The Product Mix

Before turning to the product mix decisions, we first have to know what the product mix actually is. The
product mix, also called product portfolio, is the set of all product lines and items that a company offers
for sale.

The components of product mix decisions

Four important components of a product mix can be identified. These are: width, length, depth, and
consistency
# Width-A company’s width of the product mix consists of different product lines carried by the
company. The width of the product mix measures the number of product lines in the company.
# Length-The length refers to the total number of items in its product mix.
# Depth-Depth of the product mix, on the other hand, refers to the number of variants that are offered
of each product line of the company. The depth of a product mix is measured by the number of products
offered in each product line.
# Consistency-A product mix can be termed as consistent if there are similarities in terms of end-use,
production requirements, distribution channels, etc.

Illustration of a Product Mix

In the illustration above, the product mix shows a:

 Width of 2
 Length of 12
 Product Line 1 Depth of 6
 Product Line 2 Depth of 6
The mix is considered consistent if the products in all the product lines are similar