The Process of Productive Flow - Essay Example

? Productive Flow and Product Quality goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper Introduction In today’s world of competition, increase in the levels of sales and profits is the dream of every company. To fulfill this dream or goal, a company develops some effective business strategies and focuses on improving the core business processes associated with production and development. Two of the main processes which play their role in the success of a company are productive flow and product quality. The better these processes will be, the better will be the output for the company. Improved levels of sales and profits are directly related to the improvement in the processes of productive flow and product quality. A company overlooking these factors of success can never achieve its desired goals and objectives in a competitive market because these processes play the role of two of the most indispensable ingredients of success. In this paper, we will discuss the importance of improved productive flow and product quality in achieving the goal of increased sales and profits. 2. Productive Flow The process of productive flow mainly refers to the continuity of the process that starts from bringing in raw material for product development and ends when the product becomes ready for distribution in the market. Companies focus on improving this process in order to avoid delays in product manufacturing. Productive flow involves a continuous and flawless movement of items through the process of product development. The process is said to be in an efficient working state if the next stage of product development starts straight away upon completion of the current stage of development. It is one of the main responsibilities of the employees working in the production department to ensure continuity of the process of product development because a minor flaw or delay in the transition of stages can affect the on-time completion of the production process, as well as the quality of the product. One of the main points regarding productive flow is that it is capital intensive, which means that it makes more use of machines and technologies as compared to workers. Therefore, it needs continuous and effective technical assistance to ensure flawless continuity. The advantage of capital intensiveness of the production flow is that a large number of items can roll off the assembly lines simultaneously, cutting down the cost of production to a large extent. Using this approach, companies can benefit from economies of scale, which consequently results in lowering the cost per unit of production (Riley 2012). Improvement in the productive flow can have a direct impact on the levels of sales and profit. In a competitive environment, timely placement of products in the market is imperative for the success of a company. When a company has its products reach completion stages in the scheduled time without any flaw, it will place the products in the market at the correct time and people will be able to buy those products, which will consequently result in improving the market share of the company. However, when there are delays in the process of production flow, the company will not be able to dispense its products in the market at the right time, which will affect the company’s levels of sales and profits. Therefore, it is very important for a firm to improve its process of production flow by eliminating the occurrence of flaws and reducing the risks to the continuity of the process to ensure higher levels of productivity and profitability. 3. Product Quality Along with productive flow, improvement in product quality is also essential for a company to increase its levels of sales and profit. Quality means excellence and in terms of product development, it refers to the development of such products that should be able to satisfy the consumers. A company can satisfy its customers only if it provides them with durable and high quality products. Quality is considered a key to the success of a company in a competitive environment. When there is competition, every company tries to gain a high market share by delivering high quality products and services to the customers. In such environment, a little negligence in ensuring quality of products can adversely affect the reputation of a company among customers. Taking care of the quality of products during manufacturing improves organizational performance as well as the image of the company among customers. Customers are highly disappointed when the product that they buy from a company, considering it to be a durable product, does not meet their expectations. Such cases destroy the public view of the company, which results in decreasing the market share of the company, as well as in lowering the levels of sales and profit. Therefore, it is imperative for a company to ensure manufacturing of high quality products for the customers. Companies use a variety of quality frameworks to determine and meet the required standards of quality. Some of the main quality frameworks include BEM framework, Six Sigma framework, and ISO 9000 quality standards. In the economic context, use of these frameworks is beneficial for the company as they shift the demand curve for the products in the right direction. A positive shift in the demand curve occurs only when the demand for a company’s products increases in the market. Companies can do this by using a quality management system that helps employees in integrating quality in products during all phases of product development. The main purpose of using a quality management system is to increase the level of customer base of the company by focusing the needs of the customers during product development and delivering reliable and innovative products to the customers. According to Kanji (1995, p. 591), total customer focus serves the role of the stepping-stone in improving quality and business performance. Employees of the manufacturing department of a company need to adhere to the standards and requirements of the quality management system, as well as to the needs of the customers during product manufacturing phase in order to manufacture high quality products and to increase the level of customer satisfaction. The more the customers will be satisfied with the company, the more will be the demand for its products and services in the market. A company can face the problem of losing its customer base if it does not meet the level of quality that its customers demand and expect from the company. The reason is that when customers are disappointed with the quality of products of a company, they shift their choice to other companies that manufacture similar products. This results in decreasing the customer base of the company as well as its market share. Therefore, in order to increase the number of customers and the levels of sales and profits, a company needs to meet the required levels of product quality. In today’s world of competition, quality should be the first priority for any company. The reason is that quality affects all other success factors that include improved performance, higher levels of productivity and profitability, increased product demand, increased market share, and increased customer base. The best way to improve the level of product quality is to follow the guidelines of some quality management system such as the ISO 9000 set of quality standards. One of the main requirements of the ISO 9000 quality management system is the identification of measurable objectives for the company. Another requirement of the system is that both managers and employees should be aware of the ways to achieve the identified objectives. Moreover, it also requires meeting some guidelines regarding development of new products. For example, ISO 9000: 2000 quality standards require that a company manufacture a new product by analyzing the demands of the customers, meeting customer perception of the new product in terms of quality, meeting basic and essential requirements of the product, meeting statutory and legal regulations regarding product development, and ensuring product quality during all phases of development. If a company follows these guidelines during development of a new product, it can get a number of benefits such as an increased customer base and improved levels of sales and profits. 4. Conclusion Summing it up, an increase in the levels of sales and profits is one of the main goals of every company, and to fulfill this goal, a company develops customer-oriented business strategies as well as improves core business processes associated with production and development. Production flow and product quality are two such factors that go side by side in a company’s struggle towards increasing the levels of sales and profits. Companies need to ensure manufacturing of high quality products to increase the customer base and their market share in any competitive market. Production flow refers to continuity in the process of product development. Companies ensure production flow to avoid delays in the process of product development and to ensure timely placement of products in the market. Product quality is also a key to increased levels of sales and profit. Therefore, production flow and product quality are two of the main essentials that play a key role in increasing the levels of sales and profit for a company. References Kanji, G 1995, Total quality management: proceedings of the first World Congress, Chapman & Hall, London. Riley, J 2012, Production – flow production, viewed 09 January 2013, http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/production_flow.htm. Read More