¿Qué es la gestión de operaciones? Una descripción general útil

Defining the scope of operations management at your company may sound complicated, but at its core it’s a straightforward way of improving almost everything that your company does. In this article we will give you an insightful overview, plus ideas on how to improve your operations management with the right resources, from team members to tools. 

What Is Operations Management (OM)? 

Operations management (OM) is the application of specific business practices that maximize efficiency in all aspects of a company. In most industries, operations management addresses an organization’s strategic practices, production of goods, delivery of services, ongoing maintenance needs, development of new offerings and processes, and more. The efficiency gains produced by effective operations management can potentially translate into an increase in net profits for an organization. 

Operations management is not a single set of set-up tasks. It’s an ongoing, ever-evolving, and dynamic process that aims for efficiency and quality in all areas, including customer satisfaction. Operations management impacts nearly every aspect of product or service creation.  Here are the major components, and the responsibilities included in each:

• Product design: Whether you are generating brand new ideas or improving on an existing item or service, product design results in unique and innovative creations. Making sure that these innovations meet customer needs, align with market trends, and can be cost-effectively produced is the responsibility of the operations management team. 

• Forecasting: This critical process involves analyzing past data in order to predict future product and supply trends. These predictions ensure that your organization can meet the changing needs of all customers, and realize hidden opportunities along the way. 

• Supply chain management: During the journey from raw materials to finished products, many problems can occur, but there are also many opportunities for savings and synergy that can be realized. Supply chain management includes inventory management, production, distribution, sales, and sourcing in order to remedy or prevent those problems and find those previously untapped opportunities. 

• Delivery management: Getting goods and services to consumers is one of the most crucial steps of the operations management process. Timely delivery and customer service are critical elements that deserve careful consideration. 

What Are the Benefits of Successful Operations Management? 

A breakdown in any one of the many aspects of operations management can cause critical issues for an entire organization. Even before the problems exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, order delays cost retailers over a billion dollars per year in lost revenue. In 2021, companies are seeing shipping costs increase at alarming rates. 

These huge impacts on profitability will continue to fluctuate in the coming years. In order for an organization to stay competitive, operations management should always be a priority. Beyond just preventing problems, it’s also an opportunity for companies to help both their customers and their bottom line. Here are the major benefits of a high-quality operations management program. 

• Potentially increased profitability: Operations management involves connecting with consumers in order to know what they want and need from your product or services, both now and in the future. When you understand your customers, you can improve your existing offerings, and develop desirable new products or services.

• Complying with changing regulations: Your operations management plan will need to include safeguards that will ensure you stay apprised of any production rules, licensing needs, or mandates that will impact your processes. This will help you avoid fines, recalls, and other adverse regulatory infractions. 

• Keeping a competitive edge: A good operations management plan will look beyond your organization to address competitors' strategies, such as pricing changes or new products. Staying apprised of these external activities will help you plan and prepare. This ensures that your organization can maintain or even grow your market share, profit margins, and more.

• Optimizing manufacturing: Making sure that your manufacturing processes are updated and perfectly calibrated will help your company reduce costs without sacrificing productivity. Production methods, raw materials management, production and warehouse management software use, defect-tracking programs, and process engineering should all be incorporated into your manufacturing optimization plan. 

What Will Help With Operations Management? 

There are numerous tools that will aid in the development and deployment of a successful operations management process, but one of the most important components is your team. A well-organized, knowledgeable operations management team that is able to coordinate and collaborate with multiple departments and vendors is essential. 

Important Roles Within Operations 

It takes a variety of skills and roles to successfully create and maintain an operations department. Here are several of the critical positions that should be a part of this complex, dynamic, and integrated team. 

Operations Manager 

Operations managers need to be forward-thinking, very organized, and be able to manage and understand their organization’s productivity and efficiency goals, including many financial aspects like budgets, staffing, inventory, and workflow processes. 

Operations Analyst

This role oversees and optimizes procedures, policies, and approves new projects to ensure that operations run as efficiently as possible. Operations analysts must of course be analytical, as they will need to evaluate numerous data sources, and draft various reports and recommendations based on their findings.

Program Manager 

Program managers have duties similar to an operations manager, but typically with a narrower area of focus. They often lead the creation and implementation of specific programs and initiatives. Success in this role requires collaboration with project managers, strategic vision, and insight into other present and future programs that will help the company achieve its goals and objectives. 

Operations Engineer 

Operations engineers have an overall focus on your company’s workflows. From people to products to technology, they review data, strategies, and current standard operating protocols in order to create solutions to operational issues and inefficiencies. Engineering innovation requires strategic thinking, an analytical mind, and a deep understanding of specific industry practices. 

Operations Coordinator 

This critical role helps all other members of the operations management team by handling the daily operations and administrative tasks. They will prepare and execute programs and projects based on directions from leaders such as Program Managers, and they must be goal-oriented, quick-thinking, and extremely organized.

Other Tools for Operational Success 

With the proper structure and staffing in place, it’s time to give your team the additional tools necessary for operational success.

UpKeep, a powerful Asset Operations Management tool, is a great way to manage and streamline operations through robust work order management and analytics. UpKeep connects maintenance and reliability teams by giving them the information they need to keep operations running smoothly. 

Clients like Unilever, McDonald’s, Subway, and more rely on UpKeep because of the following powerful and insightful features:

• Ease-to-use: If you want to get rid of confusing and tedious paperwork, ensure quick and accurate reporting, automate preventive maintenance tasks, make maintenance requests easier, and quickly assign work orders, UpKeep can help. 

• Centralized command center: UpKeep lets your entire team work together via one dashboard. Whether you are in the office, on the factory floor, or in the field, you will have access to all of the operations data you need to quickly make the right decisions. 

• Robust analytics: Tired of manually collecting and combining data from multiple sources to get the overviews that you need? Upkeep offers premade and custom dashboards that let you easily export what you need in a variety of formats.

• IoT sensors collect important info: For both IoT hardware and software, UpKeep can help you collect and analyze valuable, real-time data for easy proactive planning and even automation of your maintenance programs. 

• Easy to integrate: UpKeep provides no-code tools to easily integrate with your tech stack, streamlining your maintenance, data collection, reporting, and business operations.

Achieve Your Goals With a Strong Operations Management Plan

Keeping your business running (and growing) depends on many factors you can’t control, but there are many things you can. By building a dependable operations management team and utilizing robust tools at your disposal, you can help control that chaos that comes with running a business, and avoid costly breakdowns in production, vendor management, customer service, and more. 

UpKeep is a powerful tool for operations teams because it easily integrates with your existing systems, provides accurate, real-time data, and customizable reporting all with the expressed purpose of keeping your team informed and your systems running smoothly. Ready to learn more? Schedule a demo today.