A Review of the High-Mix, Low-Volume Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

The high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) industry has seen growth in the need for product customisation with research to increase manufacturers’ flexibility for the variation in market demands. This paper reviews 152 documents from 2000 to October 2022, discussing work related to HMLV production. From an industrial perspective, this paper analyses the industries with HMLV, revealing production sectors and research areas, categorising the developed work, type of validation, and applications. The results show that most work is not industry-specific, with production planning as the central aspect of the research. While other parts of the production processes and value chain received less attention, the semiconductor and electronics industries are the two most researched with substantial validation, leaving gaps in other industries. Earlier work primarily focused on the theoretical development of production planning; however, the development of Industry 4.0 technologies advocates decision support systems for reactive production planning. This period sees the rise in robotics and automation, with improved robotics capability and human—robot collaboration. Assembly assistance systems were developed for manual production to aid operators in managing the variety of information. This paper serves as a reference for the HMLV manufacturing industry in a structured manner while identifying potential for future research in this field.

Customizing Management Strategies for Product Introduction in Low-Volume Manufacturing: Enhancing Information Content Quality

“…The aim is to fulfil the specific requirements of these companies and enhance the content quality of information developed and shared during the product introduction process. This contribution addresses a significant knowledge gap identified by Surbier, Alpan, and Blanco [3], as discussions on product introduction management strategies in the literature have predominantly occurred at a general level or within the context of high-volume manufacturing [3,41]. The paper delves into the intricacies of how the features unique to low-volume manufacturing should be considered during the development, refinement, and implementation of these management strategies.…”

“…Low-volume manufacturing companies are typically characterized by the high variety and customizability of their products, adopting a make-toorder production policy [40]. These distinctive features give rise to a product introduction process that diverges from the common practices in high-volume manufacturing industries [41]. In low-volume manufacturing, fewer opportunities exist for testing and refining products and production systems, making it more challenging to address information content quality shortcomings [38][39][40][41].…”

“…However, research on product introduction management strategies in low-volume manufacturing industries is limited [3,41]. Qudrat-Ullah, Seong, and Mills [39] advocated for the early and clear definition of both product and production system requirements.…”

“…First, it identifies ad-hoc management strategies found in the existing literature on high-volume manufacturing or general product introduction [3,41]. These strategies serve as the foundation for the empirical inquiry conducted in the case company.…”

“…Second, the study not only outlines how these four management strategies were adapted at a general level within the context of low-volume manufacturing, but also provides a detailed account of this adaptation journey across three stages: before the pilot implementation, after the pilot implementation, and after modification and refinement. Although the suggested management strategies are not novel and have been mentioned ad-hoc in existing literature on high-volume manufacturing or general product introduction [3,41], this study systematically organized them into four categories and validated their applicability in the context of low-volume manufacturing and product introduction. Moreover, by drawing insights from a longitudinal single case study, this research offers a rich description of implementation over the three mentioned stages, making a novel contribution.…”