What Is Operations and Supply Chain Management?
Operations and supply chain management, supported by efficient purchasing software, encompass a wide scope spanning both manufacturing and service industries. While in small businesses, there might be some degree of overlap between operations and supply chain management, it's crucial to recognize that these roles and processes are distinct from each other.
Let’s look at how they’re different, and also how they go hand in hand.
What Is Supply Chain Management?
Supply chain management involves managing the flow of goods and services. The goal is to reduce costs, maximize value, and boost operational efficiencies. But the process is much more complicated than it sounds.
Supply chain managers oversee various processes, including:
- Sourcing
- Materials management
- Operations planning
- Distribution
- Logistics
- Retail
- Demand forecasting
- Order fulfillment
- …and more
What Is Operations Management?
Operations management involves managing day-to-day operations for a business or a specific part of a production process. Operations managers handle the internal business operations. Instead of managing how a product or service is moved, operations managers focus on how it’s developed. So, they’re involved with design, production, planning, workflow, and staffing, which all influence the development of a product or service.
How Is Supply Chain Management Related to Operations Management?
Supply chain management is critical in a product’s production process. So without supply chain management, operations wouldn’t have a product to oversee operations for.
Both Supply Chain and Operations Are Key to Driving More Efficient Processes and Better Revenue
The supply chain is mainly concerned with what happens outside the business, while operations is concerned with what happens within the company. Yet, the two roles are linked together and contribute to the overall value of the business.
This is why it’s so important to learn effective strategies to achieve agile, profitable, efficient, and productive systems for a more successful bottom line. Are your supply chain and operations processes in sync?
