What type of process is usually best for high volume low variety manufacturing?

Michael G. Li

Michael G. Li

Director Of Infrastructure at Starbucks China

Published Jun 27, 2018

Four Vs, as volume; variety; variation and visibility, these characteristics are entangled each other and along with many other variables will the operation performance be affected. Volume and variety usually come together in a reversed way in a single operation process. If we consider this volume-variety spectrum as a continuum from high volume/low variety to low volume/high variety, we can place a process in a certain point in this continuum based on its volume/variety characteristics. Understanding this inverse correlation between volume and variety can help operation managers understanding the nature of manufacturing operation. According the position of a process on this volume/variety spectrum, an overall design of the operation process can be determined – what we called the process types, are diagrammed as below. The same correlation can be observed in either manufacturing or service processes.

After the suitable process type has been determined, to match the process type, another critical factor that operation managers need to consider is layout – where the resources transformation shall be occurred? It’s critical because it derives itself from its direct relation to the flow of resources as they gradually transform from input to output. The layout choice is closely linked to process type and to a large extent, dictated by the process type. There are four most common layout types, they are fixed-position; functional, cell and product layout. The link between process type and layout can be diagrammed as below:

In manufacturing industry layout design is usually critical as it represents the most expensive and valuable resources. An ill-designed layout will severely impact the whole organization’s performance.

//Brown, S., Blackmon, K., Cousins, P. & Maylor, H. (2001) Operations Management: Policy, Practice and Performance Improvement. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann

//Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. & Johnston, R. (2014) Operations management, 7th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education.