HOW TO START USING IT

Recognizing the Opportunity

Begin with a general review of your organization, its departments, and its processes. Look for difficult decisions that could benefit from the analysis of large amounts of data – like where to locate a new plant or how to make a manufacturing process more efficient. Look for complex processes that are being performed manually or with outdated systems. Look for important decisions that are made every day that might benefit from real-time data driven insight.

Are you gaining the most from your supply chain, logistics, or ERP system? Your manufacturing processes? The way you deliver your services, set your prices, or evaluate your portfolio? These are all areas where O.R. can help you make significant improvements.

Looking for other ways to spot O.R. opportunities? Go to 5 Signs You Could Benefit from Operations Research.

An O.R. professional can help you assess your challenge
One of the most important things an O.R. professional can do for you is help you determine to what extent O.R. could deliver improvements in response to the challenge or opportunity you have in mind.

Usually you will want to call in a senior professional whose experience is at least generally, if not specifically, in the realm of your prospective application.

Sometimes one conversation is sufficient to identify how O.R. could help and what benefits it could deliver. Other times a conversation, a quick investigation by the O.R. professional, and a second conversation will complete the assessment. In the most complex situations, the O.R. professional may need to carry out a systematic assessment study that entails gathering information and possibly trying out analytical approaches.

Where can you find the O.R. resources you need to take advantage of your opportunities? Go to Sources of O.R. Expertise.