产品线长度受到公司目标的影响，一个目标是创造一个新的产品线，从而引发销量的攀升。例如：通用汽车想要使购买雪佛兰的消费者转而购买别克和凯迪拉克。

与此不同的目标是创造不同的、可以实现交叉销售的产品线：惠普销售计算机也销售打印机。还有一个不同的目标是创造可以避免经济波动影响的产品线。伊莱克斯以不同品牌向折扣、中价和高价细分市场出售诸如冰箱、洗碗机和吸尘器等白色家电。寻求高市场份额和高增长的公司一般拥有较长的产品线。强调高利润的公司会选择经过认真筛选的产品构成的短生产线。

Product-Line Length

Company objectives influence product-line length. One objective is to create a product line to induce upselling: Thus General Motors would like to move customers up from the Chevrolet to the Buick or the Cadillac.

A different objective is to create a product line that facilitates cross-selling: Hewlett-Packard sells printers as well as computers. Still another objective is to create a product line that protects against economic ups and downs; Electrolux offers white goods such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and vacuum cleaners under different brand names in the discount, middle-market, and premium segments. Companies seeking high market share and market growth will generally carry longer product lines. Companies that emphasize high profitability will carry shorter lines consisting of carefully chosen items.

产品线具有不断延长的趋势。生产能力过剩会促使产品线经理开发新的产品。推销队伍和分销商也希望产品线更为全面，以满足顾客的需求，因而也向公司施加压力。但是，当产品增加后，有几类费用也相应上升。这些费用包括设计费和工程费、仓储费、转产费、订货处理费、运输费，以及新产品项目的促销费。最终，有人叫停：公司的高层管理者可能会由于资金不足或缺乏生产能力而要求停止开发，控制人员可能要求研究那些亏损的产品。先是产品线增长，随后是大幅度的产品削减，这种情况将会反复出现。

Product lines tend to lengthen over time. Excess manufacturing capacity puts pressure on the product-line manager to develop new items. The sales force and distributors also pressure the company for a more complete product line to satisfy customers. But as items are added, costs rise: design and engineering costs, inventory-carrying costs, manufacturing-changeover costs, order-processing costs, transportation costs, and new-item promotional costs. Eventually, someone calls a halt: Top management may stop development because of insufficient funds or manufacturing capacity. The controller may call for a study of money-losing items. A pattern of product-line growth followed by massive pruning may repeat itself many times.

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