Though the gap between the marketing approach adopted in a company and the production process that is viewed as the most adequate one in the same organization may seem rather large, the choice of a marketing strategy, in fact, defines the manufacturing one largely.
The case study carried out by shows that, experiencing the need to alter its current marketing strategy, the leader of an organization is most likely to change the decision-making process as well, which, in turn, will lead to the reconsideration of the manufacturing processes.
The synapse between the choice of the marketing model and the strategy used for the production process is evident. According to the case study, the adoption of a new marketing strategy, which is targeted at a different type of customer, or takes new demands of the target audience into account, leads inevitably to product customization. To be more specific, the product is changed so that it could meet the requirements of the specified public; herein, the need to adopt new approaches towards the production process lies.
A closer look at the study, however, proves that the marketing approach does not affect the manufacturing process directly; instead, it alters the decisions that the company leaders make in terms of the optimization of the production processes. Indeed, the case shows clearly that it is the decision-making strategy that has been changed: “a range of process technologies was covered, to understand the interaction between customization and what is, after all, one of the basic manufacturing strategy decision areas” (Jain, 2000, p. 450). The alterations in the latter, in their turn, triggered a reconsideration of the production processes and the following rise in the organization’s performance.
While the connection between marketing and decision-making may be somewhat farfetched, it, in fact, can be proven once the basic concept of marketing is analyzed. According to the existing definition, marketing is “the boundary between the marketplace and the company” (Jain, 2000, p. 23).
Therefore, the change in the target audience and the means to attract it will require an update in the company’s schedule, as well as the quality and the key properties of the trademark product. As a result, it will be needed to change the logistics of the company, including the type and the quality of the source material, the process of its delivery, the time spent on the latter process, etc.
Consequently, the manufacturing process may change by becoming more lengthy (or shorter, on the contrary), more expensive (or, instead, cheaper) and simpler or more convoluted altogether. As the case study shows, these are the decisions of the company’s managers and leaders that have affected the production process, since the theory of the focused factory, i.e.,, a closer focus on the clients’’ needs, “is extended beyond the production plant, effectively into focused’ applications engineering and sales organisations” (Spring & Dalrymple, 2000, p. 444). These decisions, however, were caused by the alterations in the marketing approach that the company has chosen due to the need to enter the global market and become more competitive.
Therefore, it can be assumed that the choice of a marketing strategy determines the manufacturing process to a considerable degree. The case study has shown that the two concepts are not related directly; the link between them is far more complex than that. In addition, the case has proven that there is a between the two known as decision making. Hence, despite the fact that there is an essential link between the two processes, it can be assumed that the two are interdependent as part and parcel of the company’s mechanics.
Reference List
Jain, S. C. (2000). Strategic marketing. In Marketing planning and strategy (6th ed.) (pp. 23–26). Boston, MA: Thompson Learning.
Spring, M. & Dalrymple, J. F. (2000). Product customisation and manufacturing strategy. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 20(4), 441–467.