A business that produces on an order-by-order basis to meet customers’ specifications. A job shop
generally secures work through a bidding process, and thus they tend to be highly competitive.
They often serve other companies and/or distributors as opposed to consumers or end users. They are also often
highly specialized. Product differentiation is generally limited to variations within a basic product category as opposed to product variety.
They can be extremely diverse in terms of output, technology, operations, and size. Output can range all the way from single parts to complex sub-assemblies. Materials can include metals, plastics, paper, rubber, cloth, ceramics… virtually any material with commercial applications. Production technologies are equally diverse.
Not all job shops are manufacturers. Printing, engineering services, architectural design, advertising agencies, construction companies, and others, all operate on a similar order-driven business model.
(Superfactory.com Newsletter Volume 2 Number 7)
Other Definitions
Job Shop – A manufacturing enterprise devoted to producing special or custom made parts or products usually in small quantities for specific customers. (appl.nasa.gov/resources/lexicon/terms_j.html)
Job Shop – Job shops are typically small manufacturing operations that handle specialized manufacturing processes such as small customer orders or small batch jobs. Job shops typically move on to different jobs (possibly with different customers) when each job is completed. By nature of this type of manufacturing operation, job shops are usually specialized in skill and processes. (Wikipedia)
Job Shop – A plant or shop floor given over to the manufacture of individual works orders, usually on a once-off basis. All work undertaken in the job shop is thus unique, or, at least, is individually undertaken. Many products in the job shop will have been specially designed and will thus have unique product routes. The length of time of manufacture in a job shop is typically days or weeks rather than hours. Repetitive or batch manufacture is not associated with work undertaken in the job shop. (Glossary of Manufacturing)
