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McKinsey Talks Operations

Cutting through the noise to transform strategy into lasting operations success

The next normal demands agility, flexibility, and resilience. Join us on McKinsey Talks Operations, a podcast where the world’s C-suite leaders and McKinsey experts cut through the noise and uncover how to create a new operational reality.

Each episode considers the challenges companies and economies are facing, and the opportunities leaders can seize for competitive advantage. We’ll look at how to connect boardroom strategy to the frontlines, ways to increase performance, where and when to infuse operations with technology, and why empowering the workforce with skills and capabilities is key to success.

Latest episode

Moving supply chain leaders to the C-suite

– The authors of From Source to Sold discuss how supply chain leaders can take a seat at the boardroom table, becoming strategic leaders who help drive more resilient supply chains.

Recent episodes

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Operational excellence: How purpose and technology can power performance

– Next-generation operational excellence is more than doing things well. It’s about uniting an organization around a common purpose, process, and systems.
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Skinny design: Smaller is better

– The ability to improve cost savings, sustainability, and consumer benefits has proven skinny design packaging to be a powerful tool to maximize product volume and performance.
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Myth busters: Unexpected insights on contact centers

– By using facts rather than outdated assumptions, companies can shape their customer service strategies to better answer consumer and employee needs.
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McKinsey Talks Operations: How the best from 2022 can power 2023

– Listen in as we recap this year’s critical conversations with industry experts on the real operational challenges being faced by business leaders.
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Batteries included: Building and operating sustainable gigafactories

– As the demand for electric vehicles grows, so does the demand for the batteries to power them. Meeting that demand will require more gigafactories to be built at speed and scale.
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Digital twins: Flying high, flexing fast

– Digital design and product development can provide new ways to solve complex problems. Getting implementation right means thoughtfully translating big ideas into boots on the ground.
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114 down, 10 million to go: The Global Lighthouse Network’s mission

– Global Lighthouse Network members show that Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies help to deliver better workforce engagement, improved sustainability, and increased productivity.
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Sustainable spaces: Countering climate risk in capital projects

– By taking a deeper, more comprehensive approach to understanding risk, companies can mitigate climate hazards and build resilience into the life cycle of their infrastructure and capital projects.
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Inflation fighter and value creator: Procurement’s best-kept secret

– New sources of value are available for businesses that use their procurement function to combat persistent inflation and build resilience amid ongoing turbulence.
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Digital twins: What could they do for your business?

– Less waste, shorter times to market, constant customer insights: the advantages of applying digital twins are many—if you get the conditions right.
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The hidden value of voice conversations: Part 1, Trends and technologies

– Understanding more of what their customers are saying can help contact centers provide new sources of competitive advantage.
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The hidden value of voice conversations: Part 2, Reaping the rewards

– Voice analytics can help you understand more about what your customers are saying—if you know how to select and apply the technology.
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People and places: How and where to work next

– Selling, general, and administrative functions are integral to your organization’s success. What’s the best place for those people to work?
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Coca-Cola: The people-first story of a digital transformation

– With thousands to train, the transformation of Coca-Cola’s commercial product supply operations needed buy-in from the boardroom to the front line.
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How to manage the coming wave of investment in capital projects

– About $130 trillion is expected to flow into infrastructure upgrades over the next five years. How can companies spend that most efficiently?
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Reaching net zero—what will it take?

– The quest for sustainability requires action on many fronts, with changes to supply networks, manufacturing processes, and business models.
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A digital path to sustainability

– Sustainability and productivity needn’t be at odds when enabled by Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. And with an empowered workforce leading the way, outsize gains can be the result.
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Smart operators: How leading companies use machine intelligence

– Despite the recent and significant advances in machine intelligence, the full scale of the opportunity is just beginning to unfold. New research reveals why some companies are doing better than others.
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Why business must heed customer reviews

– COVID-19 has made e-commerce more competitive than ever. Paying attention to customer reviews will give organizations a necessary edge.
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Prioritizing customer experience in government

– The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the necessity to center customer experience in dealings with government agencies. This benefits customers, government employees, and agencies’ reputations alike.
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The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be people powered

– Companies at the forefront of the technology frontier are empowering their workers with digital technologies—and the skills they need to use them.
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Diagnosing the pain in your supply chain

– The COVID-19 pandemic has knocked global supply chains off their axes. But CEOs and other leaders can build resilience into their operations and reset supply chains for the next inevitable disruption.
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Supply-chain resilience: Is there a holy grail?

– Supply-chain disruptions cost the average organization 45 percent of one year’s profits over the course of a decade. How can businesses manage risk and plan for a more resilient future?
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McKinsey Talks Operations

– The new podcast from McKinsey’s Operations Practice explores cutting through the noise to transform strategy into lasting operations success.

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Connect with our Operations Practice