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The Product-Process Matrix

The Product-Process Matrix illustrates the relationship between manufacturing processes and product characteristics, emphasizing that increased product volume and decreased variety lead to more efficient processes. It categorizes four major process types: Job Shop, Batch Process, Assembly Line, and Continuous Flow, each suited for different volume and variety scenarios. This framework aids managers in aligning process choices with product offerings and market demands, impacting costs, flexibility, and competitive advantage.

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80 views3 pages

The Product-Process Matrix

The Product-Process Matrix illustrates the relationship between manufacturing processes and product characteristics, emphasizing that increased product volume and decreased variety lead to more efficient processes. It categorizes four major process types: Job Shop, Batch Process, Assembly Line, and Continuous Flow, each suited for different volume and variety scenarios. This framework aids managers in aligning process choices with product offerings and market demands, impacting costs, flexibility, and competitive advantage.

Uploaded by

quillspapers2006
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Product-Process Matrix

The Product-Process Matrix (Hayes & Wheelwright, 1979) shows how manufacturing
processes match with product characteristics. It connects to the volume and variety
dimensions we learned about in the 4Vs framework. The key idea is that as product
volume increases and variety decreases, manufacturing processes become more
efficient and automated.

Four Major Process Types


1. Job Shop (Jumbled Flow) – Used for low-volume, high-variety products
(e.g., bespoke printing, one-off machinery). This process is highly flexible but
also costly and time-consuming due to its customised nature.
2. Batch Process (Disconnected Line Flow) – Used for moderate volume and
moderate variety (e.g., heavy equipment with some customisation). It offers
more structure than a job shop while still allowing some product variety.
3. Assembly Line (Connected Line Flow) – Designed for high-volume, low-
variety production (e.g., cars, electronics). It uses automation and
standardisation to improve efficiency and reduce costs, though it offers limited
flexibility.
4. Continuous Flow – Best suited for very high-volume, highly standardised
products (e.g., oil refining, chemical production). This process is fully
automated, making it cost-effective but inflexible, as it focuses on producing
the same product continuously.

In addition to these four types, some frameworks also include projects as a sepa-
rate process type. Projects in manufacturing involve a fixed-location product (such as
a building) where manufacturing equipment and staff move around the product. Pro-
jects are one-of-a-kind (e.g., building a bridge) and therefore fall in the high-variety,
low-volume corner of the product-process matrix.

The graph below from Paton et al. (2020) presents Hayes and Wheelwright's (1979)
product-process matrix adapted to include projects. It also shows manufacturing pro-
cesses (in blue) and service processes (in red). While process types were originally
developed for manufacturing, they can be extended conceptually to equivalent ser-
vice settings.
The table below sets out the key characteristics of each process type (Paton et al., 2020)

Process Continuous Assembly Batch Job Shop Project


Characteristics Line

Description Highly Standardised Partly Made to Highly


standardised goods and customised order, customised
goods or services outputs to custom- and often
services customer made unique
requirements specification output

Output Continuous Discrete Discrete Discrete Discrete


flow

Advantages Very efficient, Low unit cost, Flexibility Able to Dedicated


very high high volume, handle a adaptable
volume efficient wide variety team and
of work resources

Disadvantages Very rigid, Low flexibility, Moderate Slow, high High risk
lack of high cost of cost per unit, cost per and cost
variety, costly downtime moderate unit, uncertainty,
to change, scheduling complex takes time
very high cost complexity planning to establish
of downtime and
scheduling

Probable Type MTS (Make MTS/ATO ATO ATO/MTO MTO (Make


of Order to Stock) (Assemble to (Assemble to (Make to to Order)
Order) Order) Order)
This framework is a key strategic tool in operations management. It helps managers
align their process choice with their product/service offering and market
requirements. The choice of process type has long-term implications for costs,
flexibility, and competitive advantage. Companies typically position themselves
where process type and product characteristics are well matched, though some may
deliberately choose different positions for strategic reasons.

References:

Hayes, R. and Wheelwright, S. (1979). "Link manufacturing process and product life cycles",
Harvard Business Review, 57(1), 133–139.

Paton, S., Clegg, B., Hsuan, J., Pilkington, A. (2020). Operations Management (2nd edition).
London: McGraw-Hill.

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