How do enterprise, marketing and modern production systems such as FMS, JIT and lean manufacturing bring a product to market?
Enterprise, innovation and marketing in business and industry, and the production systems that support them, including flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), just in time (JIT) production, lean manufacturing, crowd funding and the marketing of products.
A focused answer to Eduqas GCSE Design and Technology (C600) on enterprise, innovation and marketing and the production systems behind them: flexible manufacturing (FMS), just in time (JIT), lean manufacturing and crowd funding, with a worked efficiency calculation.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas C600 expects you to understand how enterprise, innovation and marketing bring a product to market, and the production systems that support efficient manufacture: flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), just in time (JIT) and lean manufacturing. In the written exam this is tested by Explain questions on the benefits of a production system and by applied percentage and costing calculations on material efficiency.
Enterprise, innovation and marketing
A new product needs funding. Traditional routes are investors, bank loans or a business's own profits; a modern route is crowd funding, where many people each contribute a small amount online in exchange for the product or a reward, which also tests demand before manufacture. Once funded, marketing uses advertising, branding (a recognisable identity and logo), packaging and market research to reach the target market and persuade them to buy.
Modern production systems
Manufacturers use systems designed to cut cost and waste.
FMS suits a market that wants variety; JIT suits steady, reliable supply chains; lean is a mindset applied across the whole operation. They often work together: a lean factory using FMS and JIT can make a varied product range efficiently with little waste.
The maths of efficiency
Material efficiency is a common applied calculation, because cutting waste is central to lean manufacturing.
Try this
Q1. State one benefit of crowd funding to a small business launching a new product. [1 mark]
- Cue. It raises money without a loan and tests demand before manufacture.
Q2. A 1.5 m metal bar costs 6 pounds. A product uses 0.5 m. Calculate the material cost of the product. [2 marks]
- Cue. pounds per metre, pounds.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas C600 20184 marksExplain two benefits to a manufacturer of using a just in time (JIT) production system.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Explain wants two developed benefits with cause and effect.
Benefit 1, lower storage costs. In JIT, materials and components arrive just as they are needed rather than being stockpiled, so the manufacturer holds little stock and saves on warehouse space and the money tied up in inventory.
Benefit 2, less waste and faster response. Because little stock is held, there is less risk of materials becoming obsolete or damaged in storage, and the manufacturer can switch production more easily, reducing waste and responding to changing demand.
Markers reward two developed points tied to the manufacturer (the system does X, so the business gains Y). The classic drawback (a delivery failure halts production) can be noted but is not what this question asks. Two bare phrases cap the mark at two.
Eduqas C600 20213 marksA workshop buys a 2400 mm length of timber and uses 1800 mm of it on a product. Calculate the percentage of the length that is wasted.Show worked answer →
A 3-mark calculation: marks for the waste length, the method, and the final percentage with a unit.
Waste length is the bought length minus the used length: 2400 minus 1800 equals 600 mm.
Percentage waste is the waste divided by the bought length, times 100: 600 divided by 2400 equals 0.25, times 100 equals 25 percent.
Markers reward the working (600 over 2400 times 100) and the answer, 25 percent. A lean approach would try to cut waste below this by nesting parts. Forgetting to divide by the original length, or dropping the percent sign, loses marks.
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Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Design and Technology (C600) specification — WJEC Eduqas (2017)