MIE201 terms

Supply Chain Management

Coordinating the entire flow of materials, information, and money from raw material suppliers through production and distribution to the end customer.

Operation

The production process: all the activities that turn inputs (labor, materials, capital, information) into goods or services.

Operations Management

Planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the activities that transform resources into goods and services efficiently.

Business Management

Coordinating people and resources across all functions (planning, organizing, leading, controlling) to reach an organization's goals. Operations management is one part of it.

Logistics

The part of the supply chain that handles moving and storing materials and finished goods (transportation, warehousing, inventory) from origin to customer.

Poison Pill

Takeover defense (shareholder rights plan): when a bidder passes an ownership threshold, all other shareholders can buy shares at a big discount. This dilutes the bidder and makes the deal very costly. Adopted by the board in response to a threat.

Shark Repellent

Umbrella term for charter/bylaw changes that make a takeover harder, e.g. staggered board, supermajority vote for mergers, fair price provision, dual class shares. Built in ahead of time.

White Knight

A friendly company the target invites to acquire it instead of the hostile bidder, usually on better terms. (A white squire buys only a large minority stake.)

Tender Offer

Public offer to buy shares directly from shareholders at a set price, usually at a premium, bypassing the board. A common hostile takeover tool.

Proxy Fight

Bidder or dissident shareholders persuade other shareholders to give them their votes so they can replace the board with directors who will approve the takeover.

Master Limited Partnership

A publicly traded partnership: units trade like stock, but income passes through to unit holders (no corporate tax). Common in energy and natural resources.

Horizontal Merger

Two competitors in the same industry combine (e.g., two banks). Goal: more market share, fewer rivals, economies of scale.

Vertical Merger

Firms at different stages of the same supply chain combine (e.g., a manufacturer buys its supplier). Goal: control costs and supply.

Conglomerate Merger

Firms in unrelated industries combine. Goal: diversify risk and earnings.

Corporate Raider

An individual or firm that buys large stakes in undervalued companies, often using hostile tactics, to gain control and profit by restructuring, breaking up, or selling assets.

Equity Financing

Raising money by selling ownership (stock, or owner/investor contributions). No repayment or interest, but owners give up some ownership and control. Contrast with debt financing.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Federal agency that helps small businesses with loan guarantees, management counseling, training, and help winning government contracts.

SCORE

Service Corps of Retired Executives: retired business people who volunteer free counseling and mentoring to small businesses. SBA supported.

ACE

Active Corps of Executives: working (not retired) executives who volunteer to counsel small business owners. Same idea as SCORE, but active professionals.

SBDCs

Small Business Development Centers: SBA backed centers, usually at universities, offering free or low cost counseling, training, and research for small businesses.

Fixed Position Layout

The product stays in one place; workers, materials, and equipment come to it. Used for very large or heavy items (ships, buildings, aircraft).

Process Layout

Similar equipment or functions are grouped into departments and the product moves between them. Suits varied, custom, low volume work (hospitals, machine shops).

Product Layout

Equipment arranged in a fixed sequence, like an assembly line. Suits high volume, standardized products (cars, appliances).

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Organization wide commitment to continuous quality improvement: focus on customers, employee involvement, and preventing defects instead of catching them.

Statistical Process Control (SPC)

Using statistical sampling and control charts to monitor a process and catch variation before it produces defects.

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) Model

Formula that finds the order size that minimizes total inventory cost (ordering costs + holding costs).

Just in Time (JIT) Inventory

Materials arrive right when they are needed in production, keeping inventory near zero. Cuts storage costs but depends on reliable suppliers.

Materials Requirement Planning (MRP)

Computer based system that uses the production schedule, bill of materials, and inventory levels to plan what materials to order and when.

Routing

Deciding the sequence of operations and the path a product or job follows through production (where it goes, in what order).

Scheduling

Assigning the tasks to be done to departments or even specific machines, workers, or teams.

Project Organization

Uses a fixed position layout; typically involved in large complex projects

Intermittent Organization

Uses a process layout, deals with products of a lesser magnitude than project organizations, their products are not necessarily unique but possess a significant number of differences.

Continuous Manufacturing Organization

Uses the product layout. Run continuously, creating products with many similar characteristics.

Flexible Manufacturing

Computer controlled machines that can be quickly reset to make different products, combining variety with efficiency.

Services vs. Tangible Products

Tangible products are physical goods that can be stored and inspected. Services are intangible, produced and consumed at the same time, and can't be stored. Manufacturing focuses on efficient production; services focus on the customer interaction.

Uniformity of Inputs

Manufacturing: inputs (raw materials, parts) are standardized and controlled, so they are highly uniform. Services: the customer is often the input (a patient, a client) and each has different needs, so inputs vary a lot.

Uniformity of Products

Manufacturing: outputs are nearly identical, made to spec. Services: each service is customized and varies with the provider and the customer, so output is much less uniform.

Measurement of Productivity

Manufacturing: easy; count units produced per labor hour or per dollar of cost. Services: harder, since output is intangible and varies. Proxies include customers served or revenue per employee.

Labor Required

Manufacturing: capital intensive; machines and automation do much of the work, so less labor per unit. Services: labor intensive; people deliver the service and it's hard to automate.