Anassembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods. The best known form of the assembly line, the moving assembly line, was realized into practice by Ford Motor Company between 1908 and 1915, and made famous in the following decade by the social ramifications of mass production, such as the affordability of the Ford Model T and the introduction of high wages for Ford workers.

However, the various preconditions for the development at Ford stretched far back into the 19th century. Ford was the first company to build large factories around the concept. Mass production via assembly lines is widely considered to be the catalyst which initiated the modern consumer culture by making possible low unit costs for manufactured goods.