Operations Management
A-Level Business Topic 4 8:06 English narration · English + 中文 subtitles burned in
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A car factory takes in steel, plastic, glass, electricity and hours of work.
一家汽车厂投入钢材、塑料、玻璃、电力和大量工时。
Out the other end comes a car worth far more than everything that went into it.
从另一头出来的，是一辆价值远高于全部投入之和的汽车。
That gap — the value added — is not created by the marketing department or the finance office.
这个差额——增值——不是营销部门或财务部门创造的。
It is created here, in operations.
它是在这里创造的，在运营环节。
This is where a business physically becomes profitable.
企业正是在这里，实实在在地变得有利可图。
Today: the transformation process.
今天我们来看：转化过程。
Productivity and efficiency.
生产率与效率。
The methods of production.
各种生产方式。
Inventory and just-in-time.
库存与准时制。
Capacity utilisation.
产能利用率。
And outsourcing.
以及外包。
Let's begin.
让我们开始吧。
Operations is the part of a business that actually makes the product, and operations management is the job of doing that well.
运营是企业中真正制造产品的部分，而运营管理就是把这件事做好的工作。
Think of it as one process with three parts.
可以把它看成一个由三部分组成的过程。
Inputs are the raw materials, the labour, the machines and the money.
投入是原材料、劳动力、机器和资金。
The process is the work that changes them.
过程是改变它们的那些工作。
Outputs are the finished goods and services the customer receives.
产出是顾客最终得到的成品和服务。
Good operations add value: the output is worth more than everything that went into it.
好的运营会增值：产出的价值高于投入其中的一切。
Two words that sound similar but are not the same.
有两个听起来相近、其实并不相同的词。
Productivity measures how much output you get from your inputs — output divided by the input used.
生产率衡量你用投入换来多少产出—— 产出除以所使用的投入。
Efficiency is different: it means making the product with as little waste of time, materials and money as possible.
效率则不同：它指在制造产品时尽可能少地浪费时间、 材料和金钱。
Both matter for one reason — they lower the cost of every single unit.
两者重要的原因只有一个——它们都降低每一件产品的成本。
And a lower unit cost lets the firm either charge less than its rivals, or earn more on each sale.
而单位成本更低，企业就既可以比对手卖得便宜，也可以在每笔销售上赚得更多。
A factory of twenty workers makes eight hundred units in a day.
一家有二十名工人的工厂一天生产八百件产品。
Find the output per worker.
求每位工人的产出。
Pause and try it.
先暂停，自己算一算。
Eight hundred divided by twenty is forty units per worker per day.
八百除以二十，等于每位工人每天四十件。
Now suppose training lifts output to one thousand units, with the same twenty workers.
现在假设培训把产量提高到一千件，工人仍然是二十名。
Productivity rises to fifty each.
生产率就升到每人五十件。
The wage bill has not changed — but it is now spread over more units, so every unit is cheaper to make.
工资总额没有变——但它现在分摊到更多产品上， 所以每件产品的成本更低了。
Firms differ in what they lean on.
不同企业依赖的东西不同。
A capital-intensive operation runs mostly on machines — a car plant, for example.
资本密集型运营主要靠机器——比如汽车工厂。
High set-up cost, but a low cost per unit, and it suits very large volumes.
前期投入很高，但单位成本低，适合很大的产量。
A labour-intensive operation runs mostly on people — a hair salon.
劳动密集型运营主要靠人——比如理发店。
It is flexible and personal, but quality can vary from one worker to the next, and it is harder to scale up.
它灵活、有人情味， 但不同员工之间质量可能参差不齐，规模也更难扩大。
Now how production is organised.
再来看生产如何组织。
Job production makes one unique item at a time — a wedding cake, a bridge.
单件生产一次只做一件独一无二的产品—— 一个婚礼蛋糕，一座桥。
Very flexible, but expensive per unit.
非常灵活，但单位成本很高。
Batch production makes a group of identical items, then switches to another group — bread in different flavours.
批量生产先做一批相同的产品，然后换做另一批——比如不同口味的面包。
Flow production runs non-stop along a line — bottled drinks, cars.
流水线生产沿着生产线不停地生产——瓶装饮料、汽车。
The unit cost is low, but it needs high, steady demand.
单位成本低， 但需要高而稳定的需求。
Mass customisation is the clever compromise: a flow line that still lets each customer choose options.
大规模定制是聪明的折中： 仍然是流水线，却让每位顾客都能选择自己的配置。
Two modern pressures.
有两股现代压力。
Sustainability means meeting today's needs without harming the future or the planet: cutting waste, using less energy, recycling, and choosing materials that can be replaced.
可持续性是指在满足今天需求的同时，不损害未来和地球： 减少浪费、少用能源、回收再利用，并选择可以再生的材料。
And technology is everywhere in operations.
而技术在运营中无处不在。
Automation — machines and robots doing the tasks — raises output, improves quality and lowers cost.
自动化——由机器和机器人来完成任务—— 提高产量、改善质量并降低成本。
But it carries a high set-up cost, and it can replace people's jobs.
但它前期投入很高，也可能取代人的工作岗位。
Inventory — stock — is the goods a business is holding: raw materials, part-finished goods, and finished goods waiting to be sold.
库存——也就是存货——是企业持有的货物：原材料、半成品， 以及等待售出的成品。
A firm holds it so it can keep producing and fill orders quickly.
企业持有库存，是为了能持续生产并迅速满足订单。
But holding stock costs money: storage, insurance, and cash tied up in goods that are just sitting there.
但持有库存要花钱：仓储、保险，还有被压在货物上的现金。
Add the risk that they go out of date or get damaged.
再加上货物过期或损坏的风险。
Holding too little is risky as well — run out, and you lose the sale.
持有太少同样有风险—— 一旦断货，你就丢掉了这笔生意。
An inventory control chart shows the whole cycle.
库存控制图展示了完整的循环。
Stock falls steadily as it is used.
随着不断被使用，存货稳定地下降。
When it reaches the re-order level, a new order goes out.
当它降到再订货水平时，就发出一张新订单。
The lead time is the wait between ordering and receiving.
交货周期是下单到收货之间的等待时间。
When the delivery arrives, stock jumps back up to the maximum.
货一到，存货就跳回最大库存。
And underneath it all sits the buffer inventory — a safety level the firm tries never to drop below, in case a delivery is late or demand spikes.
而在这一切之下是缓冲库存—— 一条企业尽量绝不跌破的安全线，以防交货延迟或需求突然增加。
Watch the sawtooth repeat.
看这条锯齿线不断重复。
Two philosophies of stock.
关于存货有两种理念。
Just-in-time means stock arrives only as it is needed, so almost nothing is held.
准时制是指存货只在需要时才到达，因此几乎不持有库存。
Holding costs and waste collapse — but one late delivery can stop the entire line.
持有成本和浪费大幅下降——但一次延误的交货就可能让整条生产线停摆。
Just-in-case does the opposite: extra stock is held deliberately, in case of problems.
备货制正好相反：刻意多备一些存货，以防出问题。
Safer, but you pay to store it.
更安全，但你要为仓储付钱。
JIT versus JIC is a trade-off between cost and risk — low holding cost against delivery risk, security of supply against higher cost — and the right answer depends on how reliable your suppliers are.
这个选择是成本与风险之间的取舍，正确答案取决于你的供应商有多可靠。
Capacity is the most a business can produce with the resources it has now.
产能是企业用现有资源所能生产的最大数量。
Capacity utilisation is actual output divided by maximum possible output, times one hundred.
产能利用率等于实际产出除以最大可能产出，再乘以一百。
Under-utilisation means machines and people sitting idle, so the fixed costs are spread thinly and each unit costs more.
产能利用不足意味着机器和人闲着，固定成本摊得很薄，每件产品因此更贵。
Over-utilisation is a problem too: at nearly a hundred percent there is no time for repairs, staff get tired, and quality slips.
产能过度利用同样是问题：接近百分之百时没有时间检修，员工疲劳，质量下滑。
Most firms aim for about eighty-five to ninety percent.
多数企业的目标大约是百分之八十五到九十。
A factory can make five thousand units a week, but currently makes four thousand.
一家工厂每周最多能生产五千件，但目前只生产四千件。
Find its capacity utilisation.
求它的产能利用率。
Pause and try it.
先暂停，自己算一算。
Four thousand divided by five thousand, times one hundred, is eighty percent — so twenty percent is spare.
四千除以五千，再乘以一百，等于百分之八十—— 也就是说还有百分之二十的闲置。
Now win an order for another five hundred units a week.
现在再接到每周五百件的订单。
Utilisation rises to ninety percent, and the fixed costs spread over more units, with no new machines needed at all.
利用率升到百分之九十，固定成本分摊到更多产品上， 而且完全不需要添置新机器。
Finally, outsourcing.
最后是外包。
Outsourcing means paying another firm to do work you used to do yourself — cleaning, IT, or making a component.
外包是指付钱让另一家企业去做你原本自己做的工作—— 保洁、信息技术，或者生产某个零件。
The benefits are real: it is often cheaper, it lets you focus on what you do best, and it adds flexibility when demand changes.
好处是实实在在的： 通常更便宜，能让你专注于自己最擅长的事，需求变化时也更灵活。
But you give something up: less control over quality, possible delays, and the risk of sharing what you know with another company.
但你也放弃了一些东西：对质量的控制变弱、可能出现延误， 还有把自己的技术和信息透露给别家企业的风险。
A paper might ask which method of production suits a wedding cake, and which suits bottled water.
试卷可能问，婚礼蛋糕适合哪种生产方式，瓶装水又适合哪种。
Pause and match them.
先暂停，把它们对应起来。
Step one: job production is one unique item, flexible but costly.
第一步：单件生产是一件一件做，灵活但单位成本高。
Step two: flow is a non-stop line, cheap per unit if demand is steady.
第二步：流水线不停地做，需求稳定时单位成本低。
Step three: batch sits in the middle, a group then a switch.
第三步：批量生产在中间，做完一批再换。
Match the method to the product and the size of the order.
把方式和产品、订单规模对应起来。
Four things to take with you.
带走四件事。
First, operations add value by turning inputs into outputs.
第一，运营通过把投入变成产出而增值。
Second, productivity is output over the input used.
第二，生产率是产出除以所用投入。
Third, match job, batch and flow to the product.
第三，把单件、批量和流水对应到产品上。
Fourth, JIT cuts holding cost, but a late delivery can stop the line.
第四，准时制降低持有成本，但一次延误的交货就能让生产线停摆。
Three marks students give away.
三个学生白白丢掉的分。
First, calculate capacity utilisation and productivity, then interpret them — high utilisation spreads fixed costs, but leaves no slack for a breakdown or a new order.
第一，算出产能利用率和生产率，然后解释它们的含义—— 高利用率能摊薄固定成本，却没有余地应对故障或新订单。
Second, read an inventory control chart properly: re-order level, lead time, buffer stock, maximum stock.
第二，正确读懂库存控制图：再订货水平、交货周期、缓冲库存、最大库存。
Third, match the production method to the product and the order size before you evaluate.
第三，评价之前先把生产方式与产品和订单规模对应起来。 第三，评价之前先把生产方式与产品和订单规模对应起来。
Get these right, and this topic is yours.
把这些做对，这个专题就是你的了。