It is natural for companies to introduce differentiation or complexity to a product line with the hope of increasing revenue and the profits. Sales and Marketing support this option because the customer loves variety! After all, increased sales are the lifeline of any company and, it also increases market share - so it's got to be good!

Other functions, i.e., Supply Chain Mgmt., Operations Mgmt., Inventory Control, Warehouse Mgmt., to name a few, are not so quick to agree and counter that commonization drives product costs down with a direct positive impact to the bottom line by increasing profits.

Compare of the above statements, explaining both advantages and disadvantages from the following two (2) differing viewpoints:

a) Sales b) Manufacturing