Difference between production and manufacturing

We all use products and are surrounded by goods in our everyday life. From tangible to intangible, from hardware to software, furniture to electronics, and vehicle to toys, all go through a production process to get finished goods. Generally, there are two words, "Production" & "Manufacturing," related to goods and considered synonyms & can be used as a replacement for each other. People can use them interchangeably, but entirely they are different. They both are different terms that need to understand:-

Production

Production refers to making manufactured goods and products from raw materials, or we can take input to produce output that is fit for consumption. Production is a step-by-step method that starts from:

Market survey
Forecasting
Planning and sequencing
Purchasing
Manufacturing or conversion
Maintaining and storing
Quality control and inspection
Packaging and delivery
Feedback collection and analysis

Production process

The production process works step by step, where one step depends on the other, and to understand this, we can make a flow chart. Because the production process can be carried out in multiple ways depending on the industry's need and production line, some basic stages still vary from industry to industry.

Step 1: Planning

It is the basic step of all the work needed to define the purpose and method of achieving the production goals. It creates a rough chart of how the products will be produced.

Step 2: Routing

This step provides a route to the production process in which raw materials are procured, processed, finished, quality checked, and distributed. This crucial stage includes the decision on the quality and quantity of goods and services in the production process.

Step 3: Scheduling

Here comes the timing of the production process, what time should each production stage involve? And the timing of workers on a particular workflow.

Step 4: Dispatching

At this stage, the actual production starts, involving the production of items, monitoring the workflows according to plan, maintaining records, recording machine work, machine idling time, etc.

Step 5: Follow-up

At this last stage, all the performed actions are measured to compare with the expected productions. It is mandatory to follow up the stages to detect the problem and find solutions to remove them following smooth functioning of the process.

Factors of production are capital, labor, technology, and land.

Types of production

Types of production depend on the company's product and organization needs, and these are:

1. Batch production: It is probably the same as mass production, but the difference is that product is produced in batches based on product color, size, form, etc.

Example of batch production: craft brewing and banking

2. Job production: It includes the production of a limited quantity of products (specific to customer preferences). Production takes place at a small scale where a single item is fully prepared or produced before taking up other jobs.

Examples of job production: shipbuilding industry and custom furniture production

3. Mass production: All workers work continuously to produce one item simultaneously. Every employee focuses on producing the same product with the same form and size and utilizing all resources to produce the same range of products. Multiple tasks are carried out simultaneously with the same efficiency to get effective and fast results. For example, the production of chips is on a huge level where all employees focus on making chips. Employees work in different sections like washing potatoes, peeling potatoes, chopping them, frying them, adding flavors to them, packaging them, etc.

Mass production examples: electronic industry and automobile industry

4. Customized production: This production is based on the customer need, where goods and services are produced on order and divided into two categories: craft production and mass customized production.

Examples of customized products are the garment and automobile industries (customization).

5. Service production: In this rendering, services are involved through an automated process like customer technical support. Best service production is delivery service where customers can order goods and services from their homes and receive them at their doorstep due to the sheer amount and scope of delivery services available.

Examples of service production: law industry and consulting industry

Jobs related to the production process

Production process operator
Machine Operator
Production associate
Production assembler
Production technician
Packaging operator
Production Supervisor
Labourer
Maintenance Supervisor
Production Engineer

Manufacturing

Manufacturing refers to the process of producing finished goods from raw materials. Method of producing final goods from scratch via using machines or other tools. It is a multi-step process in which finished goods are produced using machinery and raw material (raw materials are cut according to need, and a new finished product is produced). Companies manufacture products for sale with the help of machines, human resources, raw materials, and chemical & biological processes.

"Manufacturing is the step-by-step making of finished goods involving machinery, human resources, raw material and another requirement for the product from a basic small industry to technologically advanced ones."

The finished products can be further used to manufacture complex products like ships, aircraft, automobiles, household substances, etc. Then these final goods are sold by manufacturers to wholesalers. Manufacturing is considered a large-scale production of goods sold to customers (retailer purchases from wholesalers and sells them to consumers) to make a profit. The modern concept of manufacturing includes the production and integration of product components.

It is of five types:

Repetitive	A company repetitively produces a single product at a committed production rate. For example, it includes electronic and automobile products where all electronic items (refrigerator, television, iron) are produced repetitively.
Batch	In specific quantities within a time frame, products are produced driven by customer demand or raw material and ingredients availability. It has similarities with job shops and discrete manufacturing processes. Examples are newspaper printing, bookbinding, food production, and pharmaceutical.
Job shop	A way of producing specialized and custom products. Here company focuses on a particular product or a handful of them. Local or small businesses use this type of manufacturing to make and deliver products. With this software, they can manage workflow and production.
Discrete	In a production line method, the processes and products used to create goods can be varied as it uses assembly or production lines. In this manufacturing process, a company can produce goods with multiple styles, sizes, or modifications, so production takes a long time as it also needs extra setup or removal.
Continuous	Production of products in constant demand, like oil refineries or food factories. It focuses on the raw material for continuous production, like gases, powders, liquids, or slurry.

Some of the different manufacturing methods:

CNC manufacturing
Prefabrication
Fabrication
Lean manufacturing
Rapid manufacturing
Agile manufacturing
Flexible manufacturing

Point	Production	Manufacturing
Definition	Making of finished goods by converting raw materials or resources by machinery or human resources	Preparing finished goods using machines and special equipment & in a customized manner too.
Purpose	The main aim of production is to create both goods and services.	The main purpose of manufacturing is to create only goods (it doesn't include services like delivery)
Resources	In production, tangible and intangible resources are used to make finished goods like money or credits. Production companies are the owners of their resources.	In manufacturing, tangible materials are used to make finished goods like minerals or lumber. Manufacturing companies have to buy their raw material from other sources
Creation	The creation of finished goods in the production process includes raw materials, machinery, other equipment, and human labo	The production of finished goods in manufacturing includes raw materials and machinery. Manufacturing companies also produce raw materials for other goods like. They used machinery and manual labor to convert cotton into cloth. This cloth further uses in many forms.
Output	It creates utility, i.e., the usefulness of a good or service. The final output from the production process is tangible or intangible services or goods like food delivery services or a piece of cloth.	It creates matter refers to a physical item. The final output of this process is a tangible good like a television, tractor, or book.

Mostly all businesses manufacture goods for sale and use of customers, and before that, they perform these functions:

Make to stock
Make to order
Make to assemble

Therefore production and manufacturing are two different terms with different functioning but with the main aim of producing goods to sell and used by customers and growing the business.

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