Two major processes should come together in the preparation of a product or service for market:
- Market research to find out what people want to buy, and how they want it
- Product design and development to look at different ways of producing a good or service.
Production methods fall into three main categories: job (one-off production), batch (multiple items, one step at a time for all items), and flow (multiple items, all steps in process at once for separate items).