Question

Suppose that a firm is considering moving from a batch process to an assembly-line process to better meet evolving market needs. What concerns might the following functions have about this proposed process change: Marketing, finance, human resources, accounting, and information systems?

Answer 1

Batch Process is production in small batches or groups whereas assembly line process is a continuous way of producing goods. Now moving from batch to assembly line is going to affect certain departments, like for

Accounting and Finance department it will become difficult to control waste and financial losses in the assembly production. Also assembly line process requires expensive machinery which can bring lower cost only if output is done in large scale.

Quality department will also find difficulty in checking the quality of the products as the chances of a defective product increases in this case and continuous quality check becomes difficult.

Sales and Marketing department will be pilled up with high output as the production will be done in large scales. So they also need to pace up with sales target so that no stock remains unsold. It is also going to increase the production cycle which will cause delay in getting the revenue.

Also defect in any part of the machinery will cause the entire production to stop and cause delays.

Human resource department will have to provide off the job training to the worker to work on sophisticated machines so that there are no accidents. Also skilled workforce is required to operate such machinery.

Assembly process requires more space for installation of machinery and a proper plant layout.

The information department has to pace up with the customers preference and taste and if it isn't timely updated the huge production may lead to losses.