Operations: The Backbone of a Thriving Business.

Operations deals with managing the inner workings of a business so that it can run efficiently. An operations role, day-to-day, looks different for each company. One thing all operations roles have in common is that they are the unrecognized backbone of the company. Here are a few ways you witness operations at their finest in your everyday life.

Out Shopping

While shopping, whether it be for clothes, groceries, or something else, you see the shelves stocked with all kinds of items. Have you ever thought; who takes the time to decide what to order and actually orders it? In most cases, it’s the operations manager. In my current job as a barista, I do quite a bit of operations work because we are a small business. I listen to customer requests and try to figure out where I can find the perfect coffee blend or coffee maker that has been requested.

At A Restaurant

When you sit down to lunch at your favorite restaurant, you never think about who takes the time to assure the freshness of your meal by being consistent with orders. Or who lines up the suppliers so you can eat fresh mozzarella on top of your favorite dish. This is the operations department. As a barista, if I didn’t order coffee beans on a regular basis, you’d either be drinking stale coffee or no coffee at all.

In A Business

If you are working for a business and you use organizational tools or any online database that is customized for your company where is that coming from? You guessed it, that’s a result of the operations team. Without our custom inventory program, I’d be at a complete loss while working.

Takeaways

By now, you’ve probably noticed a common denominator: If it wasn’t for this unnoticed branch of a business you’d seldom be able to find the product you want. You would get not-so-fresh food and stale coffee, and you would have to organize and schedule everything using a random app, or even primitive pen and paper. Thanks to the operations department we don’t have to worry about anything like that on a day-to-day basis.