of materials (such as, raw materials, parts, work in process (WIP), finished products). • However, they are not simply kept in it, but being transformed from raw materials to finished products step by step. • So, the factory is also a huge human-machine working system composed of various resources (i.e., humans, and machines). • The resources are carrying out various steps of the whole transformation process of materials, which we call operations. • Thus, from a functional point of view, the factory can be conceptualized as a collection of those transforming operations. How to Conceptualize a Factory