Discrete VS Process Manufacturing – both are common in the production industry. But, distinguishing between a product made through discrete manufacturing and one produced via process manufacturing can be a bit tricky. So, how can you tell whether a product is made via discrete or process manufacturing?

What is Discrete Manufacturing?

Discrete manufacturing is a production method where individual parts are pieced together to create distinct, countable finished goods. To simplify, it’s about putting together various bits and pieces rather than mixing things in a lab. This process is used across a wide range of industries, from large car factories to small artisanal crafts.

Key features of discrete manufacturing include:

• Various Finished Goods: The products can vary greatly, including items like cars, electronics, toys, and furniture.
• Numerous Components: Each product often consists of many individual parts, sometimes up to tens of thousands. These parts are carefully designated and managed using bills of materials (BOMs).
• Assembly Sequence: Depending on the workflow, products are assembled in stages across different workstations, often sequentially. This requires careful tracking of the product’s production routings.
• Disassembly and Reassembly: A key feature of discrete manufacturing is that the final product can often be disassembled or reassembled into its individual components. This is beneficial if a part needs to be replaced to repair a broken product.

Related: 5 Examples in Discrete Manufacturing

What is Process Manufacturing?

Process manufacturing is a production technique where finished goods are created by combining raw materials and ingredients. This method often involves blending, boiling, or joining the ingredients in a process that produces a batch of end-products rather than individual units. It’s commonly used in industries like food, beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, and more.

Key points about process manufacturing include:

• Batch Production: Process manufacturing typically occurs in bulk quantities using a batch production workflow.
• Use of Recipes and Formulas: Unlike discrete manufacturing that uses Bills of Materials (BOMs), process manufacturers rely on recipes and formulas to determine their product constituents. Therefore, it’s critical for their production planning system to accommodate recipe control, as well as units of measurement (UOM) conversions and scalability.
• Scalability: If a product’s recipe or formula is scalable, different size batches can be created using the same formula. For instance, if a factory makes cupcakes, it can produce frosting for a whole batch at once, or scale down the recipe if the inventory only has enough ingredients for half a batch. This contrasts with discrete manufacturing, where creating half a component, like a motherboard, is not feasible if only half the required capacitors are available.
• Irreversible Transformation: In process manufacturing, the materials that make up the final product are not easily identifiable after processing. Unlike discrete manufacturing where products can usually be disassembled back into their original components, this isn’t possible with products made through process manufacturing. For example, it’s impossible to turn whipped cream back into milk or shale oil back into coal.

Discrete vs Process Manufacturing: How Can You Tell Them Apart Easily?

	Discrete Manufacturing	Process Manufacturing
Definition	Involves creating distinct, individual goods like automobiles or smartphones. These items are assembled from numerous parts.	Produces goods that cannot be broken down into their original ingredients, such as paint, composites, plastics, or foodstuffs.
Assembly	Products can usually be disassembled, at least partially.	Goods are typically made in batches through irreversible processes of mixing ingredients together.
Blueprint	Uses a bill of materials, which lists all the components involved.	Relies on formulas and recipes, rather than bills of materials.
Examples	A car is assembled from various components that can be removed, replaced, or repaired.	A loaf of bread can’t be ‘unbaked’ into its original ingredients. Even if you slice it, it remains bread – just less of it.

Are There Any Products in Between?

While discrete and process manufacturing may seem mutually exclusive, the reality is that many products exist in a gray area between the two. This is because they are crafted through a blend of both manufacturing types.

Take your favorite bottled drink as an example. The creation of the beverage itself typically involves process manufacturing, where various ingredients are mixed together in irreversible processes. However, the final product you find on supermarket shelves – complete with a label, lid, bottle, and the liquid inside – also incorporates elements of discrete manufacturing.

The assembly of these individual components, whether done by hand or in a bottling plant, falls under the umbrella of discrete manufacturing. After all, you can deconstruct the final product by pouring the liquid into a glass, peeling off the label, or removing the lid.

Interestingly, even the bottle itself is a testament to the interplay between process and discrete manufacturing. The glass for the bottle is made through process manufacturing, which involves melting sand at high temperatures. However, shaping and molding this raw material into a bottle is an act of discrete manufacturing.

Thus, the world of manufacturing isn’t strictly divided into ‘discrete’ and ‘process’. More often than not, these two methods work hand in hand to bring a product to life.

Discrete vs Process Manufacturing Market Associations

Discrete manufacturing is generally prevalent in industries that produce distinct, individual items. These include:

• Machinery: appliances, machine tools, farm equipment, watches, etc.
• Electronics: computers, televisions, smartphones, tablets, etc.
• Defense and Aerospace: fighter jets, tanks, submarines, drones, etc.
• High-Tech: industrial robots, agricultural vehicles, industrial telecommunication arrays, etc.
• Automotive and Transportation: cars, trucks, buses, vessels, etc.

On the other hand, process manufacturing is most commonly found in industries that create goods by blending or transforming ingredients. These sectors include:

• Foods and Beverages
• Food Processing
• Paints and Coatings
• Tires
• Steel, Aluminum, and Other Metal Fabrication
• Semiconductor Fabrication
• Cosmetics
• Pharmaceuticals
• Textiles
• Plastics
• Petrochemicals, etc.

Both discrete and process manufacturing can adopt either make-to-stock or make-to-order workflows. However, make-to-order is typically more common in discrete manufacturing due to its focus on customizing products to meet specific customer requirements. Conversely, process manufacturers often use make-to-stock workflows since they usually manufacture goods in high volume.

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