Downstream (manufacturing)

For other uses, see Downstream (disambiguation).

Downstream, in manufacturing, refers to processes which occur later on in a production sequence or production line.^[1]

Viewing a company "from order to cash" might have high-level processes such as marketing, sales, order entry, manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and invoicing. Each of these could be deconstructed into many sub-processes and supporting processes.

The manufacturing process consists of such sub-processes as design, tooling, inventory management, receiving, assembly, and so on. The products being manufactured are created in a sequence of processes: any process occurring after another is considered to be "downstream".

See also

• Agile manufacturing
• Lean manufacturing

References

1. NetSuite.com. "Managing the Manufacturing Supply Chain". Oracle NetSuite. Archived from the original on 2024-10-04. Retrieved 2025-01-27.