Opportunities Challenges for Operations Management – A point of view from the 2018 POMS International Conference in Rio (original) (raw)

Five Decades of Operations Management and the Prospects Ahead

Management Science, 2004

O perations and Supply Chains is the current title for a department that has evolved through several different titles in recent years, reflecting its evolving mission from a focus on classical operations research at the time of ORSA's founding 50 years ago toward an embrace of a broader body of theory. Throughout this evolution, the focus on applied problems and the goal of improving practice through the development of suitable theory has remained constant. The Operations and Supply Chains Department promotes the theory underlying the practice of operations management, which encompasses the design and management of the transformation processes in manufacturing and service organizations that create value for society. Operations is the function that is uniquely associated with the design and management of these processes. The problem domains of concern to the department have been, and remain, the marshalling of inputs, the transformation itself, and the distribution of outputs in pursuit of this value-creating end. Over the past 50 years the department has had a variety of titles, reflecting an evolving understanding of the boundaries of the operations function. In this article we celebrate past accomplishments, identify current challenges, and anticipate a future that is as exciting and opportunity-rich as any our field has seen.

The operations management research agenda: An update

Journal of Operations Management, 1989

An agenda for operations management (OM) research was first proposed by Miller et al. in 1981. However, until Hill et al. examined recent Ph.D. dissertations in 1987, no other work on the agenda had been done. We take another look at the status of the OM research ...

Perspectives on Operations Management Developments and Research

Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 2018

In this chapter, we discuss major technological and societal developments that determine our lives to a large extent, not in the least the way we organize our resource needs and hence logistics and supply chains. After outlining these developments globally, we give some examples of truly disrupting business models that are fundamentally changing our logistics and supply chain operations. Next, we look in more depth at the manifestation of the digital revolution in manufacturing and supply chains, as well as the many opportunities that these technologies offer in addressing a number of major societal challenges. 2.1 Developments in Society and the Business World In general, five main trends are driving our societies and the business world in the 21st century: • Technological developments are a major driving force as for example the introduction of the smartphone in 2007 has shown. Within the industry, such trends encom

Looking forward in operations management research

Operations Management Research

As we take over the Editor in Chief roles of the Operations Management Research journal, we want to look very briefly back and then cast our thoughts and aspirations for the field and the journal forward over the next few years and indeed decade. First, we want to acknowledge the superb start that was provided to the OM Research community of researchers and professionals by Jack Meredith who so effectively founded this journal. Starting a new journal from scratch is a daunting task indeed, and many fail to take off and gain traction, yet Jack has accomplished this in OMR going from zero to becoming a real up and coming journal in our field, which is much needed. More recently, Scott Shafer and Jan Olhager have built it strongly, as measured by all the usual metrics. Yet there is still a lot to do in building OMR and contributing to our field. Looking forward, we want this journal to contribute to both theory and practise in the field of Operations Management. Ours is a practical field, and our research should primarily serve those who put it into practise and respond to the many challenges that professional operations managers face. We welcome article submissions on any topics within or closely related to operations management. This is a dynamic field ever driven by new problems and challenges, that present new opportunities for research on a continuing basis. Some of these that we need to be collectively working on include:

The future of operations management: An outlook and analysis

International Journal of Production Economics, 2011

Managing operations in both manufacturing and service organizations have evolved tremendously over the years with the change in market requirements. The market has become global, thereby compelling enterprise operations to keep up. The application of information technology/information systems (IT/IS) and outsourcing in managing operations have significantly altered the landscape of operations management (OM) strategies, techniques, and technologies. Consciousness towards environmental and safety also urges companies to examine their OM approach and manufacturing from various perspectives. Recently, energy cost and protection against terrorism have changed the portfolio of enterprise operations and therefore the approach to OM. Now, it is time to revisit the OM principles, curriculum, and training at the institution of higher learning and industries. Moreover, manufacturing has become more of a service activity, indicating significant service OM, including project management. The profile of service industries has also changed in view of the emergence of globalization, outsourcing, and IT, coupled with the rapid economic growth of emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). In fact, services account for approximately 80% of the US gross domestic product (GDP); this is also a growing figure of the GDPs of other countries over the world. Again, service OM needs to be revisited in the context of the abovementioned paradigm shifts. In considering the significance of the above-mentioned changes in the market and society as a whole, an attempt is made to study the evolution of OM and subsequently to develop a framework for new OM strategies and tactics that will support the competitiveness of organizations within the next 10-20 years.

Evolution of operations management: past, present and future

Management Research News, 2007

Purpose -This paper seeks to analyze the evolution of shift in the area of operations management (OM) and attempts to anticipate potential developments in the relevant areas of OM. Design/methodology/approach -A hybrid approach is adopted to understand how the field of OM has evolved over time relying on the perspectives of both academics and business practitioners. This evolution of shift in the area of OM is examined based on a thorough literature review and the authors' industrial experience. Findings -From the days of functional point solutions relying on concepts like reorder point to finite capacity planning, OM research at present deals with a set of important problems facing both private and public sectors at the organizational level. Most prominent of these include e-business, supply chain management, production planning and scheduling, product development, decision support systems, information-based strategy, systems development and implementation, risk and environmental management. OM has also embraced several organization-wide philosophies including lean production, mass customization and agile manufacturing. Practical implications -With the advent of Internet and burgeoning of the new economy, this paper provides important insights regarding the evolution of OM in the past, recent developments at present and what the future holds for this field. It is envisaged that a focus on the issues central to OM will soon propel both researchers and industry practitioners beyond existing technologies and also provide the catalyst for developing new ones. Originality/value -This paper provides useful insights to both researchers and practitioners who are interested in the field of OM.

Operations Management of Logistics and Supply Chain: Issues and Directions

Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2014

There has been consensus that logistics as well as supply chain management is a vital research field, yet with few literature reviews on this topic. This paper sets out to propose some hot issues in the current research, through a review of related literature from the perspective of operations management. In addition, we generate some insights and future research directions in this field.

Operations research confronting the crisis

Annals of Operations Research, 2016

In the highly volatile socioeconomic environment that emerged due to the recent global crisis, new opportunities have arisen for the development and application of operations research (OR) methodologies. These challenges/opportunities involve a wide spectrum of areas that extend well beyond the economic and financial aspects of the crisis, as both public policy makers and corporate managers adjust their goals to the new context, where issues such as sustainable development, employment growth, social welfare, business ethics, and corporate governance, have gained much importance. This special issue (SI) presents recent advances of OR models in areas where decision making has been affected by the crisis. On the methodological side, the SI presents new realistic and powerful OR models with direct practical contributions. These include new decision making approaches, formulations and solution algorithms, procedures for improving computational performance, as well as implementations for decision support systems. Case studies and papers presenting innovative applications in different application areas are also presented. All submitted papers were reviewed by at least two referees in order to meet the standards of the Annals of Operations Research. The referees made every effort possible to ensure that the manuscripts accepted for publication reached a high standard. After the review process, a collection of 22 papers were selected for this special issue. The contents are grouped into the following five main thematic areas.