What is job distribution?
- Products are produced in small numbers or to specific requirements, one-off jobs eg designer bridal outfit, hand made jewellery
- Emphasis on individuality
- Tends to be labour intensive
What are the advantages of job production? (7)
- Often easier to organise production on a small scale
- ‘One-off’ orders can be easily accommodated to meet customer’s exact requirements
- Order can be changed during process to meet customer requirements
- Increased customer satisfaction will improve organisation’s competitiveness
- Higher quality product due to skilled workers being used
- Business can charge a higher/premium price due to unique product
- Variety of work is motivating for staff – sense of
What are the disadvantages of job production? (5)
- Production costs likely to be higher as there are few economies of scale ie cannot buy materials in bulk
- Skilled required staff, adding wage costs to production
- Slow process which does not suit high demand as individual requirements of the job have to be met
- Machinery and tool costs are high and may often be laying idle
- Lead times can be lengthy, customers cannot simply walk in and purchase the product
What is batch production?
- Number of products or batches of similar products are made.
- Products tend to be similar but may only change ingredients eg chocolate – dairy milk, fruit and nut, whole nut
- One batch is completed before another is started, machinery needs to be cleaned or serviced before starting the next job
What is the advantages of batch production? (4)
- Costs are lower than job production – less need for skilled workers
- Stocks of partly finished goods can be stockpiled and completed later, allowing a quick response to new orders
- Machinery can be used to improve or standardise the process
- Batches of similar products can be altered to meet customer needs
What are the disadvantages of batch production? (4)
- Staff may be demotivated as they repeat the same tasks
- Production runs of small batches may be expensive to produce
- One error in production can destroy the whole batch
- Expensive machinery may need to be purchased
What is flow production?
- Continuous production with production flowing from one operation to the next
- Often used where goods of same specification are mass produced eg car manufacturer
- Capital intensive and automated
What are the advantages of flow production? (6)
- Economies of scale – bulk buying of raw materials often allows discounts from suppliers which can lower unit cost and price
- Automated production lines save time and money
- Lower price means more sales
- Running costs can be low due to staff needing few skills
- Quality systems can be built in to the production
- Uses standardised machinery so can work 24/7
What are the disadvantages of flow production? (4)
- Standard product is produced that may not suit all customers
- Staff can be demotivated as work is repetitive and boring
- High costs are associated with the set-up of automated production line
- If production runs are high, there may be too much produced and supply will exceed demand
What is automatic/mechanisation?
The continuing developments in technologies such as CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture), CAD (Computer Aided Design) and automation (robotics to replace workers) allow firms to quickly design, develop and produce products. It also allows firms to produce a much wider variety of similar products to appeal to different segments of the market
What are the advantages automatic/mechanisation?
- Machines can carry out very complicated tasks very quickly, and with a high degree of accuracy
- There is far less waste when machines are used, ad the quality is usually consistent
- Robots can operate in hazardous conditions
- Robots or machinery will perform repetitive tasks that human workers would not enjoy
What are the disadvantages of automatic/mechanisation?
- Machine may break down and may not be able to be fixed for long periods of time losing production and profits.
- Staff can become demotivated as they may not have a lot of work to complete.
