Product Family
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A product family is a group of products that share similar processing steps and equipment, enabling flow cell design and value stream focus.
Definition
A product family is a group of products that pass through similar processing steps and common equipment, making them suitable for a dedicated flow cell or value stream. Identifying product families is a crucial early step in lean transformation: products grouped into families can share a cell, a scheduling system, and a value-stream focus. The grouping criterion is process similarity (do they use the same operations in roughly the same sequence?), not customer segments or marketing categories. A product family matrix helps visualize which products share which processes.
Examples
A fastener manufacturer analyzed 200 products. Three product families emerged based on process similarity: (1) cold-headed bolts, (2) machined screws, (3) formed brackets. Each family could have a dedicated cell with its unique equipment sequence, even though all three served the same automotive customers.
Key Points
- Grouping based on process similarity, not market categories
- Enables dedicated cells, focused scheduling, and value-stream management
- Products in a family should share 60-80% of processing steps
- Product family analysis precedes cell design and value-stream mapping
Common Misconceptions
Product families are defined by customers. A customer might buy products from multiple families. Families are defined by process similarity, not customer relationship.
All products must fit into families. Some products are "orphans" that don't fit cleanly into any family. These may require separate handling or assignment to the closest family.