OR consultancy in the early years: The story of Business Operations Research Ltd

Abstract

In the post-war years most newly nationalised industries in the United Kingdom had OR groups. Many were run by members of the armed forces who had been involved in OR work during World War II. Although much of the work done by these groups was successful, a lot of it was hampered by politics and, in some cases, a general reluctance to accept new ideas. The author and some colleagues recognised there was an opportunity to spread the word of OR to a much wider audience by setting up a consultancy. This article explains how this came about and details some of their successes.