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Convenience food manufacture generates considerable waste through poor planning of production. This problem is particularly acute for products that have a very short shelf life and will be disposed of as waste should their shelf life expire. Chilled ready-meals are convenience foods with relatively short shelf lives and volatile consumer demands; their manufacture is based on forecasted volumes and when demand has been over-predicted, considerable wastes are created. This is referred to as OverProduction Waste which typically sees finished product disposed of through commercial waste channels due to lack of demand. The research reported in this paper has investigated the generation of a responsive demand management framework for the reduction of overproduction wastes.

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Methods related to Design for X are known to have contributed positively to product designs, resource selection and realisation of products. Despite these achievements, frequent design errors which can be attributed to the lack of integration of design and manufacturing concepts exist. Departmentalisation, skill concentration and protection of institutional interests contribute largely to the non-full integration of design and manufacturing methods. This article adopts a process-engineering approach which supports the development and integration of product and process models for design concept analysis. The methodology described in this article is part of a broad-based design methodology with a potential to improve design and manufacturing integration and offers solutions for effective and timely reconfiguration of manufacturing systems in view of meeting market demands.

Design methods support the derivation of alternative design solutions, and based on product requirements, it provides a platform for the evaluation and selection of appropriate solutions. Because of the driving needs of design and manufacturing industries and also the quest to remain competitive, several design methodologies aimed at addressing aspects of industrial requirements have emerged. This study identifies current best practice design methodologies and their performance when compared with current trends in design and manufacturing. Based on the review, the strengths and weaknesses of current methods are highlighted and used as the platform to support the recommendation for an integrated design and manufacturing methodology. The integrated design and manufacturing methodology rest on the strengths of product design, cost engineering, enterprise and process simulation modelling techniques. This method can help in the (re)design and (re)engineering of products and processes for better cost indications; help determine appropriate manufacturing paradigms; perform virtual experiments to understand implication of production volume changes on designs and flexibility needs in production systems.