Flow Production
Business: Cambridge International GCSE (2027 Exams), topic 4.1.3
Flow Production
In flow production, an assembly line is used to build identical and standardised products.
Assembly line
- An assembly line is a series of workers and/or machines that each work on a specific part of the product.
- Most tinned or packaged foods are manufactured using an assembly line.
- Lots of the cars made by General Motors are also produced using this technique; so one after another, cars will get the chassis made and then the wheels added and then the steering wheel put in until the car is finished.
Capital intensive
- Flow production is usually more capital-intensive, meaning that there is more machinery and less labour used in production.
Mass market and low production cost
- Flow production is best used in an industry that needs a low cost of production and provides for a large customer base.
- If a company used job production for cars, then they would be less able to compete on the basis of price because they would have higher average costs.
- Most mass market products like shampoo, cereal and coffee will be produced using flow production because it can cater for a higher volume of customers.
Advantages
- Produces large volumes quickly.
- Lower cost per unit as machinery improves efficiency.
- Consistent quality because each product is made the same way.
- Good for mass markets with high demand.
Disadvantages
- Very capital intensive – machinery is expensive to buy and maintain.
- Workers may have low job satisfaction as tasks are repetitive.
- Not flexible – difficult to customise products.
- If the assembly line breaks, production may stop completely.
Example
- Toyota uses flow production to manufacture cars on assembly lines, keeping costs low and output high.
Test yourself on Flow Production
What are the benefits of flow production?
Flow production is "capital intensive", what does this mean?
Shampoo is produced using an assembly line so that a large customer base can be catered for. What type of production is being used to produce shampoo?