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

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

 mass production

Mass production

Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...

 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

Build to order and sometimes referred to as make to order , is a production approach where once a confirmed order for products is received, products are built...

, where items are produced to specific sales order

Sales Order

The sales order, sometimes abbreviated as SO, is an order issued by a business to a customer. A sales order may be for products and/or services. Given the wide variety of businesses, this means that the orders can be fulfilled in several ways...

s.