Build to stock, or ''make to stock'', often abbreviated as ''BTS'' or ''MTS'', is a build-ahead production approach in which production plans may be based upon sales forecasts and/or historical demand. BTS is a usually associated with the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

techniques, where in anticipation of demand vast quantities of goods are produced and stocked in warehouses.

Overview

Build to stock is frequently considered as an appropriate solution for products where there are few product lines and long changeover times between costly products. Some firms build all their products to order while others build them to stock. Given the widespread proliferation of products, there are a number of manufacturers taking a hybrid approach, where some items are built to stock and others are built to order. Build to stock has been replaced in many industries by ''

build to order Build to Order (BTO: sometimes referred to as Make to Order or Made to Order (MTO)) is a production approach where products are not built until a confirmed order for products is received. Thus, the end consumer determines the time and number of ...

'', where items are produced to specific

sales order {{unref, date=December 2018 The sales order, sometimes abbreviated as SO, is an order issued by a business or sole trader to a customer. A sales order may be for products and/or services. Given the wide variety of businesses, this means that the o ...

References

Business terms Modes of production Supply chain management {{industry-stub