Operations Insights

Operations

Circular Business Models Unlock New Profit and Growth

Companies are using circular strategies to reap economic benefits.

Automotive

From China to Trouble?

Swapping supply chains doesn’t mean escaping risk.

Automation

Breaking the G&A Cost Cycle

How leading companies are unlocking sustainable efficiency.

Supply Chain

Beyond Tariffs: The Supply Chain Reinvention Imperative

Tariffs are accelerating businesses’ operations overhaul. Winning in today’s disrupted world demands bold trade-offs and strategic transformation.

Supply Chain

Nearshoring: Overcoming the Obstacles

Most companies want to bring production closer to home, but rerouting supply chains is complicated.

Support Functions

What CFOs Need to Know About Inflation, Tariffs, and Capital Markets

Goldman Sachs’ Tim Ingrassia joins Bain's Karen Harris and Pam Yee to unpack the macro forces shaping the CFO agenda.

Strategy

Executives’ Top Worry About Tariffs? Uncertainty.

The lack of clarity about US policy is COOs' biggest concern, outweighing cost increases.

Energy & Natural Resources

Building a Resilient Plastic Circularity Framework in Southeast Asia

Key interventions across the value chain can help Southeast Asia propel plastic circularity.

Operations

Tariffs Are Shaking Up Investment Priorities

As input costs rise, companies are revising forecasts and shifting capital to supply chains and tech.

Advanced Manufacturing & Services

When Less Is More: Shifting Gears in Automotive R&D

To remain competitive, it’s time for traditional OEMs to prune product portfolios and boost R&D efficiency.

Financial Services

Will North American Banks Get Serious About Efficiency?

They still have too many branches, paper checks, and manual processes.

Advanced Manufacturing & Services

What Keeps Top Auto Suppliers Ahead of the Profitability Curve?

Companies that prioritize operational excellence can stay on top, even in the face of economic headwinds.

Leadership & Talent

How to Build a Winning Finance Team

Technology and analytics provide new tools to improve performance.

Corporate Strategy

To Avoid Activist Investors, Think Like Them

CFOs can prepare for—and reduce—activism risk with a strong strategy that is well executed and well communicated.

Oil & Gas

Sustainable Aviation Fuel: The Supply Race Is On

European production is projected to fall nearly 20% short of mandate-driven demand by 2030, a big opportunity for global feedstock suppliers and refiners that invest now.

Procurement

Tariffs: The Costs of Inaction

Trade levies are more than a headline. As tariffs tighten their grip on global commerce, companies must act decisively to mitigate risks and seize opportunities.

Automotive

How Focus Fuels Superior Margins for Automotive Suppliers

Specialization, paired with operational excellence, can deliver higher margins than chasing multiple markets.

Vector℠

Better, Faster, Leaner: Reinventing HR with Generative AI

By unlocking a more personalized and cost-efficient employee experience, generative AI makes HR more human—not less.

Supply Chain

Not-So-Distant Shores

Amid geopolitical uncertainties and rising costs, more companies are planning to move supply chains and operations closer to home while reducing dependence on China.

Full Potential Transformation

Transform Your Company’s Performance with an Owner’s Mindset

Winners make productivity a strategic priority.

Automotive

Under the Hood: What’s Powering Automotive Suppliers’ Profit Pool Growth?

Industry trends have shifted over the past two decades, and the semiconductor and battery subsectors are reaping the rewards.

Insurance

The $100 Billion Opportunity for Generative AI in P&C Claims Handling

To improve productivity and the claims experience, insurers will need to scale up the most promising initiatives.

Metals

AI Is Revolutionizing Industrial Operations

Supply chain planning, procurement enhancements, manufacturing optimization, and engineering augmentation are emerging AI opportunities.

Mining

Improving Capital Project Delivery Systems

Bain experts reveal how top energy companies are revolutionizing their capital project delivery to excel in cost, timing, and quality in the energy transition.

Support Functions

A CFO’s Best Defense Against Activist Investors? Think Like Them

Activists are hunting for missing value. Being prepared for them makes sense, but the best move is to beat them at their own game.

Automotive

Strategic Focus Drives Profitability for Automotive Suppliers

Twenty years of data shows that it’s possible to expand profitability through focus and scale in innovation-supported segments.

Advanced Manufacturing & Services

Prepare for the Coming AI Chip Shortage

While businesses couldn’t predict the pandemic, they can guard against the next big threat to semiconductor supply chains.

Technology

To Deploy Generative AI Successfully, Look to Earlier Automations

The most experienced firms are widening their lead in cost savings and productivity.

Procurement

Ready, Set, Go: AI Is Poised to Automate Procurement

By 2027, the activities that fill a procurement worker's typical nine-hour workday will shrink to less than one hour.

Automotive

Navigating Ups-and-Downs in the Automotive Supplier Industry

The industry has maintained profitability for 20 years, but remains vulnerable to volume fluctuations.

Chemicals

How to Master the Art of Selling Sustainability

Our survey of 500 B2B buyers and sellers shows a widening chasm on sustainability. A new industrial sales model is needed to close this buy-sell gap.

Consumer Products

How CEOs Can Turn Decarbonization Setbacks into Progress

Successful companies are establishing a strong business case and then collaborating across the value chain.

Advanced Manufacturing & Services

All Together Now: Partnerships Are Key to Circularity

Broad alliances help circular businesses increase revenues and gain new customers.

Higher Education

Zero-Based Redesign: The Key to Realizing Gen AI’s Cost Savings Potential

Productivity gains alone won’t create ROI for companies investing in generative AI.

Advanced Manufacturing & Services

Mexico At a Crossroads: Is It Missing Out On Its Opportunity For Nearshoring?

Maximizing the value of nearshoring and accelerating Mexico’s growth and development requires overcoming critical challenges in infrastructure, services, and security.