OM Major & Tracks
Please click here to view the slides shown in the above video presentation.
If you like to understand the processes that create value in a business, if you enjoy coming up with ideas for improvement and implementing them, if you believe in the power of rigorous analysis to make better decisions, then the Operations Management (OM) major is for you.
OM aims to help companies realize their full potential by efficiently utilizing their resources to create outstanding goods and services in a timely fashion. As such, a job in OM has a direct impact on the bottom line and requires quantitative and qualitative skills in equal measure. Quantitative skills will serve you well when identifying, collecting and analysing data. It is your qualitative skills that will transform the data into insights based on which you can then implement reasoned change.
Exciting job opportunities across multiple industries in different roles await you. As a sample, our graduates have joined a diverse set of companies, such as P&G, JPMorgan, DHL and SingHealth. Starting jobs as business process analyst, procurement, transportation or logistics planner, supply chain value expert and quality improvement manager show the breadth of applications within those companies.
Operations Management Major
Operations Management Core - 2 course units
Students are required to complete the following two courses. These two courses give you a strong foundation in the field of OM.
- OPIM311 Service Processes
- OPIM321 Supply Chain Management
Operations Management Electives - 4 course units
Students are required to complete 4 CUs of Operations Management Electives. These courses allow you to focus on individual links in the supply chain, learn more on trending issues in OM or pick up new skills with varied application. Some examples of our electives are listed below and we refer you to the full list here for further details on each elective course.
- OPIM313 Project Management
- MGMT317 Management Process Improvement
- OPIM324 Global Supply Chains
- OPIM326 Service and Operations Analytics
- OPIM346 Operations and Supply Chain Management in Healthcare
Operations Management Tracks
Students on the Operations Management major may also choose to pursue one of the specialisation tracks listed below. Where applicable, students may double-count courses taken to fulfil the track requirements towards the Operations Management Electives requirement.
Operations Management Second Major
Operations Management Second Major Core - 4 course units
Non-BBM students are required to complete the following courses.
- OPIM311 Service Processes
- OPIM321 Supply Chain Management
- OPIM101 Decision Analysis
- OPIM201 Operations Management
Operations Management Second Major Electives - 4 course units
Students are require to complete 4 CUs of Operations Management Second Major Electives. These must include 1 CU from the following:
- FNCE101 Finance/ FNCE103 Finance for Law
- ACCT101 Financial Accounting/ ACCT105 Financial Accounting for Law
- COR-COMM1304 Management Communication
- OBHR101 Management of People at Work
- MKTG101 Marketing
- MGMT102 Strategy
Students may fulfil the remaining requirement by completing 3 other Operations Management Second Major Electives, such as:
- OPIM313 Project Management
- MGMT317 Managing Process Improvement
- OPIM324 Global Supply Chains
- OPIM326 Service and Operations Analytics
- OPIM346 Operations and Supply Chain Management in Healthcare
Refer to the full list here for further details on each OM elective course.
Operations Management Tracks
Students on the Operations Management Second Major may also choose to pursue one of the specialisation tracks listed below. Where applicable, students may double-count courses taken to fulfil the track requirements towards the Operations Management Second Major Electives requirement.
Over the years, Excel has evolved to meet business needs, becoming the to-go tool for a variety of functional roles in any company. As such, Excel has become increasingly useful and embedded in business processes worldwide. During the course of your study, the OM major equips you with some necessary Excel skill sets. We refer you to the following table for the details.
The following table describes the Excel skills that you would learn in the OM major
Course Code | Course Name | Excel Skills Learned |
MGMT108 | Introduction to Business Analytics | Excel commands (e.g., vLookup, INDEX, MATCH); cross sectional and time series regression analysis; logit and probit regressions using RegressIt add-in; Solver add-in; visualization (scatterplot, boxplot, bar chart, pie chart, histogram, line graphs); pivot table; simulation (data table) |
OPIM 101 | Decision Analysis | Basic Excel commands; Solver add-in |
OPIM 201 | Operations Management | Basic Excel commands |
OPIM 311 | Service Processes | Basic Excel commands, Monte Carlo simulation |
OPIM 313 | Project Management | Use Excel to set up a simulation model, to create a project network diagram and to identify the critical path for a project |
OPIM 314 | Logistics and Transportation Management | Solver add-in |
OPIM 319 | Operations Strategy | Use Excel to calculate expected net present value of capacity expansion options under probabilistic scenarios |
OPIM 321 | Supply Chain Management | Excel setup and the use of Solver add-in for supply chain optimization and revenue management |
OPIM 322 | High Performance Warehousing and Fulfilment | Data processing; optimization using Solver/OpenSolver add-in |
OPIM 324 | Global Supply Chain | Use Excel commands (e.g., INDEX) to demonstrate supply chain concepts |
OPIM 346 | OM and SCM in Healthcare | Qmacros add-in; general use of Excel |
OPIM 348 | Supply Chain Analytics | Excel commands (e.g., vLookup); pivot table; data analysis; regression analysis using RegressIt add-in |
Need further advice?
If you would like to get any further advice on majoring in OM, please feel free to contact the OM academic advisors: Prof Guiyun Feng (gyfeng@smu.edu.sg), Prof Buket Avci (buketavci@smu.edu.sg) or Prof Marcus Ang (marcusang@smu.edu.sg).
OM in the news:
Associate Professor Onur Boyabatli shares his research which proposes a sustainable crop allocation policy to help farmers choose which crops to grow on their farmland while optimising their profitability.
Associate Professor Lim Yun Fong discusses the key developments and trends in the retail sector, and shares his insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by retailers today.
Reducing inventory and improving service? Operations analytics is changing operations as Big Data and AI come together to predict demand at e-commerce company Otto in Germany.
The CEO of RedMart talks about their successful operations backend - supplier management, inventory management, logistics and more.
Apple is known for its design – but its hidden operational excellence makes all the difference in delivering those great products to the customer.
