Methods of Production

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JOB PRODUCTION: involves the production of a single product at a time

Products meet specific customer requirements eg tailor made wedding dress or World Cup stadium

Designed for a specific consumer/purpose

Flexible; consumers can choose exactly what they want

Workforce usually consists of highly skilled craftsmen and specialists so can be expensive

BATCH PRODUCTION: business produces a group of items one at a time, each group undergoes one stage of the process before being moved to the next

Eg fish and chips shop; one batch of chips are made and after they are sold another batch is made

Often used when demand for the product is regular, and often used in a factory where similar variations of products are made eg Heinz soup (chicken tomato ect)

FLOW PRODUCTION: item moves from one stage of the production process to another in a continuous sequence

Eg producing a vehicle, moves from one place to another

Large quantities of standardised product are produced by a semi-skilled workforce that specialise in one particular task

Requires large amount of machinery and equipment and the holding of large stocks of raw materials and components

THE TYPE OF PRODUCTION USED DEPENDS ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS:

The product itself

The cost of labour

The cost of capital

The skills of labour

The size of the targeted market

The nature of the product - what is being produced/ is it individual/one off

Demand for the product - how many people will want to buy the product, if higher levels more likely to be flow

Price - how much are consumers willing to pay and how much can the firm produce for

Variety of products in the range - is there a number of varieties/flavours in the production range