Final answer:
An order winner is what differentiates a firm's products from its competitors and is why a customer would choose their product, while an order qualifier is merely a threshold to be considered a potential choice. Operations strategy pertains to overall business alignment, and order losers are detriments to securing orders.
Step-by-step explanation:
An order winner is a competitive criterion that differentiates the products of one firm from another. Order winners are aspects of a product or service that compel customers to choose that product over competitors' offerings. They are often related to product features, customer service, price, or brand reputation.
On the other hand, an order qualifier is a characteristic that allows the product to be considered by customers as a potential purchase, but does not necessarily win the order by itself. Operations strategy is the plan crafted to leverage the operations side of a business to support the overall business strategy. In contrast, an order loser is an aspect of an offering that can cause the loss of orders or customers if it fails to meet certain criteria.