Abstract
"There have been many significant changes in operation management during the past few years, involving such aspects as quality, reduction in inventory and costs, improving delivery and lead times.? Indeed, Operations Management is in a continuous evolution, always adapting itself in order to run a business in the most efficient way possible, to meet the demanding and inconstant expectations of firms. We will dwell upon these changes, see where they come from, and understand their impacts on Operations Management from the era of industrialization to the present. Operations Management is one of the three core functions every organization (for profit or not, manufacturing or service) has. It is responsible for planning, coordinating, and controlling the resources needed to produce a company's product or service. It creates value transforming inputs (money, workers, material) into outputs (the product the company will sell). Operations Management has evolved a lot, and rapidly, following the evolution of companies and their expectations. Until the 1980's, the main objective was to minimize firms' costs. Adapting themselves to the demand, businesses then focused on the quality of their products, and entered the mass customization era in 1995.
