In a business, an operation plan is essential to ensure that the company runs efficiently. An organization formulates a concept of operations when it must change how it operates to meet its set goals. The organization determines the configuration of staff, the business process, technology to be implemented and the organizational structure. Supply, on the other hand, is equally as important to an organization; supply refers to the quantity of goods that are available to be sold in the market. An organization’s profitability depends on the ability of the firm to price their products at the point where demand equals supply.
The law of supply dictates that if all other constants are held constant, the higher the price, the higher the quantity supplied. Factors that determine supply include; the availability of technology which allows production of goods and services to be more efficient hence allowing more supply at lower costs and increasing profits. The cost of production affects supply in that if it goes up, supply goes down since the goal is profit maximization and this cannot be achieved at high production costs. If the numbers of sellers in a market are numerous, that means the product will be in abundance and hence more supply. Taxes and subsidies affect supply as well in that, an increase in taxes leads to a decrease in profits thus less supply, and grants are aimed at reducing the cost of production hence subsidies lead to an increase in supply. Any of these factors affect the supply curve, which shows the quantity supplied at different price points.
Operations take care of the day to day activities of a business as well as managing the supply chain management and also make sure that production meets market demand and can fulfill it. Operations in a company involve exploring of aspects such as capacity planning, quality assurance and productivity analysis and improvement (McPherson, 2016). It consists in formulating strategies that allow the organization to serve the customer better. Operations management includes techniques and practices that aid in problem-solving, analysis and decision making (Morris, 2016). Information sharing and operations of demand management are also taken into consideration in the operations department.
Concepts of supply can be seen at work in different organizations such as in manufacturing firms, and they try to get an edge on their competitors by purchasing the best technology to increase efficiency in production. Better technology means higher supply which in turn reflects high-profit margins. Governments of third world countries introduce subsidies and lower taxes to attract investors, taxes and supply are inversely related meaning a rise in one leads to a fall in the other, governments try to reduce taxes for investors so that they can provide their nations with more supply of their products. The same goes for subsidies, offering subsidies to organizations allows for them to produce more of their products and to increase their profit margins. Firms also struggle to reduce their production costs by harnessing cheaper sources of energy, using capital-intensive methods rather than labor intensive and negotiating with suppliers to cut costs and it leads to more supply and larger profit margins in the long run.
Operations concepts are seen by the way business has grown or the size of its profit margins as compared to previous years. Firms that are intensive in capacity planning; the process that a firm uses to determine the level of production that we needed to meet the changing demands for its products, tend to be more lucrative than those that are not. Paying close attention to quality assurance falls under operations. Quality assurance involves making sure that the product retains the desired level of quality and this is ensured by paying attention to every process until the good reaches the market or point of delivery. Operations are also visible when looking at productivity analysis; this involves the company identifying areas where there is potential for productivity improvement. It is also aimed at finding weak points in a system and regions of interruptions that could lead to a loss regarding production.
The concepts in operation and supply are of vital significance in the business world. In the operations concepts implementation of these helps in handling issues such as taking control of distribution services, run business operations smoothly, encourage the firm to use minimum resources but still attain the customer’s satisfaction. Operations in business are there to aid in the conversion of raw materials and efficient use of labor to produce maximum output at the highest profit margins (Young, 2009). Supply concepts are equally as important to understand when and how to reduce costs, increase production and interpret market trends. Understanding the concepts of supply leads to more significant profit margins which are the goal for all businesses.
In conclusion, the business world requires supply and operations concepts, and one cannot do without the other, strategic planning is necessary for both and operations managers are important in every business to monitor progress and handling the challenges that the organization faces. Failure to effective plan will lead to wastage of valuable time and resources, and this may lead to future losses for the organization, it is therefore essential that these two are taken into consideration in business and kept at high standards at all times. To maintain sustainable production and performance management, the organization should keep a close eye on supply and market trends.