ABSTRACT
If we put together the implications of the increased consumption by human beings (Chapter 5), the supply chain complexity at a global level (Chapter 3), the demands and threats associated with sustainability and responsibility (Chapter 5), and the need for constantly improving quality (Chapter 8), we can envisage that the future of operations management will be fundamentally concerned with heightened, global competition and a corresponding need to provide customer service and satisfaction. This may have been seen in the past as the responsibility of sales, marketing, and after-sales service departments. In the future we may expect it to be reflected in the role of operations management.
