Wyatt Earp - the Buffalo Hunter

Wyatt Earp - The Buffalo Hunter

Working Smarter, Not Harder

Wyatt Earp was known for being one of the best buffalo hunters in the west in the 1880's. His methods for hunting buffalo were very different than others which made him a more successful hunter and a legend for many reasons. Wyatt was able to identify the amount of time and energy that other hunters exerted and was able to change the flaws in the work flow which would allow hunters to work smarter and not harder. He was able to refine the custom process such that he would spend less and ultimately gain more. He was able to 'outsmart' buffalo by using the right tools and methods to kill cleaner, quicker and ultimately more buffalo than anyone before him had. According to the legend, these revolutionary techniques would ultimately kill off the great buffalo herds.

The details of this case are an excellent example of very early Operations and supply chain management (OSCM). According to Chase and Lummas, "Operations and supply chain management can be defined as the design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm's primary products and services" (2011). The legend of Wyatt Earp signifies the success of a hunter who, similar to an operations manager, was able to determine the most efficient means of performing a given task and also accurately measure his success in terms of gains or profits. Prior to Wyatt Earp, hunters did not have an accurate measure of success as profits were not measured in terms of resources expended. Thereby, Wyatt was able to increase his profits by decreasing wasted resources. He was also able to create job specialization that would result in greater output with fewer resources.

Buffalo hunters of the 1871 used heavy rifles that were expensive in terms of energy spent by hunters to carry as well as the cost of the ammunition. These weapons were also unable to fire continuously with great accuracy. Therefore, many shots were wasted as the aim of these heavy rifles was known to be inaccurate. They were expensive, time consuming and used by early hunters from the back of horses. This led to fewer kills as herds were scared by the stampedes and longer distances to carry the animals (profits). Skinners traveled long distances, wasting time and creating a greater chance of missing hides. All of these inefficiencies were not seen as negatively impacting profits until Wyatt Earp identified these flaws. Wyatt financed the hunt and was hands on in every aspect. In return, he was able to keep his team; the wagon used and share net profits with his skinner. Wyatt used a shot gun due to inefficiencies mentioned with the rifle. Wyatt hunted by foot and not by horseback. His system was to work on foot, fire at a closer range