D. Service Technology Service technology is moving toward automated systems and procedures. Examples of automation in the service industry include automatic teller machines used by banks, patient information systems used by hospitals to track patients, and computerized reservation systems used by hotels. The basic functional purpose of operations systems is to control transformation processes to ensure that relevant goals are achieved in areas such as quality and costs. Purchasing and inventory management are among the special purposes of operations. A. Operations Management as Control Operations management as control can be obtained by coordinating it with other functions.
Managerial control ensures that resources and activities achieve primary goals.
Any control system should focus on the elements that are most crucial to goal attainment. B. Purchasing Management Purchasing management is concerned with buying the materials and resources needed to create products and services. The purchasing manager must balance constraints to prevent tying up capital, creating shortages, or sacrificing quality in his selection of suppliers and negotiation of prices. Many companies are purchasing from fewer suppliers and negotiating special production delivery arrangements. It reduces investment in raw materials and in storage space by allocation space just for what is needed.