Insights
Practical perspectives on global operations, manufacturing, supply chain, sourcing, automation, and execution.
Operis Global insights focus on the fundamentals behind better operational decisions: where technology helps, where execution breaks down, and how organizations turn visibility into value.
Supply Chain Operations
The Best Supply Chain Tool Is Sometimes a Telephone
Visibility is not the same as engagement. A practical look at why dashboards, emails, portals, and AI do not replace ownership, supplier relationships, and direct problem solving.
Footprint Strategy
Manufacturing Footprint Is a Board-Level Decision Now
Manufacturing footprint is no longer just a sourcing decision. It is an enterprise strategy that affects margin, cash, resilience, and customer delivery.
Global Sourcing
China-And, Not China-Minus
Diversification is real. Decoupling is not. Most "leaving China" plans move the assembly, the invoice, and the country of origin, but not the capability. A field-tested look at what global sourcing really takes.
Industrial Automation
Automation ROI Starts Before the Purchase Order
Automation value begins before capital is committed. ROI depends on the constraint, process readiness, sourcing strategy, installation reality, stakeholder alignment, and post-launch ownership.
International Trade
China Is Too Big to Fail
China plus one is still the right strategy, but the “plus one” is a hedge, not an exit. A practical look at tariffs, trade rerouting, advanced manufacturing value chains, and why disciplined optionality beats decoupling slogans.
Global Sourcing
India Isn't the Backup Plan
Every China+1 plan becomes a map: Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico. Most companies stop there. That's the mistake. Vietnam gives you a lower-cost place to assemble. India gives you engineers. Why India isn't the reroute but the build, where manufacturing capability actually compounds, and how to use each country for what it does best.
Industrial Automation
What the Factory Photos Don't Show
You've seen the videos: a humanoid robot on the factory floor, working next to people. Here's what the photo doesn't show. The fence. Half a million US manufacturing jobs sit open and the investment is real, but capital is not capability. Where humanoid robots actually stand, and why the near-term winner is the automation you can deploy today.