Topic 3: Operations Flashcards
What are the 3 types of production processes?
- Job production
- Batch production
- Mass/flow/continuous production
What is job production?
When individual products are made one at a time to meet specific customer preferences
Advantages of job production?
High quality products are produced
High customer satisfaction
Allows for personalised products
Disadvantages of job production?
High labour costs
Longer production times
Requires specialised materials
What is batch production?
Making a set quantity of identical products
Advantages of batch production?
Reduces unit costs
Addresses specific needs
Flexible
Disadvantages of batch production?
Time lost switching batches
Can be expensive
What is mass/flow/continuous production?
When products are created in a series of stages on an assembly line
Advantages of mass/flow/continuous production?
Saves time and money - products are standardised
Cost per unit is low - economies of scale can be reached
Requires lower skilled staff - cheaper to employ
Disadvantages of mass/flow/continuous production?
Workers may find work boring or repetitive - low motivation
There are high initial set up costs of automated assembly lines
What is efficiency?
Creating maximum output with minimum inputs - therefore producing at the lowest unit cost possible
How do businesses achieve efficiency?
Staffing - no too many, not too few
Leadership and having a clear aim
Have a good production technique - most flow
Is flow/continuous production capital intensive or labour intensive?
CAPITAL INTENSIVE
Is job production capital intensive or labour intensive?
Labour intensive
What is lean production?
When waste is reduced during production by removing unwanted workers, products, processes and more
What is kaizen?
Continuous improvement
What are the 2 stock control methods?
- JIT (just-in-time)
- JIC (just-in-case)
What is JIT?
A stock control method where a business doesn’t store raw materials but has regular deliveries that bring only what’s needed before it’s raw materials run out
Advantages of JIT?
No holding or storage costs - inventory is supplied immediately
Reduces wastage - inventory levels are low
Raw materials are fresh
Disadvantages of JIT?
Difficult to forecast future demand
Difficult to match customers expectation
There may be an issue if demand increases - supplier may not be apply to supply a high volume in time
What is JIC?
A stock control method where a business produces or purchases stock with excess or ‘buffer stock’ so there’s always stock if a business requires it
Advantage of JIC?
Increases level of customer satisfaction
Reduces chance of running out of stock
Bulk buying discounts are available
Disadvantages of JIC?
Requires more storage space - adding more costs
Increases chance of having to sell of stock at a discount
Products may lose freshness if stored for a long time
What is stock control?
The systems and policies in place to order and manage stock
What is procurement?
The process of finding the right supplier
What are the 6 factors affecting choice of supplier?
- Reliability
- Quality of stock
- Cost
- Location
- Reputation
- Volume
How does reliability affect the choice of supplier?
If a supplier lets a business down, the business may not be able to meet customer needs
How does quality of stock affect the choice of supplier?
If the quality of the supplied stock will be bad, it’ll decrease customer satisfaction and affect SPPU
How does cost affect the choice of supplier?
If the stock is expensive, businesses will lose more money - decreases profit and revenue
How does location affect the choice of supplier?
If the supplier is far away from the business, they may not be able to deliver in time or it’ll be more expensive to deliver the stock