bm definitions

• Automated production line


  Comprises machinery and equipment arranged in a sequence with components added to a good as it proceeds through each step, with the process controlled by computers
• Business competitiveness


  The ability of a business to sell products in a market
• Computer-aided design (CAD)


  A computerised design tool that allows a business to create product possibilities from a series of input parameters
• Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)


  The use of software to direct and control manufacturing processes
• Continuous improvement


  An ongoing commitment to achieving perfection
• Environmental sustainability


  A business making decisions that will allow it, and the rest of society, to continue to interact with the environment
• Forecasting


  A materials planning tool that relies on data from the past and present and analysis of trends to attempt to determine future events
• Global outsourcing


  The contracting of a specific business operation to an external person or business in another country
• Global sourcing


  The practice of seeking the most cost-efficient materials and other inputs, including from countries overseas
• Inputs


  Resources used in the process of production
• Intangibles


  Services that cannot be touched
• Inventory


  Goods and materials held as stock by a business
• Inventory control


  Ensures that costs are minimised and that the operations system has access to the right amounts of inputs when required
• Just in Time


  A materials management strategy that ensures that the right amount of material inputs will arrive only as they are needed in the operations process
• Lean management


  An approach that improves the efficiency and effectiveness of operations by eliminating waste and improving quality
• Master production schedule


  A plan that details what is to be produced and when
• Materials handling


  The physical handling of goods in warehouses and at distribution points
• Materials management


  The strategy that manages the use, storage and delivery of materials to ensure the right amount of inputs is available when required in the operations system
• Materials requirement planning


  Involves developing an itemised list of all materials involved in production to meet the specified orders
• Operations management


  All the activities in which managers engage to produce goods or services
• Outputs


  The end result of a business's efforts — the service or product that is delivered or provided to the consumer
• Overseas manufacture


  The production of a good in a country that is different to the location of the business's headquarters
• Procurement


  The process of researching and selecting suppliers, establishing payment terms, negotiating contracts, and the actual purchasing of resources that are vital to the operations of the business
• Production plan


  An outline of the activities undertaken to combine resources (inputs) to create goods or services (outputs)
• Quality


  The degree of excellence of goods or services and their fitness for a stated purpose
• Quality assurance


  The use of a system so that a business achieves set standards in production
• Quality circles


  Groups of workers who meet to solve problems relating to quality
• Quality control


  The use of inspections at various points in the production process to check for problems and defects
• Robotics


  Highly specialised form of technology capable of complex tasks
• Tangibles


  Goods that can be touched
• Total Quality Management


  An ongoing, business-wide commitment to excellence that is applied to every aspect of the business's operation
• Transformation process


  The conversion of inputs (resources) into outputs (goods or services)
• Waste minimisation


  A process involving the reduction of the amount of unwanted or unusable resources produced by a business in an attempt to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations