Product mix or Product Assortment refers to the number of product lines that an organization offers to its customers. A product line is a group of related products manufactured or marketed by a single company. Such products function in similar manner, sold to the same customer group, sold through the same type of outlets, and fall within the same price range.
Product mix consists of various product lines that an organization offers, an organization may have just one product line in its product mix and it may also have multiple product lines. These product lines may be fairly similar or totally different,
example – Dishwashing detergent liquid and Powder are two similar product lines, both are used for cleaning and based on same technology;
whereas Deodorants and Laundry are totally different product lines.
An organization’s product mix has following four dimensions.
- Width,
- Length,
- Depth, and
- consistency
Width: The width of an organization’s product mix pertains to the number of product lines that the organization is offering.
example, Hindustan Uni Lever offers wide width of its home care, personal care and beverage products. The width of HUL product mix includes Personal wash, Laundry, Skincare, Haircare, Oral care, Deodorants, Tea, and Coffee.
Length: The length of an organization’s product mix pertains to the total number of products or
items in the product mix. As_in the given diagram of Hindustan Uni Lever product mix, there are 23 products, hence, the length of product mix is 23.
Depth: The depth of an organization’s product mix pertains to the total number of variants of each product offered in the line. Variants include size, color, flavors, and other distinguishing characteristics.
example, Close-up, a brand of HUL is available in three formations and in three sizes. Hence, the depth of Close-up brand is 3*3 = 9.
Consistency: The consistency of an organization’s product mix refers to how closely related the various product lines are in use, production, distribution, or in any other manner.
