Operations and supply chain management

What you measure is what you get. Senior executives understand that their organization’s measurement system strongly affects the behavior of managers and employees. Executives also understand that traditional financial accounting measures like return-on-investment and earnings-per-share can give misleading signals for continuous improvement and innovation—activities today’s competitive environment demands. The traditional financial performance measures worked well […]

For starters, it’s not the same as operational effectiveness.

By using new technologies and services, U.S. health providers can take virtual health care to the next level.

Increasingly, multinational corporations (MNCs) are pledging to procure the materials and services they need from companies committed to fair labor practices...

The U.S.-China trade war and the supply and demand shocks brought on by the Covid-19 crisis are forcing manufacturers everywhere to reassess their supply...

Editor’s Note: This article sets out a simple, elegant, and ultimately tough-minded way to build profitability in a service business. Originally published in 1994, it offers as much today as it did then and is a perennial best seller. ♦ UPDATE: Learn about companies that are applying this timeless advice today. Top-level executives of outstanding […]

Artificial intelligence is transforming all sectors of the economy, but there's no reason to fear that robots will replace all human employees. In fact,...

One of the most promising applications of emerging blockchain technology is supply chain management. Blockchain--the digital record-keeping system developed...

First answer two questions; then explore four paths.

Corporate executives and consumers have in recent years adopted divergent views of product quality. Several recent surveys indicate how wide the quality perception gap is: Three out of five chief executives of the country’s largest 1,300 companies said in a 1981 survey that quality is improving; only 13% said it is declining.1 Yet 49% of […]

Pick a strategy that fits your resources and capabilities.

In many industries the balance of power has shifted from buyers to suppliers. Companies that have gotten into a weak position need to tackle the problem...

A guide to making health care more accessible, affordable, and effective.

For two decades progressive thinkers have argued that a more sustainable form of capitalism would arise if companies regularly measured and reported on...

Most business executives who have put time, effort, and investment into developing a presence in China resist the notion of decoupling. With the Biden...

A few years ago, a major manufacturing-based conglomerate asked a gifted mathematician to join its corporate staff. One of his first assignments was to design a system that senior managers could use to evaluate the operating efficiency of the company’s various divisions. He devoted many months to the assignment and also tapped the knowledge of […]

A framework to ensure your digital investments are driven by strategic objectives.

Its collapse has been vastly overstated, according to an analysis of international flows of trade, capital, information, and people.

“Just-in-time” only works as part of a comprehensive suite of strategies.

To today's customers, value can mean any number of things, from convenience of purchase to after-sale service and dependability. But that doesn't mean...