Final answer:
Long-term production planning entails expanding capabilities over several years, during which time all costs become variable. This extended period, known as the long run, allows companies to build new factories, hire more workers, and fully adjust production, leading to long production runs of finished goods.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process that requires long production runs to turn out finished goods over time is associated with long-term production expansion. In the economic concept of the long run, all costs are considered to be variable, differing significantly from the short run where some costs are fixed. Expanding production capability usually involves building new factories, hiring additional workers, acquiring new machinery, or opening new stores. These actions are part of a long-term strategy that can take several years to fully implement and optimize, allowing for greater flexibility and eventually leading to the efficient output of goods and services.
The long run is a period where firms can fully adjust their production and scale because no costs are fixed. During this time, companies can engage in thorough planning and make strategic investments, as well as consider alternative production technologies to optimize the manufacturing processes, reduce costs, or increase output. Hence, long production runs that create finished goods over an extended period are a hallmark of an entity's strategic long-term production planning.