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59-556: Supplier may refer to: Manufacturer , uses tools and labour to make things for sale Processor (manufacturing) , converts a product from one form to another Packager (manufacturing) , encloses products for distribution, storage, sale, and use Distributor (business) , the intermediary between the manufacturer and retailer Wholesaler , sells goods or merchandise to retailers Franchised dealership , local franchised distribution Drug dealer , supplies illegal drugs Merchant ,

118-481: A Competitive Industrial Performance (CIP) Index, which measures the competitive manufacturing ability of different nations. The CIP Index combines a nation's gross manufacturing output with other factors like high-tech capability and the nation's impact on the world economy. Germany topped the 2020 CIP Index, followed by China, South Korea , the United States, and Japan. In 2023, the manufacturing industry in

177-513: A first impression of us. People usually do not appreciate a rude person even if they are good looking. Similarly, a product can have an attractive appearance but if its function does not follow through it will most likely drop in regards to consumer interest. In this sense, designers are like communicators, they use the language of different elements in the product to express something. Product designers must consider every detail: how people use and misuse objects, potential flaws in products, errors in

236-466: A person's thoughts towards buying the product. Therefore, it is in the product designer's best interest to consider the audiences who are most likely to be the product's end consumers. Keeping in mind how consumers will perceive the product during the design process will direct towards the product’s success in the market. However, even within a specific audience, it is challenging to cater to each possible personality within that group. One solution to that

295-400: A plastic like substance opposed to traditional printers that spread ink across a page. The product design process, as expressed by Koberg and Bagnell, typically involves three main aspects: Depending on the kind of product being designed, the latter two sections are most often revisited (e.g. depending on how often the design needs revision, to improve it or to better fit the criteria). This

354-423: A product that's already on the market, such as developing an existing invention for another purpose. Invention-push innovation happens when there is an advancement in intelligence. This can occur through research or it can occur when the product designer comes up with a new product design idea. Design expression comes from the combined effect of all elements in a product. Colour tone, shape and size should direct

413-463: A professional dealing with trade See also [ edit ] Supply chain Supply network Supply chain network Supply (disambiguation) Vendor (supply chain) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Supplier . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

472-575: A result, they make only a reactive contribution. Emerging technologies have offered new growth methods in advanced manufacturing employment opportunities, for example in the Manufacturing Belt in the United States. Manufacturing provides important material support for national infrastructure and also for national defense . On the other hand, most manufacturing processes may involve significant social and environmental costs. The clean-up costs of hazardous waste , for example, may outweigh

531-448: A stone tool, a " core " of hard stone with specific flaking properties (such as flint ) was struck with a hammerstone . This flaking produced sharp edges that could be used as tools, primarily in the form of choppers or scrapers . These tools greatly aided the early humans in their hunter-gatherer lifestyle to form other tools out of softer materials such as bone and wood. The Middle Paleolithic , approximately 300,000 years ago, saw

590-764: A way that would have taken greater human resources in the past. Product design is sometimes confused with (and certainly overlaps with) industrial design , and has recently become a broad term inclusive of service, software, and physical product design. Industrial design is concerned with bringing artistic form and usability, usually associated with craft design and ergonomics , together in order to mass-produce goods. Other aspects of product design and industrial design include engineering design , particularly when matters of functionality or utility (e.g. problem-solving) are at issue, though such boundaries are not always clear. There are various product design processes and many focus on different aspects. One example formulation/model of

649-406: Is a continuous loop, where feedback is the main component. Koberg and Bagnell offer more specifics on the process: In their model, "analysis" consists of two stages, "concept" is only one stage, and "synthesis" encompasses the other four. (These terms notably vary in usage in different design frameworks. Here, they are used in the way they're used by Koberg and Bagnell.) The Double Diamond Framework

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708-568: Is a set of strategic and tactical activities, from idea generation to commercialization, used to create a product design. In a systematic approach, product designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, turning them into tangible inventions and products. The product designer's role is to combine art, science, and technology to create new products that people can use. Their evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools that now allow designers to do things that include communicate , visualize, analyze, 3D modeling and actually produce tangible ideas in

767-413: Is a widely used approach for product discovery, which emphasizes a structured method for problem-solving and solution development, encouraging teams to diverge (broad exploration) before converging (focused decision-making). The framework is divided into two primary stages: diverging and converging, each with its own steps and considerations. Diverging Stage: During the diverging stage, teams explore

826-502: Is believed to have originated when the technology of pottery kiln allowed sufficiently high temperatures. The concentration of various elements such as arsenic increase with depth in copper ore deposits and smelting of these ores yields arsenical bronze , which can be sufficiently work-hardened to be suitable for manufacturing tools. Bronze is an alloy of copper with tin; the latter of which being found in relatively few deposits globally delayed true tin bronze becoming widespread. During

885-484: Is conventionally defined by the widespread manufacturing of weapons and tools using iron and steel rather than bronze. Iron smelting is more difficult than tin and copper smelting because smelted iron requires hot-working and can be melted only in specially designed furnaces. The place and time for the discovery of iron smelting is not known, partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing metal extracted from nickel-containing ores from hot-worked meteoritic iron. During

944-611: Is likely derived from the Middle French manufacture ("process of making") which itself originates from the Classical Latin manū ("hand") and Middle French facture ("making"). Alternatively, the English word may have been independently formed from the earlier English manufacture ("made by human hands") and fracture . Its earliest usage in the English language was recorded in the mid-16th century to refer to

1003-517: Is required, brainstorming possible ideas, creating mock prototypes and then generating the product. However, that is not the end. Product designers would still need to execute the idea, making it into an actual product and evaluating its success (seeing if any improvements are necessary). The product design process has experienced huge leaps in evolution over the last few years with the rise and adoption of 3D printing . New consumer-friendly 3D printers can produce dimensional objects and print upwards with

1062-513: Is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy . The term may refer to a range of human activity , from handicraft to high-tech , but it is most commonly applied to industrial design , in which raw materials from the primary sector are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such goods may be sold to other manufacturers for the production of other more complex products (such as aircraft, household appliances , furniture, sports equipment or automobiles ), or distributed via

1121-490: Is to create a product that, in its designed appearance and function, expresses a personality or tells a story. Products that carry such attributes are more likely to give off a stronger expression that will attract more consumers. On that note it is important to keep in mind that design expression does not only concern the appearance of a product, but also its function. For example, as humans our appearance as well as our actions are subject to people's judgment when they are making

1180-499: The Bronze Age , bronze was a major improvement over stone as a material for making tools, both because of its mechanical properties like strength and ductility and because it could be cast in molds to make intricately shaped objects. Bronze significantly advanced shipbuilding technology with better tools and bronze nails, which replaced the old method of attaching boards of the hull with cord woven through drilled holes. The Iron Age

1239-423: The fashion industry , and buildings in architectural design . Most product designs fall under one of two categories: demand-pull innovation or invention-push innovation. Demand-pull happens when there is an opportunity in the market to be explored by the design of a product. This product design attempts to solve a design problem. The design solution may be the development of a new product or developing

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1298-510: The tertiary industry to end users and consumers (usually through wholesalers, who in turn sell to retailers, who then sell them to individual customers). Manufacturing engineering is the field of engineering that designs and optimizes the manufacturing process , or the steps through which raw materials are transformed into a final product . The manufacturing process begins with the product design , and materials specification . These materials are then modified through manufacturing to become

1357-422: The 1830s. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, the increasing use of steam power and water power , the development of machine tools and the rise of the mechanized factory system . The Industrial Revolution also led to an unprecedented rise in the rate of population growth. Textiles were the dominant industry of

1416-478: The 1890s after the introduction of the practical DC motor and the AC motor , was fastest between 1900 and 1930. This was aided by the establishment of electric utilities with central stations and the lowering of electricity prices from 1914 to 1917. Electric motors allowed more flexibility in manufacturing and required less maintenance than line shafts and belts. Many factories witnessed a 30% increase in output owing to

1475-536: The 8th century. Papermaking technology was spread to Europe by the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . A paper mill was established in Sicily in the 12th century. In Europe the fiber to make pulp for making paper was obtained from linen and cotton rags. Lynn Townsend White Jr. credited the spinning wheel with increasing the supply of rags, which led to cheap paper, which was a factor in the development of printing. Due to

1534-638: The CEO of General Electric , called for the United States to increase its manufacturing base employment to 20% of the workforce, commenting that the U.S. has outsourced too much in some areas and can no longer rely on the financial sector and consumer spending to drive demand. Further, while U.S. manufacturing performs well compared to the rest of the U.S. economy, research shows that it performs poorly compared to manufacturing in other high-wage countries. A total of 3.2 million – one in six U.S. manufacturing jobs – have disappeared between 2000 and 2007. In

1593-559: The Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital invested. The textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods. Rapid industrialization first began in Britain, starting with mechanized spinning in the 1780s, with high rates of growth in steam power and iron production occurring after 1800. Mechanized textile production spread from Great Britain to continental Europe and

1652-621: The Mediterranean basin. Early construction techniques used by the Ancient Egyptians made use of bricks composed mainly of clay, sand, silt, and other minerals. The Middle Ages witnessed new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. Papermaking , a 2nd-century Chinese technology, was carried to the Middle East when a group of Chinese papermakers were captured in

1711-700: The UK, EEF the manufacturers organisation has led calls for the UK economy to be rebalanced to rely less on financial services and has actively promoted the manufacturing agenda. According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), China is the top manufacturer worldwide by 2023 output, producing 28.7% of the total global manufacturing output, followed by the United States of America , Germany , Japan , and India . UNIDO also publishes

1770-587: The United States accounted for 10.70% of the total national output, employing 8.41% of the workforce. The total value of manufacturing output reached $ 2.5 trillion. In 2023, Germany's manufacturing output reached $ 844.93 billion, marking a 12.25% increase from 2022. The sector employed approximately 5.5 million people, accounting for around 20.8% of the workforce. These are the top 50 countries by total value of manufacturing output in U.S. dollars for its noted year according to World Bank : Product design Product Design Process: The product design process

1829-527: The United States in the early 19th century, with important centres of textiles, iron and coal emerging in Belgium and the United States and later textiles in France. An economic recession occurred from the late 1830s to the early 1840s when the adoption of the Industrial Revolution's early innovations, such as mechanized spinning and weaving, slowed down and their markets matured. Innovations developed late in

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1888-445: The benefits of a product that creates it. Hazardous materials may expose workers to health risks. These costs are now well known and there is effort to address them by improving efficiency , reducing waste, using industrial symbiosis , and eliminating harmful chemicals. The negative costs of manufacturing can also be addressed legally. Developed countries regulate manufacturing activity with labor laws and environmental laws. Across

1947-520: The casting of cannon, the blast furnace came into widespread use in France in the mid 15th century. The blast furnace had been used in China since the 4th century BC. The stocking frame , which was invented in 1598, increased a knitter's number of knots per minute from 100 to 1000. The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the United States from 1760 to

2006-568: The concept of "focus", with an implication that a business cannot perform at the highest level along all five dimensions and must therefore select one or two competitive priorities. This view led to the theory of "trade offs" in manufacturing strategy. Similarly, Elizabeth Haas wrote in 1987 about the delivery of value in manufacturing for customers in terms of "lower prices, greater service responsiveness or higher quality". The theory of "trade offs" has subsequently being debated and questioned, but Skinner wrote in 1992 that at that time "enthusiasm for

2065-451: The concepts of 'manufacturing strategy' [had] been higher", noting that in academic papers , executive courses and case studies , levels of interest were "bursting out all over". Manufacturing writer Terry Hill has commented that manufacturing is often seen as a less "strategic" business activity than functions such as marketing and finance , and that manufacturing managers have "come late" to business strategy-making discussions, where, as

2124-442: The design process, and the ideal ways people wish they could interact with those objects. Many new designs will fail and many won't even make it to market. Some designs eventually become obsolete. The design process itself can be quite frustrating usually taking 5 or 6 tries to get the product design right. A product that fails in the marketplace the first time may be re-introduced to the market 2 more times. If it continues to fail,

2183-399: The desired product. Contemporary manufacturing encompasses all intermediary stages involved in producing and integrating components of a product. Some industries, such as semiconductor and steel manufacturers, use the term fabrication instead. The manufacturing sector is closely connected with the engineering and industrial design industries. The Modern English word manufacture

2242-481: The globe, manufacturers can be subject to regulations and pollution taxes to offset the environmental costs of manufacturing activities . Labor unions and craft guilds have played a historic role in the negotiation of worker rights and wages. Environment laws and labor protections that are available in developed nations may not be available in the third world . Tort law and product liability impose additional costs on manufacturing. These are significant dynamics in

2301-613: The growth of the ancient civilizations, many ancient technologies resulted from advances in manufacturing. Several of the six classic simple machines were invented in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamians have been credited with the invention of the wheel. The wheel and axle mechanism first appeared with the potter's wheel , invented in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) during the 5th millennium BC. Egyptian paper made from papyrus , as well as pottery , were mass-produced and exported throughout

2360-602: The increasing shift to electric motors. Electrification enabled modern mass production, and the biggest impact of early mass production was in the manufacturing of everyday items, such as at the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company , which electrified its mason jar plant in Muncie, Indiana , U.S. around 1900. The new automated process used glass blowing machines to replace 210 craftsman glass blowers and helpers. A small electric truck

2419-407: The industry in the United States and other countries. According to a "traditional" view of manufacturing strategy, there are five key dimensions along which the performance of manufacturing can be assessed: cost, quality , dependability , flexibility and innovation . In regard to manufacturing performance, Wickham Skinner , who has been called "the father of manufacturing strategy ", adopted

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2478-513: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Supplier&oldid=1044255615 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor , machines , tools , and chemical or biological processing or formulation . It

2537-802: The introduction of the prepared-core technique , where multiple blades could be rapidly formed from a single core stone. Pressure flaking , in which a wood, bone, or antler punch could be used to shape a stone very finely was developed during the Upper Paleolithic , beginning approximately 40,000 years ago. During the Neolithic period, polished stone tools were manufactured from a variety of hard rocks such as flint , jade , jadeite , and greenstone . The polished axes were used alongside other stone tools including projectiles , knives, and scrapers, as well as tools manufactured from organic materials such as wood, bone, and antler. Copper smelting

2596-405: The large-scale manufacture of machine tools and the use of increasingly advanced machinery in steam-powered factories. Building on improvements in vacuum pumps and materials research, incandescent light bulbs became practical for general use in the late 1870s. This invention had a profound effect on the workplace because factories could now have second and third shift workers. Shoe production

2655-640: The making of products by hand. Human ancestors manufactured objects using stone and other tools long before the emergence of Homo sapiens about 200,000 years ago. The earliest methods of stone tool making, known as the Oldowan " industry ", date back to at least 2.3 million years ago, with the earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in Ethiopia within the Great Rift Valley , dating back to 2.5 million years ago. To manufacture

2714-727: The market towards end customers . This relative cost reduction towards the market, is how manufacturing firms secure their profit margins . Manufacturing has unique health and safety challenges and has been recognized by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues. Surveys and analyses of trends and issues in manufacturing and investment around

2773-423: The ongoing process, occurring over the last few decades, of manufacture-based industries relocating operations to "developing-world" economies where the costs of production are significantly lower than in "developed-world" economies. From a financial perspective, the goal of the manufacturing industry is mainly to achieve cost benefits per unit produced, which in turn leads to cost reductions in product prices for

2832-627: The period, such as the increasing adoption of locomotives, steamboats and steamships, hot blast iron smelting and new technologies, such as the electrical telegraph , were widely introduced in the 1840s and 1850s, were not powerful enough to drive high rates of growth. Rapid economic growth began to occur after 1870, springing from a new group of innovations in what has been called the Second Industrial Revolution . These innovations included new steel making processes , mass-production , assembly lines , electrical grid systems,

2891-492: The problem space broadly without predefined solutions. This phase involves engaging with core personas, conducting open-ended conversations, and gathering unfiltered input from customer-facing teams. The goal is to identify and document various problem areas, allowing themes and key issues to emerge naturally. Converging Stage: As insights emerge, teams transition to the converging stage, where they narrow down problem areas and prioritize solutions. This phase involves defining

2950-526: The problem, understanding major pain points, and advocating for solutions within the organization. Effective convergence requires clear articulation of the problem's significance and consideration of business strategies and feasibility. Iterative Process: The Double Diamond Framework is iterative, allowing teams to revisit stages as needed based on feedback and outcomes. Moving back to earlier stages may be necessary if solutions fail to address underlying issues or elicit negative user responses. Success lies in

3009-418: The process is described by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnel in "The Seven Universal Stages of Creative Problem-Solving." The process is usually completed by a group of people with different skills and training—e.g. industrial designers , field experts (prospective users), engineers (for engineering design aspects), depending upon the nature and type of the product involved. The process often involves figuring out what

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3068-450: The product is then considered to be dead because the market believes it to be a failure. Most new products fail, even if there's a great idea behind them. All types of product design are clearly linked to the economic health of manufacturing sectors. Innovation provides much of the competitive impetus for the development of new products, with new technology often requiring a new design interpretation. It only takes one manufacturer to create

3127-527: The production flow and some had special carriages for rolling heavy items into machining positions. Production of the Ford Model T used 32,000 machine tools. Lean manufacturing , also known as just-in-time manufacturing, was developed in Japan in the 1930s. It is a production method aimed primarily at reducing times within the production system as well as response times from suppliers and to customers. It

3186-508: The team's ability to adapt and refine their approach over time. In design , Creative Visualization refers to the process by which computer generated imagery , digital animation , three-dimensional models , and two-dimensional representations, such as architectural blueprints , engineering drawings , and sewing patterns are created and used in order to visualize a potential product prior to production. Such products include prototypes for vehicles in automotive engineering , apparel in

3245-437: The then-well-known technique of chain or sequential production. Ford also bought or designed and built special purpose machine tools and fixtures such as multiple spindle drill presses that could drill every hole on one side of an engine block in one operation and a multiple head milling machine that could simultaneously machine 15 engine blocks held on a single fixture. All of these machine tools were arranged systematically in

3304-431: The world focus on such things as: In addition to general overviews, researchers have examined the features and factors affecting particular key aspects of manufacturing development. They have compared production and investment in a range of Western and non-Western countries and presented case studies of growth and performance in important individual industries and market-economic sectors. On June 26, 2009, Jeff Immelt ,

3363-857: Was introduced in Australia in the 1950s by the British Motor Corporation (Australia) at its Victoria Park plant in Sydney, from where the idea later migrated to Toyota. News spread to western countries from Japan in 1977 in two English-language articles: one referred to the methodology as the "Ohno system", after Taiichi Ohno , who was instrumental in its development within Toyota. The other article, by Toyota authors in an international journal, provided additional details. Finally, those and other publicity were translated into implementations, beginning in 1980 and then quickly multiplying throughout

3422-481: Was mechanized during the mid 19th century. Mass production of sewing machines and agricultural machinery such as reapers occurred in the mid to late 19th century. The mass production of bicycles started in the 1880s. Steam-powered factories became widespread, although the conversion from water power to steam occurred in England earlier than in the U.S. Electrification of factories, which had begun gradually in

3481-483: Was now used to handle 150 dozen bottles at a time whereas previously used hand trucks could only carry 6 dozen bottles at a time. Electric mixers replaced men with shovels handling sand and other ingredients that were fed into the glass furnace. An electric overhead crane replaced 36 day laborers for moving heavy loads across the factory. Mass production was popularized in the late 1910s and 1920s by Henry Ford 's Ford Motor Company , which introduced electric motors to

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