A business system developed at the beginning of the twentieth century to organize and manage product development, production operations, purchasing and customer relations. Its characteristics are:
- The design process consists of sequential rather than simultaneous steps.
- The production process has a rigid hierarchy with functions divided into thinking/planning and doing.
- The product is brought to the process rather than the other way around.
- Suppliers work on the basis of their quotes after being selected on unit prices rather than total cost to customer.
- Materials are delivered infrequently and in large batches.
- Information is managed through systems that come from above the organization. They dictate each production step as to what should happen next and "push" products to the next process downstream in the value stream.
- Customers often face push sales because of the need to meet quotas and clear out inventory that was produced based on faulty forecasts.
