1.1 Learning Objectives

Define operations and supply chain management (OSCM) and describe its role in supporting a company's strategy as well as the firm's ability to meet customer needs.

Identify some of the environmental and technological changes that have led to advances in operations and supply chain practice. Discuss how these have improved living standards.

Identify and discuss the primary design and control decisions that determine how efficiently and effectively a firm's operations transform inputs into more highly valued outputs.

Define supply chain management and discuss the anatomy of a supply chain.

Identify key differences between service and manufacturing operations and explain how these differences influence decision-making.

Define environmental scanning and be able to develop a basic SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.