Operations Rules

<b>An expert offers a set of rules that will help managers achieve dramatic improvements in operations performance.</b><p>In recent years management gurus have urged businesses to adopt such strategies as just-in-time lean manufacturing offshoring and frequent deliveries to retail outlets. But today these much-touted strategies may be risky. Global financial turmoil rising labor costs in developing countries and huge volatility in the price of oil and other commodities can disrupt a company's entire supply chain and threaten its ability to compete. In <i>Operations Rules</i> David Simchi-Levi identifies the crucial element in a company's success: the link between the value it provides its customers and its operations strategies. And he offers a set of scientifically and empirically based rules that management can follow to achieve a quantum leap in operations performance.</p><p>Flexibility says Simchi-Levi is the single most important capability that allows firms to innovate in their operations and supply chain strategies. A small investment in flexibility can achieve almost all the benefits of full flexibility. And successful companies do not all pursue the same strategies. Amazon and Wal-Mart for example are direct competitors but each focuses on a different market channel and provides a unique customer value proposition--Amazon large selection and reliable fulfillment; Wal-Mart low prices--that directly aligns with its operations strategy. Simchi-Levi's rules--regarding such issues as channels price product characteristics value-added service procurement strategy and information technolog---transform operations and supply chain management from an undertaking based on gut feeling and anecdotes to a science.</p>