introduction
Operational effectiveness is the ability to perform similar operations activities better than competitors
It is very difficult for a company to compete successfully in the long run based just on operational effectiveness
A firm must also determine how operational effectiveness can be used to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage
An effective competitive strategy is critical

5. Factors Affecting Today’s Global Business Conditions
Reality of global competition
Quality, customer service, and cost challenges
Rapid expansion of advanced technologies
Continued growth of the service sector
Scarcity of operations resources
Social responsibility issues

6. Reality of Global Competition
Changing nature of world business
International companies
Strategic alliances and production sharing
Fluctuation of international financial conditions

7. Changing Nature of World Business
The US gross domestic product (GDP) is, at $10 trillion, the largest in the world.
Companies all over the globe are aggressively exporting their products/services to the US
Many US companies are targeting foreign markets to shore up profits.
The global economy that interconnects the economies of all nations has been termed the global village.
One of the most important new markets is China.

8. International Companies
International companies are those whose scope of operations spans the globe as they buy, produce, and sell.
International firms search out opportunities for profits relatively unencumbered by national boundaries.
Operations managers must coordinate geographically dispersed operations.

9. International Companies
World’s Largest Corporations
1. General Motors US
2. Wal-Mart Stores US
3. Exxon Mobil US
4. Ford Motor US
5. DaimlerChrysler Germany
6. Mitsui Japan
7. Mitsubishi Japan
8. Toyota Japan
9. General Electric US
10. Itochu Japan

10. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Braun household appliances: a. Switzerland b. Germany c. US d. Japan
Gillette Company - US

11. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Bic pens: a. Japan b. The Czech Republic c. U.S. d. France
Bic S.A. - France

12. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Haagen-Dazs ice cream: a. France b. Sweden c. Great Britain d. U.S
Grand Metropolitan PLC. – Great Britain

13. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
RCA television: a. Japan b. U.S . c. France d. Korea
Thomson S.A. – France

14. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Arrow shirts: a. Thailand b. Italy c. U.S . d. France
Bidermann International – France

15. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Godiva chocolate: a. France b. Belgium c. Switzerland d. U.S.
Campbell Soup Company – US

16. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Vaseline Intensive Care: a. U.S. b. France c. Britain/Netherlands d. Germany
Unilever PLC. – Great Britain/Netherlands

17. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Firestone tires: a. Japan b. U.S. c. Germany d. France
Bridgestone – Japan

18. Home Country of Parent Corporation?
Daimler-Chrysler automobiles: a. Japan b. U.S. c. Germany d. France
Daimler-Benz – Germany

19. Strategic Alliances
Strategic alliances are joint ventures among international companies to exploit global business opportunities.
Alliances are often motivated by
Product or production technology
Market access
Production capability
Pooling of capital

20. Strategic Alliances Kia might help sell General Motors (US) &
and market GM cars
in South Korea
General Motors (US) &
Kia Motor Corp. (S.K.)
Manufacture 100,000
vehicles annually
near Moscow
Renault (France) &
City of Moscow
Forming Texas-based
Sino Swearingen
Aircraft Co.
Sino Aerospace Invest-
ment Corp. (Taiwan) &
Swearingen Aircraft (US)

21. Strategic Alliances
Japanese companies have long practiced keiretsu, the linking of companies into industrial groups.
A financial keiretsu links companies together with cross-holding of shares, sales and purchases within the group, and consultation.
A production keiretsu is a web of interlocking relationships between a big manufacturer (Toyota) and its suppliers.

22. Production Sharing
Production sharing means that a product might be designed and financed in one country, its materials produced in other countries, assembled in another country, and sold in yet other countries.
The country that is the highest-quality, lowest-cost producer for a particular activity would perform that portion of the production of the product.

23. Production Sharing
Production sharing means that a product might be designed and financed in one country, its materials produced in other countries, assembled in another country, and sold in yet other countries
The Mercury Capri automobile is an example:
designed by Ghia and Italdesign in Italy
most of its components made in Japan
assembled in Australia
sold in the U.S

24. Pros and Cons of Globalization
Pros (Pluses)
Productivity grows more quickly (living standards can go up faster)
Global competition and cheap imports keep a lid on prices (inflation less likely to derail economic growth)
Open economy spurs innovation (with fresh ideas from abroad)
Export jobs often pay more than other jobs
US has more access to foreign investment (keeps interest rates low)

25. Pros and Cons of Globalization
Cons (Minuses)
Millions of Americans have lost jobs due to imports or production shifts abroad
Most displaced workers find new jobs that pay less
Workers face pay-cuts demands from employers
Service and white-collar jobs are increasingly vulnerable
US employees lose their comparative advantage when companies build advanced factories abroad

26. International Financial Conditions
International financial conditions are complex due to:
inflation
fluctuating currency exchange rates
turbulent interest rates
volatility of international stock markets
huge national debts of some countries
enormous trade imbalances between countries

27. International Financial Conditions
The Dollar Versus the Yen and the Mark
Year Yen per Dollar Mark per Dollar

28. International Financial Conditions
Example of Currency Exchange Rate Changes
A product produced and sold in the US for $1 would have sold in Japan for 135 yen in 1990 and 85 yen in 1995, a price decrease of 37%.
A product produced and sold in Japan for 135 yen in 1990 and sold for $1 in the US would have sold in the US for $1.57 in 1995, a 57% price increase.

29. International Financial Conditions
Due, in part, to the fall in the value of the dollar between 1975 and 1995, the following occurred:
Prices of US products/services abroad fell and demand increased
Japan and other countries built factories in US
Japanese manufacturers moved upscale toward higher priced products

30. International Financial Conditions
Companies must be ready to move quickly to shift strategies as world financial conditions change.
Opportunities are usually available to reduce risk
Building smaller, more flexible factories
Using foreign suppliers for materials, parts, or products
Carefully planning and forecasting so that changing conditions can be anticipated

31. Quality, Service, and Cost Challenges
The goal of adequate quality must be replaced with the objective of perfect product and service quality.
The entire corporate culture must be redirected and committed to the ideal of perfect quality.
All employees must be empowered to act.
A commitment to continuous improvement has to be organization-wide.

32. Quality, Service, and Cost Challenges
Customer Service
Companies must quickly develop innovative products and respond quickly to customers’ needs.
Organizational structures must be made more horizontal to quickly accommodate change.
Multidisciplined teams must have decision-making authority, responding better to the marketplace.
Large, unwieldy companies are spinning off whole business units making them autonomous businesses that can compete with small, aggressive competitors.

33. Quality, Service, and Cost Challenges
There is continuing pressure to reduce direct costs (of producing and selling) and overhead costs.
It cost the US automakers $1,500 more per auto for labor in 1980 than it cost the Japanese auto-makers. By the 1990s the difference was almost zero.
Giant retailers (like Wal-Mart) squeezed weaker competitors out of the market, giving the retailers the leverage to force their suppliers to streamline operations and reduce costs/prices.

34. Quality, Service, and Cost Challenges
Cost-cutting measures being used include:
Moving production to low-labor-cost countries
Negotiating lower labor rates with unions and workers
Automating processes to reduce the amount of labor needed, particularly processes that are labor intensive.

35. Advanced Technologies
The use of automation is one of the most far-reaching developments to affect manufacturing and services in the past century.
The initial cost of these assets is high.
The benefits go far beyond a reduction in labor costs.
Increased product/service quality
Reduced scrap and material costs
Faster responses to customer needs
Faster introduction of new products and services

36. Advanced Technologies
US companies cannot use automated production technology as a long-term competitive advantage.
Automation systems are available to any company in the world today, although the price is prohibitive for some companies.
Not investing, or delaying investing in this technology could be disastrous for a company.

37. Advanced Production Technology
Computer-aided design (CAD) - allows engineers to design products directly on computer terminals
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) - translates CAD information into machinery instructions
Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) - clusters of automated machinery produce a variety of products
Automated storage & retrieval systems (ASRS) - computer-controlled warehouses
Automatic identification systems (AIS) - data is “read” into computers using bar coding and the like

38. Continued Growth of Service Sector
A robust service sector helps support the manufacturing sector.
There is much opportunity for quality improvement in US service firms.
Many operations managers are being employed in services.
Planning, analyzing, and controlling approaches from manufacturing are being adapted to service systems.
The US service sector, like the manufacturing sector, must streamline and improve operations if it is to survive.

39. Scarcity of Operations Resources
Raw materials like titanium, nickel, coal, natural gas, water, and petroleum products are periodically unavailable or in short supply.
A shortage of any necessary input to a conversion subsystem, including skilled personnel, can be a challenge for an operations manager.
An important issue in the formation of business strategy is how to allocate scarce resources among business opportunities.

40. Social-Responsibility Issues
Corporate attitudes are evolving from doing what companies have a legal right to do, to doing what is right.
Factors influencing this evolution include:
Consumer attitude -- Consumers are expressing their likes/dislikes by such means as stockholder meetings, liability suits, and buying preferences.
Regulation – The EPA, OSHA, Clean Air Act, and Family Leave Act place constraints on businesses.
Self-interests -- Companies realize that profits will be greater if they act responsibly.

41. Social-Responsibility Issues
Environmental Impact
Product-Safety Impact
Employee Impact

42. Social-Responsibility Issues
Environmental Impact
Concerns about the global environment include:
Landfill waste reduction
Recycling
Energy conservation
Chemical spills
Acid rain
Radioactive waste disposal
… and more

43. Social-Responsibility Issues
Environmental Impact
There is a need for standardizing government regulations of the environment.
Otherwise, companies will gravitate to the less-regulated countries.
The International Organization for Standardization has developed a set of environmental guidelines called ISO

44. Social-Responsibility Issues
Product-Safety Impact
Harm to people or animals that results from poor product design can:
Damage a company’s reputation
Require a large expense to remedy
Cause governments to impose more regulations

45. Social-Responsibility Issues
Employee Impact
Employee benefits and policies include:
Safety and health programs
Fair hiring and promotion practices
Day-care
Family leave
Health care
Retirement benefits
Educational assistance
… and more

46. Social-Responsibility Issues
Employee Impact
Employee benefits and policies impact long-term profitability due to their effect on:
Employee morale and productivity
Recruitment and retention of employees
Demand for a company’s products
Cost of defending against lawsuits and boycotts

47. Developing Operations Strategy
Corporate Mission
Assessment
of Global
Business
Conditions
Distinctive
Competencies or
Weaknesses
Business Strategy
Product/Service Plans
Competitive Priorities
Operations Strategy

48. The Role of the Market
Adding Value
Competitive Priorities - Value

49. Corporate Mission
A corporate mission is a set of long-range goals and including statements about:
the kind of business the company wants to be in
who its customers are
its basic beliefs about business
its goals of survival, growth, and profitability

50. Business Strategy
Business strategy is a long-range game plan of an organization and provides a road map of how to achieve the corporate mission.
Inputs to the business strategy are
Assessment of global business conditions - social, economic, political, technological, competitive
Distinctive competencies or weaknesses - workers, sales force, R&D, technology, management

51. Competitive Priorities
Low Production Costs
Definition
Unit cost (labor, material, and overhead) of each product/service
Some Ways of Creating
Redesign of product/service
New technology
Increase in production rates
Reduction of scrap/waste
Reduction of inventory

52. Competitive Priorities
Delivery Performance
Definition
a) Fast delivery b) On-time delivery
Some Ways of Creating
a) larger finished-goods inventory
a) faster production rates
a) quicker shipping methods
b) more-realistic promises
b) better control of production of orders
b) better information systems

53. Competitive Priorities
High-Quality Products/Services
Definition
Customers’ perception of degree of excellence exhibited by products/services
Some Ways of Creating
Improve product/service’s
Appearance
Performance and function
Wear, endurance ability
After-sales service

54. Competitive Priorities
Customer Service and Flexibility
Definition
Ability to quickly change production to other products/services. Customer responsiveness.
Some Ways of Creating
Change in type of processes used
Use of advanced technologies
Reduction in WIP through lean manufacturing
Increase in capacity

55. Operations Strategy
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.

56. Elements of Operations Strategy
Product
Design
Procurement
Location
Quality
Management
Layout OM
Mission and
Strategy
Process
Design
Schedule
Human
Resources &
Job Design
Reliability &
Maintenance
Inventory

57. Elements of Operations Strategy
Positioning the production system
Product/service plans (Chapter 4)
Outsourcing plans (Chapter 11)
Process and technology plans (Chapters 4 & 6)
Strategic allocation of resources (Chapter 8)
Facility plans: capacity, location, and layout (Chapter 5)

58. Positioning the Production System
Select the type of product design
Standard
Custom
Select the type of production processing system
Product focused
Process focused
Select the type of finished-goods inventory policy
Produce-to-stock
Produce-to-order

59. Strategy Development Procedure
COMPETITIVE SITUATION ANALYSIS
Environment
Expectations
Economic
Critical factor
Competitor threats
Competitive position
Industry opportunities
Future moves
DEVELOP A MISSION
Identify Strategy Alternatives
strength & opportunities match?
can weaknesses be overcome?
anticipate competitor moves?
Secure a competitive advantage?
Form a Strategy
steps to competitive advantage
steps to build market share
steps to become world class
critical strategic decisions
ease of implementation
Make & Implement a Strategy
make necessary decisions
COMPANY SITUATION
Present performance
TOWS Analysis
Relative strengths
Strategic issues
Weaknesses

60. Product/Service Plans
As a product is designed, all the detailed
characteristics of the product are established.
Each product characteristic directly
affects how the product can be made.
How the product is made determines
the design of the production system.

61. Stages in a Product’s Life Cycle
Introduction- Sales begin, production and marketing are developing, profits are negative.
Growth - sales grow dramatically, marketing efforts intensify, capacity is expanded, profits begin.
Maturity - production focuses on high-volume, efficiency, low costs; marketing focuses on competitive sales promotion; profits are at peak.
Decline - declining sales and profit; product might be dropped or replaced.

62. Stages of a Product’s Life Cycle
Introduction Growth Maturity Decline
B&W TV
Automobile
Video Recorder
CD Player
Color Copier
Cell Phone
Internet Radio
Fax Machine
Dot-Matrix
Printer

63. Outsourcing Plans
Outsourcing refers to hiring out or subcontracting some of the work that a company needs to do.
This strategy is being used more and more as companies strive to operate more efficiently.
Outsourcing has many advantages and disadvantages.
Companies try to determine the best level of out-sourcing to achieve their operations & business goals.
More outsourcing requires a company to have less equipment, fewer employees, and a smaller facility.

64. Outsourcing Plans
A company might outsource any of the following manufacturing related functions:
Designing the product
Purchasing the basic raw materials
Processing the subcomponents, subassemblies, major assemblies, and finished product
Distributing the product

65. Outsourcing Plans
Many companies even outsource some service functions such as:
Payroll
Billing
Order processing
Developing/maintaining a website
Employee recruitment
Facility maintenance

66. Process and Technology Plans
An essential part of operations strategy is the determination of how products/services will be produced.
The range of technologies available to produce products/services is great and is continually changing.

67. Strategic Allocation of Resources
For most companies, the vast majority of the firm’s resources are used in production/operations.
Some or all of these resources are limited.
The resources must be allocated to products, services, projects, or profit opportunities in ways that maximize the achievement of the operations objectives.

68. Facility Plans
How to provide the long-range capacity to produce the firm’s products/services is a critical strategic decision.
The location of a new facility may need to be decided.
The internal arrangement (layout) of workers, equipment, and functional areas within a facility affects the ability to provide the desired volume, quality, and cost of products/services.

69. Characteristics of Services and Manufactured Products
Services Products
Output Intangible Tangible
Output Inventoried No Yes
Customer Contact Extensive Little
Lead Time Short Long
Intensity Labor Capital
Quality Subjective Objective

70. Services in the U.S. Economy
Services - Importance in the US Economy

71. Competitive Priorities for Services
The competitive priorities listed earlier for manufacturers apply to service firms as well
Low production costs
Fast and on-time delivery
High-quality products/services
Customer service and flexibility
Providing all the priorities simultaneously to customers is seldom possible.

72. Positioning Strategies for Services
Type of Service Design
Standard or custom products
Amount of customer contact
Mix of physical goods and intangible services
Type of Production Process
Quasi manufacturing
Customer-as-participant
Customer-as-product

73. Positioning Strategies for Services
Example: McDonald’s
Highly standardized service design
Low amount of customer contact
Physical goods dominating intangible services
Quasi-manufacturing approach to back-room production process

74. Forming Operations Strategies
Support the product plans and competitive priorities defined in the business strategy.
Adjust to the evolving positioning strategies.
Link to the marketing strategies.
Look at alternative operations strategies.

75. Evolution of Positioning Strategies
The characteristics of production systems tend to evolve as products move through their product life cycles.
Operations strategies must include plan for modifying production systems to a changing set of competitive priorities as products mature.
The capital and production technology required to support these changes must be provided.

76. Evolution of Positioning Strategies
Life
Stage
Intro.
Early
Growth
Late
Growth
Maturity
Product
Custom
Slightly
Standard
Standard
Highly
Standard
Volume
Very
Low
Low
High
Very
High
Focus
Process
Process
Product
Product
Fin.Gds.
To-Order
To-Order
To-Stock
To-Stock
Batch
Size
Very
Small
Small
Large
Very
Large

77. Linking Operations and Marketing Strategies
Operations Strategy
Product-focused
Make-to-stock
Standardized products
High volume
Marketing Strategy
Low production cost
Fast delivery of products
Quality
Example: TV sets

78. Linking Operations and Marketing Strategies
Operations Strategy
Product-focused
Make-to-order
Standardized products
Low volume
Marketing Strategy
Low production cost
Keeping delivery promises
Quality
Example: School buses

79. Linking Operations and Marketing Strategies
Operations Strategy
Process-focused
Make-to-stock
Custom products
High volume
Marketing Strategy
Flexibility
Quality
Fast delivery of products
Example: Medical instruments

80. Linking Operations and Marketing Strategies
Operations Strategy
Process-focused
Make-to-order
Custom products
Low volume
Marketing Strategy
Keeping delivery promises
Quality
Flexibility
Example: Large supercomputers

81. No Single Best Strategy
Start-up and Small Manufacturers
Usually prefer positioning strategies with:
Custom products
Process-focused production
Produce-to-order policies
These systems are more flexible and require less
capital.

82. No Single Best Strategy
Start-up and Small Services
Successfully compete with large corporations by:
Carving out a specialty niche
Emphasizing close, personal customer service
Developing a loyal customer base

83. No Single Best Strategy
Technology-Intensive Business
Production systems must be capable of producing new products and services in high volume soon after introduction
Such companies must have two key strengths:
Highly capable technical people
Sufficient capital

84. Wrap-Up: World-Class Practice
Put customers first
Get new products/services to market faster
Are high quality producers
Have high labor productivity & low production costs
Carry little excess inventory
. . . more

85. Wrap-Up: World-Class Practice
Think more globally in purchasing and selling
Quickly adopt and develop new technologies
Trim organizations to be lean and flexible
Are less resistant to strategic alliances/joint ventures
Consider relevant social issues when setting strategies

86. End of Chapter 2