According to business economist Werner Kern, production management is an operational service provision. “Production is any kind of internal transformation of goods into higher-value goods”. In his opinion, terms such as production, costs, planning, control/organization as well as manufacturing processes are not treated separately from each other but are considered holistically.

In the course of production, every company tries to answer its business management questions within the production itself. The goal is always to achieve and secure economic production structures and production processes. The term production management therefore also includes manufacturing management and materials management.

Production management in intralogistics

With regard to intralogistics, it describes on the one hand the logistics business process as a whole, and on the other hand the many related processes in the distribution center itself. These are therefore not only objects that are produced by classic production or manufacturing or assembly processes. According to Kern, the refinement and finishing processes (dyeing, packaging), in which no significant changes in product properties occur, are also included. In assembly line production (for example, in the automotive industry), the material handling landscape also plays a key production role and is therefore part of this economic theory.

The authors Hans Corsten, Ralf Gössinger and Günther Zäpfel ultimately sum it up in their explanations: “The production economy is primarily concerned with the management of technology, production and logistics processes in companies.

You can find further information under: Overview of goods.

Sources: Lecture script Produktionswirtschaft / Prof. Dr. Volker Harms/ Prof. Dr. Reinhard Elsner as well as the Handwörterbuch der Produktionswirtschaft / Prof. Dr. Werner Kern

Image credits teaser image: © Rudie – Fotolia.com

Also available in Deutsch (German)