Operations Management refers to the control of operational processes. The processes convert inputs (material, information, financial resources) into outputs (products, services) embedded in a transformation system that consists of equipment, information systems and people. We mainly focus on industrial transformation processes, services processes and health care processes. 

The operations management function holds the primal responsibility for the production of goods and services – the fundamental raison d’être of an organization. As such it is the integrating link between various other functions such as management strategy, product and service development, engineering, procurement, marketing, human resource management, accounting, finance, etc.

The operations management group has gained expertise in the following domains which constitute its global fields of education and research:

1. the development of an operations management strategy providing the supporting and implementation base of and the driving force behind the corporate strategy
2. the design of
   
   - products and services (product design)
   - the transformation process (process design)
   - the network of operations (supply network, location, capacity setting, distribution chain)
3. the design and management of
   - the lay-out (facilities design, facilities layout) of the production and service areas
   - the warehouses
   - the material flow and the materials handling system
4. the selection, implementation and management of
   - the process technology
   - the automation
   - the information network
5. job design and work organization
6. planning and control :
   - demand management
   - aggregate planning
   - master production planning and scheduling
   - capacity management
   - inventory management
   - supply network management
   - external distribution and logistics
   - production planning and control
     (Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS), Just-In-Time (JIT), Theory of Constraints (TOC),...)
   - project management (planning, scheduling and control)
   - shop floor control, finite capacity scheduling and sequencing.
7. quality management
8. supporting tools such as queuing models, stochastic models, combinatorial optimization and simulation.
9. management of the enterprise environment (safety, environmental issues, reverse logistics)
10. integration and fine tuning of the operations in the global logistics network