Methods of production

Comparison table:

	One-off production	Batch production	Mass production	Continuous production
Set-up cost	Lowest	->	->	Highest
Unit cost	Highest	<-	<-	Lowest
Labour intensity	Highest	<-	<-	Lowest
Flexible	Yes	Somewhat	No	No
Bulk buying	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Speed of production	Slowest	->	->	Fastest

One-off production:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Made to exact personal specifications High quality product Price higher for more profit	Expensive in comparison to larger scales of production Labour intensive Long time to produce product No bulk buy discounts

Uses: Bespoke furniture

Batch production:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Lower unit cost than one-off Fast response to market trends Economical (bulk buy materials) Flexability (adapt to another product)	Products can be overproduced Greater increase in waste Changes in production can cause costly retooling

Uses: Food, bakery items

Mass production:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Highly automated/efficient Quality control ensures identical goods Economical (bulk buy materials) Low unit costs Reduced labour costs	High initial set up costs Inflexible (cannot respond to market trends) Power cuts/ machine faults can affect production

Uses: Electronic products, cars

Continuous production:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Very similar to mass production Very low unit cost Runs 24/7 often for many years without change in product	High initial set up costs Inflexible (cannot respond to market trends)

Uses: Cans for drinks industry (330ml, 440ml etc)

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