Advantages

• Highly customisable to consumers needs.
• Flexibility for the designer and consumer.
• Allow for testing of prototypes before continuous flow production.

Disadvantages

• Can be expensive as any tools or machinery needed are included in the final cost.
• Time consuming if craft manufacturing techniques are used
•  May be that the product is not designed for disassembly (DfD) there are no interchangeable parts.

Specialist Guitar

Batch Production

• It is a limited production run (a set number of items to be produced).
• Batch production is a manufacturing method used to produce or process any product in batches, as opposed to a continuous production process, or an one-off production.
• Batch production is popular in bakeries and in the manufacture of sports shoes, pharmaceutical ingredients, inks, paints and adhesives.
• Can be mechanised or automated production

Advantages

• Cheaper than one-off production (economies of scale).
• Customisable products but not as highly as one-off production.
• Easily adjust to market demands or seasonal  items
• Greater consumer choice (e.g. Swatch watches).
• For smaller or upstart companies that can’t afford continuous flow production.
•  It can reduce initial capital outlay because a single production line can be used to produce several products.

Disadvantages

• Down time between productions runs when retooling.
• Products have to be stored raising the costs per item.

Mass Production

• The production of large amounts of standardized products on production lines, permitting very high rates of production per worker.
• Used when large quantities of products are needed such cars, bic pens etc

Continuous Flow Production

• Continuous flow is a production method used to manufacture, produce or process materials without interruption.
• Is where thousands of standardised products are continuously made 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
• It is carried out to maximise production while reducing the costs of starting and stopping the production process.
• It can be mechanised or automated process with only a handful of workers needed.

Advantages

• Cheaper than other production methods (economies of scale).
• If a part or product needs replacing consumer is assured that it still exists (e.g. bic pens).
• Lack of inventory which reduces storage costs.

Disadvantages

• Standard products so less choice for the consumer.
• Automated production is high in initial costs
• Training of staff to run machines and CIM

Mass customization

•  A  CIM system that manufactures products to individual customer needs or wants.
• It benefits from  economy of scale for a single products or thousands of them.
• The relationship between the manufacturer and customer becomes closer because the individual requirements of the consumer dominate.

• Customise you Nike shoe on Nikeid.
  • Customised online and shipped directly from the factory
• A website dedicated to mass-customisation

Advantages

• Economies of scale are achieved even for small orders
• Highly customisable to consumer needs or likes

Disadvantages

• Long layover time from with product is customised to reaching the consumer.
• Very high initial capital costs
• Special training for employees

Design Stations

A Sports Depot with a custom apparel station	Customising made easy at department stores

• Macys Goes Millennial 
• Custom Laser Bar at Macys

Selecting an appropriate scale of production

Manufacturers choose a scale of production for various reasons

• • Product characteristics – complexity, features, design, product family, etc
  • Staff skills – high tech skills for automation.
  • Financial Considerations – is it cost effective to produce, profits, etc
  • Material characteristics – plastics are suited to continuos flow production more than say certain metals or other materials.
  • Size of market – Mont Blanc pens are geared to a market segment which is small whereas Bic pens target are wider market for cheap disposable pens.
  • Nature of market – such as the variety of products expected by the consumer such as Swatch watches.
  • Desired manufacturing processes – injection moulding is suited to  continuos flow production because it an be fully automated and use cheap thermoplastics
  • Desired production scale – such as one-off, batch or continuos.

Identify the production methods for certain products  in the video.

NB: the above video refers to ‘Job Production’ which is the same as One-Off Production.

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International Mindedness