Product cycle and manufacturing flows

The product cycle is the sequence of stages a product passes through from the identification of a customer need to its final disposal or recycling. Manufacturing is only one stage of it, but decisions taken in the design stage fix most of the cost of the product.

Stages of the product cycle

Market need -> Concept design -> Detail design
     ^                                |
     |                                v
 Disposal/  <- Use & service <- Manufacture <- Process
 recycling                      & assembly      planning

1. Market need and specification - customer requirement, competitors, target cost and volume.
2. Design - concept, analysis, material selection, drawings, prototype and testing (design for manufacture and assembly).
3. Process planning - choice of processes, machines, tooling, sequence of operations, inspection plan.
4. Production - fabrication of parts, assembly, quality control, packing.
5. Distribution, use and service - sales, maintenance, spare parts, warranty.
6. Disposal or recycling - reuse of materials, safe disposal.

Material flow and information flow

The material flow is the physical movement and transformation of raw material into the finished product. The information flow is the stream of data that plans, controls and records that movement.

The two flows must be synchronised: a work order (information) releases material from the store, and the completion record (information) updates the stock. Poor information flow produces idle machines, excess work-in-process and late deliveries even when the machines are good.