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4.1 Four Process Strategies

A process or transformation strategy is an organization's approach to transform resources into goods and services. These goods or services are organized around a specific activity or process.

Every organization will have one of the four process strategies:

1. Process focus in a factory; these processes might be departments devoted to welding, grinding, and painting. In an office the processes might be accounts payable, sales, and payroll. In a restaurant, they might be bar, grill, and bakery. The process focuses on low volume, high variety products are also called job shop. These facilities are process focus in terms of equipment, layout, and supervision.
2. Repetitive focus; falls between the product and process focus. The repetitive process is a product-oriented production process that uses modules. Modules are parts or components of a product previously manufactured or prepared, often in a continuous process. Fast-food firms are an example of repetitive process using modules.
3. Product focus, are high volume, low variety processes; also called continuous processes. Products such as light bulbs, rolls of paper, beer, and bolts are examples of product process. This type of facility requires a high fixed cost, but low costs. The reward is high facility utilization.
4. Mass customizations focus; is rapid, low-cost production that caters to constantly changing unique customer desires. This process is not only about variety; it is about making precisely what the customer wants when the customer wants it economically. Achieving mass customization is a challenge that requires sophisticated operational capabilities.