Operations Business Analyst Role Description

Operations business analysts join the Firm as part of an intensive consultant training program. The program is designed for high potential individuals interested in learning world-class operations, productivity tools, and their application. Currently, our analysts have the opportunity to choose one of five focus areas: manufacturing/production (MFG), product development (PD), purchasing and supply management (PSM), supply chain management (SCM), and service operations (SO). During the program, analysts spend most of their time apprenticing and consulting on structured client projects, supplemented with regular expert instruction in their knowledge focus area. Details of each focus area are below.

Manufacturing focus—Production Systems Design Center (PSDC)
In the PSDC, our consultants deliver significant client impact through operational transformations. Our analysts gain operations and consulting skills through an apprenticeship model that includes client work, structured training, and knowledge development.

Examples of our work include:

• Improving cycle time and capacity across a semiconductor manufacturing network
• Implementing a quality transformation at a large furniture manufacturer
• Determining the improvement potential of aircraft maintenance business

The ideal PSDC candidate will have a strong interest in manufacturing, production, the application of lean principles, and work well in a team environment. Analysts must be able to work effectively at all levels of an organization—with frontline operators, managers, and senior executives—so strong interpersonal skills are vital.

We are looking for applicants with backgrounds in operations research, industrial engineering, management science, mathematics, computer science, or another technical discipline. Holders of advanced degrees are preferred.

Product Development focus (PD)
At McKinsey, we help organizations develop products and services that fit market needs, and deliver attractive margins and growth platforms for future business success. McKinsey’s work in product development (PD) includes a wide range of services that cover three primary company objectives: Creating "smart" products, achieving smooth and savvy product development execution, and developing superior R&D and PD competencies. We serve a wide range of sectors with the largest representation in hightech and telecom, pharma & medical products, automotive & assembly based industries.

Examples of our work and areas of service include:

• Portfolio and Product Strategy: Betting on the right technologies, creating superior product concepts and addressing the most attractive segments. Ensuring the companies product portfolio is consistent with its BU strategies, core capabilities and the competitive environment
• Design-to-Value: Delivering an integrated approach to improving product attractiveness, quality and reliability; improving product properties, and optimizing product margin
• Product Line Strategy: Providing an attractive product line with the optimal level of complexity, managing product attractiveness over time, and providing variety at minimum cost through product architecture, platforming and modularization
• System Diagnostics: Holistically understanding the core issues plaguing our client's PD effectiveness and recommending improvement priorities and their impact on the bottom-line
• Performance Transformation in R&D: Mastering the direction and implementation to transform the holistic R&D and PD system, achieving first impact through pilots, building client skills, institutionalizing change, and initializing continuous improvement
• R&D Organization & Globalization: Helping companies globalize for innovation by optimizing global R&D network design, R&D off-shoring, R&D center startup and management.

The ideal PD candidate will have a passion for analytical work and product development, work well in a team environment, and be a strong conceptual thinker. We are looking for applicants with backgrounds in product development, innovation, industrial engineering, manufacturing, or another technical discipline. Holders of advanced degrees are preferred.

Purchasing and Supply Management focus (PSMC)
The average company spends $0.50 of every revenue dollar on purchased goods and services. As a result, purchasing and supply management is one of the most critical levers to pull in driving competitiveness in companies today. The Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM) practice enables companies to create competitive advantage by helping them build sustainable world-class purchasing capabilities. Our approach goes beyond sourcing or simply analyzing and reducing the purchase price for a product or service; rather we pursue opportunities along the entire sourcing value chain with a focus on the total cost of ownership. Most often our work connects the functional areas (e.g., procurement, engineering, marketing, operations) to unlock the value previously unavailable without taking a truly cross-functional approach. The work we do is invaluable for our clients since it impacts their costs directly, often resulting in substantial savings for the client within the timeframe of the engagement itself.

Examples of our work include:

• Low cost country sourcing: Helping a leader in high tech appliances to build a China Sourcing Organization in just six months
• Design to cost: Enabling a large pulp and paper manufacturer to cut its purchasing spend and helping it integrate its global operations
• Capability building: Building capability at a leading airline to transform its purchasing department to best-in-class

The ideal PSMC candidate should not only be comfortable with analytical work, but also be passionate about orchestrating real change for clients. Our work very often requires us to work closely with clients, not only providing them with counsel, but also building their capability to enable them to develop their purchasing departments to world-class. A willingness to work in teams collaboratively is thus essential.

We are looking for applicants with backgrounds in computer science, engineering, management science, mathematics, or another technical discipline. Holders of advanced degrees or candidates with a prior background in Purchasing are preferred.

Service Operations focus—Service Operations Design Center (SODC)
The SODC is a group of consultants committed to helping clients create and execute service strategies that lead to competitive advantage and significant, measurable bottom-line impact.

As a member of client teams, our analysts drive work that focuses on service strategy, operations improvement, and transformation programs. This client work is supplemented with structured training and knowledge development to increase operations knowledge and consulting skills.

Examples of our work include:

• Improving the end-to-end customer experience at a cable provider by developing and implementing sustainable end-to-end improvement initiatives, such as improving the effectiveness of call center operators to prevent a service visit by a technician, and aligning the organizational culture to customer experience
• Developing and implementing an improved replenishment system including developing improved standard processes, building time standards, developing an implementation program, and creating a performance scorecard for a large grocer
• Improving the back-office process for a large insurance company to reduce the time required to process claims.

The ideal SODC candidate will have a strong interest in service-oriented operations and the application of lean principles. Work experience in an operations improvement/analysis function in a major service area (e.g., call centers, after-market service, back office, frontline performance) in service industries such as telecom, financial services, hospitals, hotels, retailers, airlines, etc. is also helpful. Analysts must be able to work effectively at all levels of an organization—with frontline operators, managers, and senior executives—so strong interpersonal skills are vital.

We are looking for applicants with backgrounds in operations research, industrial engineering, management science, mathematics, computer science, or another technical discipline. Holders of advanced degrees are preferred.

Supply Chain Management focus—Operations Management Center (OMC)
The OMC is group of consultants passionate about applying analytical methods to client problems in Supply Chain Management and Operations.

We regularly use Operations Research and Management techniques to solve real-life client problems. Yet as full-time, client-facing consultants, we have the opportunity to work with senior management of large, global corporations in a variety of industries.

Examples of our work include:

• Designing the global operations footprint that optimizes procurement, manufacturing and logistics operations for large multi-national companiesHelping a global pharmaceuticals client reduce inventory throughout its supply chain in part by using discrete event simulation
• Improving the efficiency of a leading grocer’s DC-to-store distribution system
• Creating and implementing a new scheduling system for a consumer-packaged goods company to improve the production efficiency of thousands of SKUs.

The ideal OMC candidate will have a passion for analytical work and supply chain management, work well in a team environment, and be a strong conceptual thinker. We are looking for applicants with backgrounds in operations research, industrial engineering, management science, mathematics, computer science, or another technical discipline. Holders of advanced degrees are preferred.