The first step to a successful operation is to develop a detailed business plan. This plan should include all aspects of the business including the operation plan. The operation part of the plan for small business processes from raw materials purchase and handling, to package and shipping. Though operations plan can and probably will change throughout the life of a business, it is the one process that can not cut from any business.
Why employ OM? Though a relatively new field of research and still evolving, many businesses employ it as a way to increase productivity and reduce error. OM allows companies to be more competitive by reducing unnecessary cost involved when resources are squandered.
Who can be credited with the introduction of OM? No one person can be credited with this process. After all, throughout the evolution of man, through the centuries man has always found ways of becoming more efficient. The nature of the human being is to essentially be lazy. Therefore the human being is constantly finding new ways to get more for less. This means more increase in productivity, or output/input. This has lead to the world today.
The world now is that lead by increase in productivity. The strive for this increase has fueled innovation. The steam engine was replaced with the gas engine. The horse and carriage were replaced by the horseless carriage, and the typewriter with the personal computer. Why is this important? All of these accomplishments represent the natural human instinct to become more efficient.
All of these accomplishments are