What Is The Process Used To Produce A Good Or Service

Achieving World-Form Operations Management

83 The Product Process: How Do We Make It?

What types of production processes practice manufacturers and service firms use?

In production planning, the offset decision involves which type of production procedure—the way a good or service is created—best fits with company goals and customer demand. An important consideration is the type of skillful or service being produced, considering unlike goods may crave dissimilar product processes. In general, at that place are three types of production: mass product, mass customization, and customization. In addition to production type, operations managers also classify production processes in 2 ways: (one) how inputs are converted into outputs and (2) the timing of the process.

One for All: Mass Production

Mass production, manufacturing many identical appurtenances at one time, was a product of the Industrial Revolution. Henry Ford'south Model-T auto is a practiced example of early on mass production. Each auto turned out by Ford'due south factory was identical, correct down to its color. If you wanted a car in any colour except black, you were out of luck. Canned goods, over-the-counter drugs, and household appliances are other examples of goods that are mass-produced. The emphasis in mass production is on keeping manufacturing costs low by producing uniform products using repetitive and standardized processes. As products became more complicated to produce, mass production likewise became more than complex. Machine manufacturers, for example, must now contain more sophisticated electronics into their car designs. Equally a outcome, the number of associates stations in most automobile manufacturing plants has increased.

Only for Y'all: Customizing Appurtenances

In mass customization, goods are produced using mass-production techniques, but only upwards to a betoken. At that point, the product or service is custom-tailored to the needs or desires of individual customers. For example, American Leather, a Dallas-based article of furniture manufacturer, uses mass customization to produce couches and chairs to customer specifications within 30 days. The basic frames in the article of furniture are the aforementioned, but automated cutting mechanism precuts the color and blazon of leather ordered by each client. Using mass-production techniques, they are then added to each frame.

Customization is the opposite of mass product. In customization, the firm produces goods or services i at a time co-ordinate to the specific needs or wants of individual customers. Unlike mass customization, each product or service produced is unique. For example, a print store may handle a multifariousness of projects, including newsletters, brochures, stationery, and reports. Each print job varies in quantity, blazon of press process, binding, color of ink, and type of paper. A manufacturing firm that produces goods in response to customer orders is called a job shop.

Classification of Production Types

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An illustration shows a can of cola, a house, and a barber shop pole.

Mass Production	Mass Customization	Customization
Highly uniform products or services Many products made sequentially	Uniform standardized production to a point, then unique features added to each product	Each product or service produced according to individual customer requirements
Examples: Breakfast cereals, soft drinks, and computer keyboards	Examples: Dell Computers, tract homes, and Taylor Made golf clubs	Examples: Custom homes, legal services, and haircuts

Some types of service businesses also evangelize customized services. Doctors, for instance, must consider the illnesses and circumstances of each individual patient before developing a customized treatment plan. Existent estate agents may develop a customized service plan for each customer based on the type of house the person is selling or wants to buy. The differences between mass production, mass customization, and customization are summarized in (Figure).

Converting Inputs to Outputs

Every bit previously stated, production involves converting inputs (natural resources, raw materials, human resources, majuscule) into outputs (products or services). In a manufacturing company, the inputs, the production process, and the final outputs are usually obvious. Harley-Davidson, for instance, converts steel, safety, pigment, and other inputs into motorcycles. But the production process in a service company involves a less obvious conversion. For example, a hospital converts the knowledge and skills of its medical personnel, forth with equipment and supplies from a variety of sources, into wellness care services for patients. (Figure) provides examples of the inputs and outputs used by various other businesses.

There are ii basic processes for converting inputs into outputs. In process manufacturing, the basic inputs (natural resources, raw materials) are broken down into i or more outputs (products). For example, bauxite (the input) is processed to excerpt aluminum (the output). The assembly process is just the opposite. The basic inputs, like natural resource, raw materials, or human being resource, are either combined to create the output or transformed into the output. An airplane, for example, is created by assembling thousands of parts, which are its raw textile inputs. Steel manufacturers use heat to transform atomic number 26 and other materials into steel. In services, customers may play a role in the transformation procedure. For case, a tax preparation service combines the knowledge of the tax preparer with the customer's information about personal finances in order to complete the tax return.

Production Timing

A second consideration in choosing a production procedure is timing. A continuous process uses long production runs that may last days, weeks, or months without equipment shutdowns. This is best for high-book, low-multifariousness products with standardized parts, such equally nails, glass, and paper. Some services also utilise a continuous process. Your local electric company is an example. Per-unit costs are low, and production is easy to schedule.


Converting Inputs to Outputs
Blazon of Arrangement	Input	Output
Airline	Pilots, flight attendants, reservations organization, ticketing agents, customers, airplanes, maintenance crews, basis facilities	Move of customers and freight
Grocery store	Merchandise, building, clerks, supervisors, store fixtures, shopping carts, customers	Groceries for customers
Loftier school	Faculty, curriculum, buildings, classrooms, library, auditorium, gymnasium, students, staff, supplies	Graduates, public service
Manufacturer	Machinery, raw materials, establish, workers, managers	Finished products for consumers and other firms
Restaurant	Nutrient, cooking equipment, servers, chefs, dishwashers, host, patrons, furniture, fixtures	Meals for patrons

In an intermittent procedure, short production runs are used to make batches of different products. Machines are shut down to modify them to brand different products at unlike times. This procedure is best for low-volume, high-diversity products such equally those produced by mass customization or customization. Chore shops are examples of firms using an intermittent process.

Although some service companies utilize continuous processes, near service firms rely on intermittent processes. For case, a restaurant preparing gourmet meals, a dr. performing surgical procedures, and an advertising bureau developing advertizement campaigns for business concern clients all customize their services to accommodate each client. They use the intermittent process. Note that their "production runs" may be very short—one grilled salmon or i physical test at a time.

Draw the different types of production processes.
How are inputs transformed into outputs in a variety of industries?

Summary of Learning Outcomes

What types of production processes do manufacturers and service firms use?

Products are made using one of three types of production processes. In mass production, many identical goods are produced at one time, keeping production costs low. Mass product, therefore, relies heavily on standardization, mechanization, and specialization. When mass customization is used, appurtenances are produced using mass-production techniques upwards to a point, after which the product or service is custom-tailored to individual customers by adding special features. When a business firm's production procedure is built around customization, the firm makes many products one at a time co-ordinate to the very specific needs or wants of individual customers.

Glossary

assembly procedure: A production procedure in which the basic inputs are either combined to create the output or transformed into the output.

continuous process: A product procedure that uses long production runs lasting days, weeks, or months without equipment shutdowns; generally used for high-volume, depression-variety products with standardized parts.

customization: The production of goods or services 1 at a time according to the specific needs or wants of private customers.

intermittent process: A product process that uses brusque production runs to make batches of dissimilar products; generally used for depression-volume, loftier-diverseness products.

job shop: A manufacturing firm that produces goods in response to customer orders.

mass customization: A manufacturing process in which appurtenances are mass-produced upwardly to a point and then custom-tailored to the needs or desires of individual customers.

mass production: The manufacture of many identical goods at once.

process manufacturing: A product process in which the bones input is broken down into one or more than outputs (products).

production process: The way a good or service is created.