McKinsey Talks Operations podcast
Cutting through the noise to transform strategy into lasting operations success
Latest episode
Powering productivity: Operations insights for 2025
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Despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, the future of operations in 2025 is promising. Companies that lean into tech, cross-functional collaboration, and curiosity can power up productivity.
Recent episodes
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Procurement’s sustainable (r)evolution
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The procurement function regularly reinvents itself to find new sources of value. Is circularity the next opportunity on the horizon?
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In pursuit of productivity: How Minsur mined a rich seam of operational excellence
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After years of optimizing and expanding operations, Minsur set out to achieve next-generation operational excellence. The key: transforming the culture to foster empowerment and inclusive leadership.
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Innovation hubs: How GCCs are shaping the future of business
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Global capability centers (GCCs) are rapidly evolving beyond their traditional roles as execution centers, becoming increasingly important as enterprise innovation hubs.
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Future-proofing operations: How tech and talent go hand in hand
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Talent management starts by addressing workforce challenges, adapting to generational needs, leveraging technology in operations, and developing leadership for talent retention.
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The evolution of customer care: AI and the Gen Z effect
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Gen Z’s influence on consumer behavior and employment trends is driving contact center leaders to integrate AI, adapt to market changes, and implement holistic strategies for customer care.
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When failure is an option: Fostering organizational innovation and learning
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To achieve sustainable innovation, companies can embrace failure as a catalyst for driving change. Capability centers can enhance performance and promote learning in high-stakes operations.
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How product design can yield ‘triple wins’: Growth, margin, and sustainability
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Some consumer companies have simultaneously increased sales, cut costs, and reduced carbon emissions. Their secret? Paying closer attention to the design of their products and packaging.
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Generative AI in operations: Capturing the value
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Uncover the transformative power of generative AI within the operations value chain—shaping C-suite discussions across industries.
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Navigating the new normal: Operations insights for 2024
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Uncover a new operational reality in 2024—where productivity, technology enablement, and sustainability are the key drivers of future success.
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Manufacturing Africa’s future: Jobs, growth, and sustainability
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Africa’s anticipated population surge by 2050 will require robust job creation. Could the manufacturing sector provide roles for the next generation?
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Unlocking operational evolution: The zero-basing philosophy
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Zero-basing transcends cost cutting—offering leaders visibility into operations, investment, and growth strategies.
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Operational excellence: How purpose and technology can power performance
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Next-generation operational excellence is more than doing things well. It’s about uniting an organization around a common...
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Skinny design: Smaller is better
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The ability to improve cost savings, sustainability, and consumer benefits has proven skinny design packaging to be a powerful...
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Myth busters: Unexpected insights on contact centers
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By using facts rather than outdated assumptions, companies can shape their customer service strategies to better answer consumer...
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McKinsey Talks Operations: How the best from 2022 can power 2023
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Listen in as we recap this year’s critical conversations with industry experts on the real operational challenges being...
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Batteries included: Building and operating sustainable gigafactories
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As the demand for electric vehicles grows, so does the demand for the batteries to power them. Meeting that demand will require...
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Digital twins: Flying high, flexing fast
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Digital design and product development can provide new ways to solve complex problems. Getting implementation right means thoughtfully...
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114 down, 10 million to go: The Global Lighthouse Network’s mission
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Global Lighthouse Network members show that Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies help to deliver better workforce engagement,...
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Sustainable spaces: Countering climate risk in capital projects
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By taking a deeper, more comprehensive approach to understanding risk, companies can mitigate climate hazards and build resilience...
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Inflation fighter and value creator: Procurement’s best-kept secret
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New sources of value are available for businesses that use their procurement function to combat persistent inflation and build...
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Digital twins: What could they do for your business?
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Less waste, shorter times to market, constant customer insights: the advantages of applying digital twins are many—if you...
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The hidden value of voice conversations: Part 1, Trends and technologies
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Understanding more of what their customers are saying can help contact centers provide new sources of competitive advantage.
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The hidden value of voice conversations: Part 2, Reaping the rewards
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Voice analytics can help you understand more about what your customers are saying—if you know how to select and apply the...
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People and places: How and where to work next
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Selling, general, and administrative functions are integral to your organization’s success. What’s the best place...
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Coca-Cola: The people-first story of a digital transformation
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With thousands to train, the transformation of Coca-Cola’s commercial product supply operations needed buy-in from the...
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How to manage the coming wave of investment in capital projects
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About $130 trillion is expected to flow into infrastructure upgrades over the next five years. How can companies spend that most...
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Reaching net zero—what will it take?
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The quest for sustainability requires action on many fronts, with changes to supply networks, manufacturing processes, and business...
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A digital path to sustainability
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Sustainability and productivity needn’t be at odds when enabled by Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. And with...
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Smart operators: How leading companies use machine intelligence
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Despite the recent and significant advances in machine intelligence, the full scale of the opportunity is just beginning to unfold....
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Why business must heed customer reviews
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COVID-19 has made e-commerce more competitive than ever. Paying attention to customer reviews will give organizations a necessary...
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Prioritizing customer experience in government
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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the necessity to center customer experience in dealings with government agencies. This...
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The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be people powered
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Companies at the forefront of the technology frontier are empowering their workers with digital technologies—and the skills...
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Diagnosing the pain in your supply chain
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The COVID-19 pandemic has knocked global supply chains off their axes. But CEOs and other leaders can build resilience into...
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Supply-chain resilience: Is there a holy grail?
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Supply-chain disruptions cost the average organization 45 percent of one year’s profits over the course of a decade. How...
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McKinsey Talks Operations
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The new podcast from McKinsey’s Operations Practice explores cutting through the noise to transform strategy into lasting operations...
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