Each step in a production process can be completed in a variety of ways. Consider the process of sewing a garment, for example. The key to process selection is to balance the costs, efficiency, output and quality of each option to meet your production goals. Some options may produce a higher output per hour while costing twice as much as other options, for example, while other options are less costly but produce more errors.
A single employee could sew an entire garment, then pass it down to a packaging line; several employees could be set up next to each other, each sewing a single stitch or section before quickly passing it on, or the sewing could be handled by a machine. The finished garment could be sent off to the packaging line via an employee pushing large bins or via a conveyor belt stretching around the factory, as another example.