The process of operations strategy formulation is concerned with 'how' to reconcile market requirements with operations resources over the long term. The reason for these final two chapters is simple: in practice, achieving this alignment is much more difficult than it sounds, and although any simple step-by-step model of how to 'do' operations strategy will inevitably be a simplification of a messy reality, we shall use a four-stage model to illustrate some of the elements of 'process'. This stage model is shown in Figure 9.1. It divides the process of operations strategy into: formulation, implementation, monitoring and control. In this chapter we examine the first two of these stages: formulation and implementation. The following chapter looks at the final two stages: monitoring and control. KEY QUESTIONS . What is the 'formulation' of operations strategy? . What analysis is needed for formulation? What is operations strategy implementation? Figure 9.1 This chapter concerns the formulation and implementation stages of the process of operations strategy Operations strategy formulation Operations strategy control This chapter Operations strategy implementation Operations strategy monitoring