The process of coordinating the incoming goods, the storage and tracking of the goods, and the distribution of the goods or materials to and from production or distribution locations.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: wareahouse management; distribution center
Source: (APICS Dictionary; Helms, 2006)
The function of establishing, measuring, monitoring, and adjusting limits or levels of capacity in order to execute all manufacturing schedules (i.e. the production plan, master production schedule, material requirements, plan and dispatch list).
Synonymous: none
Included terms: Long-term capacity management; short-term capacity; Resource Requirements Planning (RRP); Rough Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP); Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP); input/output control
Source: (Slack et al., 2013; Hill, 2012; APICS Dictionary)
A philosophy of production that attempts to achieve high customer (internal or external) service, eliminating waste through continuous improvement, simplifying all manufacturing and support processes, and focusing on exactly what the customer wants. It involves identifying and eliminating non-value-adding activities in design, production, supply chain management, and dealing with the customer.
Synonymous: Lean Thinking; Lean Manufacturing; Lean Production
Included terms:
Source: (Chase et al., 2013; Heizer et al., 2017; APICS Dictionary)
Planning and control of all types of inventories taking decisions about when to order, and how much to order. It involves forecasting demand, placing purchase and manufacturing orders, and filling sales orders.
Synonymous: Inventory control, Inventory management
Included terms: forecasting demand, purchasing; manufacturing orders, sales orders
Source: (Hills, 2012; APICS Dictionary; Helms, 2006)
Work systems include (1) Process design- sequence of activities and the flow of transformed resources between them (2) Work methods – analysis and design of tasks and jobs involving human work activity (3) Work measurement – analysis of a task to determine the time that should be allowed to perform the task (4) Work management – effective supervision of workers.
Synonymous: work-study
Included terms: work methods; method study; work measurement; work management; safety; ergonomy.
Source:(Slack et al., 2017; Glover, 2007)
This function deals with the integration of all material acquisition, movement, and storage activities to have available material and product in the right place at the righ moment in the righ quantity. This function supports the material flow cycle: from the purchase and internal control of production materials; to the planning and control of work-in-process; to the shipping, and distribution of the finished product or service to the customers. Distribution, transportation, and warehousing needs of an organization are considered inside its scope.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: transportation, warehousing, inventory control, material handling, and the information and communication systems to support these activities
Source: (Slack et al., 2013; Chase et al., 2013; Hill, 2012; Heizer et al., 2017; APICS Dictionary)
Systems, procedures, and decisions that ensure operation processes run effectively and efficiently and produce products and services as required by customers. Planning concerns what should happen in the future, scheduling deals with allocating resources to tasks over given periods, and control aims to compare actual to planned performance and take corrective action, as needed, to align performance with a plan.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: performance management; OKR (Objectives and Key Results); KPI (Key Performance Indicators).
Source: (Pinedo, 2016; Slack et al. , 2017; Helms, 2006; APICS Dictionary)
The activities required to manage the flow of materials, information, people, and money from the suppliers’ suppliers to the customers’ customers and the handling of the product after it has finished its useful life. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: sourcing, purchasing, operations, transportation/distribution/logistics
Source: (Edward et al., 2017; Slack et al., 2013; Hill, 2012; APICS Dictionary)
Interrelated computer hardware and software along with people and processes designed in a systematic and structured way for managing the flow of data, collecting, processing, and disseminating information for operations management.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: Augmented reality; Artificial Intelligence;
Source: (APICS Dictionary; Vitasek, 2008)
The application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge, tools, techniques and experience to achieve specific project objectives or requirements according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. This includes steps like understanding, defining, coordinating, planning, scheduling, directing, executing, controlling, monitoring and evaluating prescribed activities to ensure that the final deliverables are achieved within time and budget.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: Risk management
Source: (APICS dictionary; APM, 2021; PMI, 2021; Slack et al., 2013)
Operations management decisions are aligned in a socially (stakeholders), economically, and environmentally responsible way. It includes mandatory or voluntary actions that business can take, over and above compliance with minimum legal requirements, to address both its own competitive interests and the interests of the wider society or planet.
Synonymous: Triple Bottom Line; Corporate Social Responsibility; Closed Loop Supply Chain Management; Green operations: Green production
Included terms:
Source: (Slack et al., 2013; APICS, 2011)
The process of combining statistical forecasting techniques and judgement to construct demand estimates for products or services (both high and low volume; lumpy and continuous) across the supply chain from the suppliers’ raw materials to the consumers’ needs. Items can be aggregated by product family, geographical location, product life cycle, and so forth, to determine an estimate of consumer demand for the finished product, service parts, or services.
Synonymous: Demand-driven forecasts
Included terms: Strategic forecasts ; Medium and longterm forecasts; Tactical forecasts; Short-term forecasts
Source: (APICS Dictionary; Helms, 2006)
The activity of design, specification, assessment or caring for physical facilities, systems, machines, products, or components to perform required tasks under stated conditions for a specified period of time so as to avoid or minimize the chance of failing, or restore it to a state in which it can perform its required function.
Synonymous: Total Productive Maintenance; reliability-centred maintenance
Included terms: emergency maintenance, preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, reliability engineering
Source: (Slack et al., 2013; Hill,2012; Helms, 2006)
An integrated approach to capture, share, develop, and use organizational knowledge. This knowledge is used to produce a product/service more effectively, interface with customers, navigate through competitive markets or introduce new environmentally friendly products, or provide a new source of revenue.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: Process improvement; Kaizen; Continuous improvement
Source: APICS Dictionary; APICS (2011)
Research that analyses and disseminates experiences of teaching innovation in university or higher education contexts undertaken by lecturers-researchers whose learning outcomes are related to Operations Management. This research aims to encourage instruction based on the evidence of what best promotes students learning. It is related to the movement created under the label of scholarship that brings together people who develop and disseminate teaching models that facilitate students’ significant and useful learning. This research moves away from the focus on teaching to approach the focus on learning.
Synonymous: none
Included terms: Teaching or learning in higher education; scholarship in Operations Management
Source: Marin-Garcia, J. A. (2018); Marin-Garcia & Alfalla-Luque (2021); Medina-López et al. (2011)
The total pattern of decisions/policies that shape the long-term capabilities of an operation. The strategy identifies why to do what they do, how to satisfy customers, how to manage the operations, how to develop capabilities, and how to use the firm’s resources to gain a competitive advantage in one or several operational performance areas (cost, quality, flexibility, delivery, safety, sustainability, morale, etc.).
Synonymous: none
Included terms: manufacturing strategy; service strategy; Hoshin Kanri (Policy deployment)
Source: (Hill, 2019; APICS, 2011; Bryson, 2014)
The development and application of quantitative techniques to the solution of problems, adapting and applying theory and methodology in mathematics, statistics and computing to the identification, formulation, solution, validation, implementation and control of decision-making problems.
Synonymous: none
Included terms:
Source: (APICS Dictionary)
The set of tools, programs, and techniques that focuses on planning and implementing procedures for inspecting, measuring, assure and improving product and service performance and conformance to specifications (Hill, 2012; Chase et al., 2013). It is integrated with the procurement and production processes so that can be identified inspection points both for incoming materials and for products during the manufacturing process (Chase et al., 2013).
Synonymous: Total Quality Management
Included terms: statistical process control (SPC), Taguchi methods, quality circles, and so on (Edward, Pyke & Thomas, 2013)
Source: Edward et al. (2013), Hill (2012), Chase et al. (2013)
The selection, development and management of supplier relationships to acquire goods and services in a way that aids in achieving the immediate needs of the business (Chase et al., 2013, Hills, 2012). It includes negotiating contracts and
ensuring a reliable supply of materials (Hills, 2012). Purchasing deals with the operation’s interface with its supply and buys in materials and services from suppliers (Slack et al., 2013).
Synonymous: procurement, supply management, buying
Included terms: Outsourcing
Source: Slack et al. (2013), Chase et al. (2013), Hills (2012)
The process of generating new product and service concepts, creating designs, and bringing new products and services to market.
Synonymous: Product and service design
Included terms: concept development; design; prototyping; package development
Source: (Hill, 2019; Slack et al., 2013)