The last 20 years have seen many changes that have affected nearly every aspect of business—including operations management. As a result, operations management is a field in transition that demands new tools, concepts, and approaches to meet new challenges. Three key shifts in operations management that are reflected in this book include:

• From a focus on the internal system to a focus on the supply chain In today's highly competitive business environment, organizations must leverage the capabilities of their suppliers and customers. Operations managers must look beyond the “four walls” of the firm and take an integrated supply chain perspective of operations.
• From a local focus to a global focus As Thomas L. Friedman (2006) pointed out, 1 the world is indeed flat. Business solutions generated in Argentina are used to meet needs in the United States and parts built by suppliers located in China are used to assemble cars in Canada . Commercial needs have overcome, to a large part, national borders presenting new opportunities and challenges for operations managers.
• From an emphasis on tools and techniques to an emphasis on systems, people, and processes To be successful, operations managers must think more broadly than just the application of analytical tools and techniques. They must take a systems view to address important managerial issues such as designing processes, working with people, managing information flows, and building inter-organizational relationships.

Managing Operations Across the Supply Chain incorporates these key shifts in operations management. The book provides a global, supply chain perspective of operations management for students in introductory courses in operations management and supply chain management courses that do not require an operations management prerequisite. While the book is primarily written for undergraduates, we believe that it also can be used effectively in MBA courses. There are several features that help to differentiate this book in its view of operations management:

• Broader Treatment of Operations Management Although many operations management textbooks have revised or added a chapter to address supply chain issues, we developed our book from the ground up to effectively integrate operations management and the supply chain. The primary focus of the book is operations management but we provide a “supply chain” perspective. Operations management cuts across a firm's boundaries bringing together its internal activities with the operations of customers, suppliers, and other partners around the world. We clarify the functional roles of operations, supply management, and logistics while examining the integrative processes that make up the supply chain. One unique aspect of the book is that we examine both the upstream (supply-side) and downstream (demand-side) aspects of the supply chain, including a discussion of marketing and customer relationships.
• Balanced Treatment The book balances the quantitative and qualitative coverage needed to equip operations and supply chain managers for the challenges and opportunities they face. It describes and applies analytical tools that operations managers use to support decision making. However, we also address the important managerial issues such as systems, people, and processes that are critical in a supply chain context.
• Use of Integrative Frameworks The various elements of operations management are introduced and developed using an operations strategy framework that brings together three critical elements: (1) the critical customer, (2) the value proposition, and (3) capabilities. Furthermore, the students are introduced to operations management in a structured way that begins with the “big” picture of operations strategy, proceeds to the foundations of operations management, integrating relationships, planning for integrated supply chain operations, and then ending with a discussion of how to manage the system looking to the future.
• Use of Three Integrating Themes Three key themes are highlighted throughout the book: global issues, relationships, and sustainability. Because most organizations have supply chains that reach beyond a single country, we examine global issues associated with operations and supply chain management. Organizations must collaborate with customers and suppliers to accomplish many operations activities. Thus, the book showcases how to build, maintain, and benefit from cross-functional and inter-organizational relationships. To reduce costs and be competitive organizations today must adapt sustainable business practices. In fact, we expect sustainability to increasingly become a key metric for operations and supply chain management performance.
• Real, Integrated Examples The book brings operations and supply chain management to life through opening vignettes, Get Real highlights, and rich examples throughout the book. Companies such as Disney/Pixar®, HP, Boeing, IKEA, American Apparel, Starbucks, and Procter & Gamble to name a few, are used to illustrate how to address real operations and supply chain challenges. Managing Operations Across the Supply Chain offers a new, global, supply chain perspective of operations management—a treatment that embraces the foundations of operations management but includes new frameworks, concepts, and tools to address the demands of today and changing needs of the future. The book is organized into five major sections:
• Part 1 Supply Chain: A Perspective for Operations Management provides an overview of operations management as a field, and describes the strategic role operations has in business from the perspective of supply chain management.
• Part 2 Foundations of Operations Management discusses foundation process concepts and principles that govern all operational activities. This section examines concepts such as product/process innovation, quality, lean, and inventory fundamentals.
• Part 3 Integrating Relationships Across the Supply Chain deals with the primary functional relationships between internal operations management activities and other operational functions both inside and outside the firm. This section describes customer relationship management, supply management, and logistics management.
• Part 4 Planning for Integrated Operations Across the Supply Chain discusses planning approaches and technologies used at different levels of operations decision making. Key topics such as demand planning, forecasting, sales and operations planning, inventory management, and materials requirements planning are examined.
• Part 5 Managing Change in Supply Chain Operations discusses how operations managers use projects, change programs, and technologies to shape the future of operations and supply chain management.