McKinsey & Company Skip main navigation

Insights & Publications

Operations

UrbanWorldA_1536x1152_Thumbnail
report | McKinsey Global Institute

Urban world: The shifting global business landscape

October 2013—By 2025, almost half of the world’s biggest companies will probably be based in emerging markets, profoundly altering global competitive dynamics.more

  • includes:
    •  

Editor's choice

HealthCareSupplyChain_1536x1152_Thumbnail
article

Strengthening health care’s supply chain: A five-step plan

September 2013—Dramatically changing the sector’s inefficient supply chain may eliminate the dangers posed by counterfeiting and medication errors.more

  • includes:
    •  
art
interview

The Internet of Things and the future of manufacturing

June 2013—Executives at Robert Bosch and McKinsey experts discuss the technology-driven changes that promise to trigger a new industrial revolution.more

art
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Retail economics in the era of one-day delivery

May 2013—Retailers can respond by harnessing existing store locations and forging relationships with outside distributors.more

art
interview

China’s next chapter: Tech, manufacturing, and innovation

June 2013—McKinsey partners explore China’s coming technology transformation, the challenges facing manufacturers, and an exciting new wave of innovative enterprise sparked by high mobile penetration and social media.more

  • includes:
    •  
art
article | McKinsey Quarterly

A new era for manufacturing in China

June 2013—Companies that continue to base their manufacturing strategies solely on China’s rock-bottom wages and stratospheric domestic growth rates are in for a rude awakening. New challenges will require new competitive priorities.more

China's innovation engine picks up speed
article | McKinsey Quarterly

China’s innovation engine picks up speed

June 2013—Meaningful advances are emerging in fields ranging from genomics to mobile apps—and what’s happening beneath the surface may be even more significant.more

busu13_frth_Thumbnail
article

Building superior capabilities for strategic sourcing

May 2013—Purchased materials and services often make up 60 to 80 percent of a product’s cost. Companies that don’t invest in the purchasing team’s capabilities are throwing away value.more

dewi13_frth_Thumbnail
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Developing winning products for emerging markets

May 2013—To master the extremes of a fast-changing competitive landscape, challenge your company’s assumptions about designing, developing, and manufacturing  products for these regions.more

depr12_frth_001_Thumbnail
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Designing products for value

October 2012—Learn how leading companies combine insights about customers, competitors, and costs to develop more innovative and cost-effective products.more

From supply chains to supply circles
infographic

From supply chains to supply circles

June 2012–New business models that rethink ownership can shift value along the supply circle.more

mafu12_frth_Thumbnail
report | McKinsey Global Institute

Manufacturing the future: The next era of global growth and innovation

November 2012—Manufacturing remains a critical force in both advanced and developing economies. But the sector has changed, bringing new opportunities and challenges to business leaders and policy makers. more

  • includes:
    •  
agop12_frth_Thumbnail
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Agile operations for volatile times

May 2012—By improving how risk is measured—and managed—in global operations, companies can adapt to changing conditions faster than competitors.more

hufa12_frth_Thumbnail
article | McKinsey Quarterly

The human factor in service design

January 2012—Focus on the human side of customer service to make it psychologically savvy, economically sound, and easier to scale. more

busu11_frth_Thumbnail
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Building the supply chain of the future

January 2011—Getting there means ditching today’s monolithic model in favor of splintered supply chains that dismantle complexity, and using manufacturing networks to hedge uncertainty.more

tait11_frth_Thumbnail
article

Tailoring IT to global operations

November 2011—Complex enterprise-resource-planning systems often fail because of the local-versus-global conundrum. By focusing on a handful of agreed-upon business priorities, IT executives can break the impasse. more

About this content

The material on this page draws on the research and experience of McKinsey consultants and other sources. To learn more about our expertise, please visit the McKinsey Global Institute, Operations Practice, Sustainability & Resource Productivity Practice.