Production, scheduled.
In context: Stage 09 · Manufacture · sub-stage Production
The point where a validated production process becomes a flow of real units: scheduled, routed, packed and tracked through to fulfilment.
The Production sub-stage of Manufacture turns a proven process into a running flow: a master schedule sets the dates, routing instructions tell each station what to do, packaging protects the unit, and an MRP system keeps materials and demand in step. This is where the line actually moves.
What the Production sub-stage is
This is where Manufacture stops planning and starts flowing. Production takes the validated process from Production Engineering and turns it into a repeatable cadence of real units moving through real stations. The job is to keep that flow steady and visible: every order scheduled, every operation routed, every part arriving when the line needs it rather than the week after.
I think of it as a system of dependencies rather than a list of tasks. The schedule depends on the order book; the routing depends on the schedule; the materials depend on the routing; and the packaging depends on the unit being finished and inspected. Pull one thread early or late and the whole flow stutters. The MRP system is what holds those threads in tension so they move together.
For the £149 sourdough proofing box, this is the sub-stage where Dan and Anna Hartley’s validated build became a planned run. The Stoke-on-Trent ceramic body and the Manchester PCB had to land at assembly in step, the first run of 500 to 1,000 units scheduled against demand from the Sourdough School audience, with a Year-1 path toward roughly 3,000 units. Getting the schedule and the materials to agree is what kept that run from stalling.
What’s in this sub-stage
Four activities take the Production sub-stage from a proven process to a running, tracked flow of finished units. Work them roughly in order.
How it fits the bigger picture
Production is the second sub-stage of Stage 09 Manufacture. It builds on the validated process from Production Engineering, and feeds the finished, tracked units into Stage 10 Deliver. Get the schedule, routing and materials moving as one system here and Deliver receives a steady flow it can fulfil; let them drift out of step and Deliver inherits the backlog.
What it can do
It converts a proven process into a predictable flow of units, with the schedule, the routing and the materials held in step by the MRP system. Done well, it gives you visible cadence, units that arrive packed and tracked, and early warning when demand or supply shifts.
What it can’t do
It can’t fix a process that was never validated; an unstable build will simply produce defects faster. And it can’t guarantee demand. Production keeps the flow honest and the materials in step, but the order book still has to be real.
See the full 10-stage process →
Try it yourself
Take your own product and sketch its production flow as a system, not a checklist. Write down the stations each unit passes through, the parts each one needs, and where a late delivery would stall everything downstream. Then start with the first activity below to plan it properly.
Or run the guided version. The Free Sprint covers the early stages; deeper manufacturing tools sit in the paid ladder. Start the Free Sprint →
— First in Production → Master production schedule