This indispensable text offers students a high quality treatment of strategic operations management. It provides the reader with a clear understanding of the importance and nature of operations strategy by determining exactly which management activities, core competencies, resources and technologies underpin an operational strategy. The book demonstrates how various operational elements and components can be combined and customised into unique operational strategies. When these strategies are correctly implemented, they provide sustainable competitive advantage and allow firms to provide a diverse range of services and goods in their increasingly demanding, complex and dynamic marketplaces and spaces. Includes chapters covering customising operational strategies for retail, manufacturing, services and SMEs, and sections on eBusiness and complexity theory in relation to operations theory. Features include: *extended case-studies including several from Europe and the USA *case vignettes *learning objectives *key terms *chapter introduction and 'maps' to aid reader accessibility *'time out' boxes to prompt the reader to reflect on what has been learnt *'critical reflection boxes that analyse theories and models.