Mixed mode manufacturing offers a way for companies to keep pace with evolving customer expectations. For example, survey’s found that 81% of customers prefer service and product personalization (Shep Hyken, Forbes, 2024), while two-thirds of buyers worldwide expect ordered items to arrive within 24 hours (Statista, 2024).
Achieving these goals requires a new approach to manufacturing – shifting from single-stream production to embracing the benefits of multiple modes. Read on to learn more about how mixed mode manufacturing works, its benefits, how to navigate potential challenges and strategies to implement to maximize its potential.
What is mixed mode manufacturing?
Mixed mode manufacturing refers to any production environment that uses more than one manufacturing mode and does so under the same roof or within the same system. For example, carrying out discrete manufacturing in one facility and process manufacturing in another is not mixed mode.
Processes that happen simultaneously in the same physical space or rely on the same systems, meanwhile, qualify as mixed mode.
Typical manufacturing modes
Four common manufacturing modes include discrete, process, job shop and repetitive.
- Discrete manufacturing refers to the assembly of component parts to create a finished product. Automakers are a good example; vehicles are assembled by combining discrete parts in a specific order to achieve a uniform output. Discrete processes are often used for low-volume production of complex products.
- Process-based manufacturing uses formulas or recipes to create products. Consider the food and beverage industry. Ingredients are measured and combined according to a recipe. This approach enables large-scale production that can be highly automated.
- Job shop manufacturing produces one version of a custom product. While this results in lower production volumes, it enables companies to create unique or bespoke products. For example, a custom car maker might sell far fewer cars compared to mainstream competitors but at a significantly higher price.
- Repetitive manufacturing produces the same product using the same set of components with no variation. This makes it ideal for high-volume uniform items. One example of repetitive manufacturing is automotive parts. The same parts are produced day in and day out and must meet exacting specifications.
In practice, a mixed mode approach requires companies to identify the nature of each manufacturing process that makes up their final product and evaluate the feasibility of implementing a multifaceted approach.
Consider a business that makes high-quality model cars. If the company wanted to handle the process start-to-finish, they could create a discrete assembly line for car bodies, process-based operations for making and applying paint, and a repetitive line for packaging.
Benefits of a mixed mode approach
Taking a mixed mode approach to manufacturing offers several benefits, including:
- Flexibility and product diversity: Mixed mode allows companies to produce products end-to-end or create various product types within a single facility. This enables them to serve multiple customer segments without the need for physically separate factories.
- Cost and resource optimization: Combining processes into a single facility helps reduce the overhead of maintaining separate physical plants and streamlines supply chain management.
- Operational scalability: Adopting a mixed mode strategy that leverages shared manufacturing infrastructure enables companies to quickly scale up from job shop customer orders to high-volume repetitive tasks.
- Customer service enhancement: Mixed mode solutions reduce lead times without sacrificing the ability of manufacturers to produce custom outputs. This improvement enhances customer service, ultimately leading to greater consumer loyalty.
Challenges and complexities
There are also potential challenges and complexities that companies must navigate in a mixed mode approach, such as:
- Complex scheduling and planning: Different manufacturing modes have different workflows, bills of materials (BOMs) and lead times. As a result, scheduling becomes more complex and requires comprehensive production plans.
- Inventory and WIP management: Multiple modes involve managing more materials and handling different work-in-progress timelines, which increases the complexity of storage, traceability and cost tracking.
- Cross-training workforces: Implementing more modes also means your workforce must learn multiple techniques, equipment types and quality standards. Failure to train staff properly can lead to inconsistencies and quality issues in products.
- IT and system integrations: The use of an ERP system in manufacturing is necessary to manage mixed mode operations. New trends in manufacturing, such as the use of machine learning and AI, also play a role. The result? Companies need to navigate the integration of new mixed mode manufacturing ERP technology with existing systems.
- Possible impacts: If these challenges are not effectively addressed, companies may find themselves struggling to produce products on time and ensure output quality remains high. In a best-case scenario, failing to manage complexity leads to increased lead time, which prompts time and resource investments to correct. In a worst-case scenario, customers take their business elsewhere, leading to lost revenue and a damaged reputation.
Effective mixed mode solutions
Several lean and continuous improvement solutions can help companies deliver on mixed mode potential.
The first is process segmentation. This means dividing facility zones or production lines by mode and using clear workflows to ensure minimal overlap and reduce confusion. Predictive maintenance programs contribute to process segmentation by continuously evaluating commonly used machinery for potential failure points.
Next is the implementation of lean manufacturing tools such as value stream mapping (VSM). This visual approach helps teams map out the unique value streams for each manufacturing approach and identify opportunities to reduce material, labor and other waste. Mixed mode manufacturing software, meanwhile, can help centralize multiple data sets to produce a single source of truth.
Companies should prioritize workforce cross-training and collaboration. In practice, this means offering a combination of in-house training and outsourced education. Organizations can also work with third-party providers to develop a cross-training roadmap.
Finally, it’s critical to implement advanced scheduling tools to manage mixed operations. These include mixed mode ERP software systems that can account for BOM differences, pinpoint process parameters and handle real-time scheduling changes. For example, mixed mode ERP tools that enable AI in manufacturing can learn operational patterns over time to improve efficiency.
Making the most of mixed mode manufacturing
Adopting or refining mixed mode operations helps enable greater production flexibility, in turn allowing companies to keep pace with changing consumer expectations, minimize overhead and enhance their market position.
Making the most of mixed mode, however, requires evaluation of current processes, adoption of advanced scheduling tools and the implementation of robust machine health monitoring.
Implementing mixed mode manufacturing? ATS can help you overcome potential challenges through predictive maintenance solutions, training and inventory management. Contact us today to learn how we can help.
References
Hyken, S. (2024, April 14). The Personalized Customer Experience: Customers Want You to Know Them. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2024/04/14/the-personalized-customer-experience-customers-want-you-to-know-them/
Statista. (2024). Delivery Time Expectation of Online Shoppers Worldwide. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1279369/delivery-time-expectation-online-shoppers-worldwide/
