The research problem addressed in this study was aimed in assisting the management of Bridgestone/Firestone, Port Elizabeth plant, in selecting an appropriate process for the formulation of an operations strategy. The author embarked on a literature survey to gain understanding of the challenges that are occurring in the market environment. The theories and techniques around operational strategies were extensively researched in an effort to effectively and efficiently assist the management of Firestone in achieving a competitive advantage over rival competitors. Other areas of focus include the content, development, principles and concepts in developing an operations strategy. The author details the process of the formulation of an operations strategy as well as the discussion of four models/procedures deployed in organisations that would enhance strategy formulation. It is evident from the findings of the empirical study that a high percentage of the respondents “agree” that the strategy deployed within Bridgestone/Firestone, Port Elizabeth plant is appropriate, yet an alarmingly high percentage believe it to be “ineffective.

Only a few middlemen linking chemical intermediate product supply to world tyre productions have managed to survive new direct business models. In fact, the only region, where the practice of using a middleman in the supply chain of tyre production, for a certain primary manufacturer, is in South Africa. Tyre producers in other world regions, similar in market complexity to South Africa, have experienced the elimination of the middleman. Hence the question of this research, why is the middleman in the supply chain of tyre production in South Africa still a better option than that of direct business models? To begin with, the thesis stated that the middleman in the supply chain of South African tyre producers delivers better value than that of the direct business model. To prove/disprove this thesis, the principle that value is a trade-off between what you get for what you give was the basis of this research (Zeithaml, 1998). Further, a model was developed, from secondary literature, to conceptualise this trade-off to provide evidence to prove/disprove that the middleman provides greater value than value from the direct business model. From this point, the research approach was to collect data through interviews to find out the most important aspect of value created by the middleman. Data collected were analysed, using the structure of the model as a guide, to find evidence of the trade-off. This analysis provided evidence that the relationship between the middleman and the tyre producers in South Africa and between the middleman and primary product supplier is the value that the direct business model cannot replace.