The operations strategy - say Chase, Aquilano and Jacobs - refers to the development of policies and plans for the use of company resources in support of the competitiveness of the company long term. The word "strategy" always involves a long-term process that seeks to promote the implementation of changes necessary for better alignment and business response to the changing requirements of the context, ie the achievement of objectives of a permanent nature in the midst of changing circumstances .

In industrial enterprises, the "operations" refers mainly to manufacturing and other activities directly related thereto, namely, the transformation of raw materials and other inputs into finished products. In utilities, operations in their present strategy some similarities (especially if the service has a strong component of support material) and some specific differences that we shall see.

The operations strategy coordinates the operational targets with the goals of the organization as a whole, into a broader scale. These broad goals of the firm change over time, so that operations strategy should be designed so that anticipates future needs.