- Big Ambitions factories produce goods for your own stores rather than selling directly to other businesses.
- Start with one product line that offers access to goods unavailable through normal imports.
- Choose the warehouse first by checking its size, layout, and vehicle bays.
- Plan the supply chain with purchase agents, factory workers, delivery drivers, and a logistics manager.
- Use factories strategically to reduce shortages and unlock high-value products such as expensive jewelry.
Big Ambitions What to Do With Factories
Factories in Big Ambitions are late-game production businesses designed to manufacture goods for your retail network. They are expensive to establish, require specialized machines and workers, and depend on a reliable import and delivery chain. Their value comes from control: you can create products that are difficult or impossible to obtain through ordinary wholesalers, while also gaining protection against shortages and backorders.
The best factory plan begins with a business decision rather than a building purchase. Decide what your stores need, inspect the recipe, calculate the machines and ingredients required, and then rent a warehouse that can support the complete production line.
Video Highlights:
- Factories can provide resilience against shortages and wholesaler backorders.
- High-value products may require several machines and multiple production stages.
- Expensive jewelry is a more manageable starting point than complex electronics.
- Factory expansion can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars before staffing and supplies.
The two main purposes of a factory
| Factory purpose | What it provides | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Supply resilience | A backup source when wholesalers are sold out or goods face backorders | Keep important stores operating |
| Product access | Goods that cannot be imported as finished products | Enter jewelry, electronics, clothing, or gift markets |
A factory does not automatically improve every business. If a product is cheap, easy to import, and consistently available, manufacturing it may not justify the rent, machines, wages, and logistics overhead. Factories become more useful when the product has a high selling value, a difficult supply chain, or limited availability elsewhere.
Open the in-game factory recipe information before renting a building. A small production line may fit in a compact warehouse, while electronics and multi-stage goods need considerably more room.
Expensive Jewelry
Uses metal bands and uncut gems. It requires laser cutting, polishing, and consumer goods assembly. This is a focused first project for a luxury retail network.
Complex Electronics
Products such as high-end phones use many ingredients, including batteries, circuits, glass, microphones, speakers, and other components. Plan for significant space and capital.
Food Production
Recipes can require several ingredients and processing stages. Hot dogs, for example, use dough, raw sausage, and tomatoes before final assembly.
Select a Warehouse That Fits the Production Line
Any warehouse can function as a factory after you start a business and select the Factory business type. However, warehouse layouts are not equally useful. Size, open floor space, storage capacity, and vehicle bays all affect how easily you can operate and expand the building.
Traffic index is not the main concern for a factory warehouse. Instead, focus on the practical layout. A factory needs room for input stations, conveyor belts, production machines, output stations, pallet shelves, and employee access paths.
Warehouse selection priorities
| Feature | Why it matters | Planning guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Floor space | Machines and belts need a clear production area | Select larger layouts for multi-stage recipes |
| Vehicle bays | Drivers need assigned spaces for deliveries | One active bay may be enough for a small factory |
| Storage area | Inputs and finished goods require shelf capacity | Prefer pallet shelves for higher box capacity |
| Rent and startup cost | Factory expenses begin before production earns money | Preserve cash for taxes, wages, and imports |
| Expansion room | More machines may be needed after testing output | Leave open space beside the first line |
The factory guide recommends using pallet shelves when possible because they hold substantially more boxes than ordinary storage shelves. Workers also need a reachable route between shelves and input or output stations. A shelf that cannot be accessed will prevent the factory from moving materials correctly.
The Factory Supply Depot at 57 5th Avenue sells the machines and equipment used in production. Visit the manager once to add the depot to your phone contacts. After that, equipment can be ordered for delivery during opening hours instead of being moved manually from the store.
Factory equipment is only one expense. Reserve money for warehouse rent, employee wages, importer orders, delivery vehicles, taxes, and possible production adjustments. A factory that cannot afford materials will remain idle.
Basic factory setup flow
Inspect the recipe
Use the factory recipe list or the in-game F1 help menu to identify every ingredient, production machine, input station, output station, and intermediate product.
Compare warehouse layouts
Check the available warehouses for floor space, vehicle bays, rent, and expansion room. Avoid choosing a building solely because it is the cheapest option.
Start the business
Rent or purchase the warehouse, open the business setup menu, and select Factory as the business type.
Order and place equipment
Contact the Factory Supply Depot, order the required machines, and arrange them so arrows connect each input to the next production stage.
Test the line before scaling
Begin with the minimum practical number of machines. Confirm that workers can reach every station and that materials move through the line.
Build an Efficient Production Line
The central factory challenge is connecting ingredients, machines, workers, and storage into a continuous flow. Production machines show blue input arrows and an orange output arrow. Materials enter through the blue side, pass through the machine, and leave through the orange side.
A simple production line may use separate input and output stations for every stage, but that arrangement can require more workers and more equipment. When possible, connect machines directly so intermediate products travel from one process to the next without unnecessary handling.
Example: expensive jewelry
Expensive jewelry uses metal bands and uncut expensive gems. The gems pass through a laser cutting machine and then a polishing machine. The processed gem and metal band are combined in a consumer goods assembly machine before the finished jewelry moves to the output station.
| Production stage | Required item or machine | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Material input | Metal bands, uncut expensive gems | Supplies the recipe |
| Gem processing | Laser cutting machine | Processes uncut gems |
| Gem finishing | Polishing machine | Prepares the gem for assembly |
| Final assembly | Consumer goods assembly machine | Combines the processed gem and metal band |
| Finished output | Output station and storage | Moves completed jewelry to shelves |
This line is comparatively focused because it uses two main material inputs and a short sequence of processing machines. It can also be adapted for cheap jewelry if the recipe uses the same basic material structure. That flexibility makes jewelry useful for testing factory layouts before committing to a more complicated electronics chain.
Example: hot dogs
Hot dogs demonstrate why recipe research matters. The recipe requires dough, raw sausage, and a bag of tomatoes. Those ingredients are processed into buns, grilled sausage, and ketchup before reaching the food assembly machine.
| Ingredient or stage | Machine | Production role |
|---|---|---|
| Dough | Automated baking machine | Creates the bun component |
| Raw sausage | Conveyor food grill | Creates the cooked sausage component |
| Bag of tomatoes | Industrial blending machine | Creates the ketchup component |
| Three prepared components | Food assembly machine | Produces hot dogs |
The number of ingredients determines how many input stations are needed. In this example, three ingredients require three input connections, plus an output route for the completed product. Conveyor belts add another cost, so keep the first design compact and leave room for later optimization.
Place machines in the same order as the recipe: input, processing, finishing, assembly, and output. Direct connections can reduce handling requirements, but workers still need clear access to stations and shelves.
How to optimize output
Production efficiency depends on machine timing and output ratios. If one machine produces more intermediate goods than the next machine can consume, materials may accumulate. If the next machine consumes more than the previous machine supplies, the line develops gaps and production slows.
Use this testing method:
- Check how many units the first machine produces per cycle.
- Check how many units the next machine consumes per cycle.
- Add machines only when the previous stage can supply them.
- Use splitters when one input needs to feed multiple machines.
- Watch the belts after production begins instead of guessing from the layout screen.
The factory guide’s French fries example shows how timing can be improved by matching a food cutting machine’s output with multiple automated frying machines. The same principle applies to jewelry, electronics, and other recipes: production ratios matter more than simply filling the warehouse with machines.
Staffing, Imports, and Delivery Routes
A factory requires more than production equipment. Factory workers handle input and output stations, purchase agents secure ingredients, logistics managers create delivery routes, and drivers transport finished goods to your stores.
Factory workers can be recruited through the Anderson Recruitment agency or found through a headhunter in the MyEmployees app. Their skill level does not determine production quality, but they must be assigned to the correct schedule slots in BizMan. If a station has no worker, the related material movement may stop.
Required support roles
| Role | Workplace | Main responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Factory worker | Factory | Loads input stations and moves finished goods from output stations |
| Purchase agent | Headquarters | Orders ingredients from importers |
| Logistics manager | Headquarters | Configures routes from the factory to stores |
| Delivery driver | Factory vehicle bay | Transports finished products |
| HR manager | Headquarters | Helps manage employee replacement and training support |
For factory ingredients, the relevant importers include Aquatic Bay Cargo, Maritime Freight Line, and Global Harvest Traders. Maritime Freight Line is especially important for electronics, clothing, jewelry, and gift ingredients. Visit the importer manager once so the company becomes available as a phone contact and can be assigned to a purchase agent.
Auto-stock orders can be configured on a one-day, three-day, or seven-day cycle. Set a target based on your production test rather than ordering excessive materials immediately. Remember that importers may enforce minimum order values, and deliveries can fail if you lack funds or enough shelf space.
Delivery vehicle capacity
| Vehicle category | Standard locations | With 100% logistics skill | Driver skill requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight Truck | 4 | 8 | 75% or higher |
| Vord Courier D500 | 3 | 6 | 75% or higher |
| UMC Desert, UMC Nunavut, Vord V150 | 2 | 4 | 50% or higher |
| Other vehicles | 1 | 2 | No listed minimum |
The logistics manager’s skill changes how many locations a vehicle can serve. A small factory may begin with one vehicle bay and one delivery route, while a larger building can support additional drivers and destinations.
To assign a vehicle, drive it into the factory’s driver bay and exit. Then open BizMan, select the factory, and assign a driver to the vehicle slot. Finally, connect the logistics manager to the factory and set the stores that should receive the finished goods.
A production line is only useful when ingredients arrive and finished products leave. Confirm that your headquarters has a purchase agent and logistics manager before investing heavily in factory capacity.
Factory Readiness Checklist:
- Choose a product with a researched recipe and a clear retail purpose
- Rent a warehouse with enough floor space, storage, and vehicle access
- Order every required machine, input station, output station, and shelf
- Hire and schedule factory workers for all active stations
- Assign purchase, logistics, and delivery staff before production begins
When to Expand and What to Avoid
Factories are generally an end-game investment because their startup costs are high. A single production line may require several expensive machines, a warehouse deposit, imported materials, workers, vehicles, and ongoing operating expenses. Expansion should follow a successful production test, not come before it.
Begin with a product that supports an existing store network. Expensive jewelry is a practical example because it provides access to a premium product while using a more focused line than high-end electronics. Once the line is stable, compare warehouse stock against store demand and increase capacity only when the factory is consistently unable to keep up.
Common factory mistakes
| Mistake | Result | Better approach |
|---|---|---|
| Renting before checking the recipe | Machines do not fit or the line needs more stations | Inspect the recipe first |
| Buying too many machines | Cash is locked into unused equipment | Start with a test line |
| Ignoring shelf capacity | Imports or finished goods cannot be stored | Add pallet shelves early |
| Hiring workers too late | Stations remain inactive | Schedule staff before delivery day |
| Ordering without minimum fees | Import orders may not arrive | Check total order requirements |
| Building without delivery support | Finished goods stay in the factory | Prepare vehicles, drivers, and routes |
| Expanding during a cash shortage | Taxes and operating bills become difficult | Keep a reserve for fixed expenses |
Factories can also make your retail network more resilient. If a wholesaler experiences a backorder, your own production line may continue supplying the affected stores, provided that the factory has enough ingredients in stock. This makes inventory planning as important as machine placement.
Avoid changing several variables at once during testing. If you add machines, change the recipe, and modify delivery targets simultaneously, it becomes difficult to identify the cause of an imbalance. Adjust one part of the system, let the game run, and then inspect production and store stock again.
Do not judge a factory only by its selling price. Include rent, wages, imports, vehicles, storage, taxes, and delivery delays when deciding whether another line is affordable.
Factory FAQ
Q: What do you do with factories in Big Ambitions?
Use them to manufacture goods for your own stores. Their main advantages are producing difficult-to-import products and protecting your retail network from shortages or backorders.
Q: Can a factory sell products to other businesses or wholesalers?
No. Factory goods are intended for your own stores and warehouses rather than direct sales to other businesses or wholesalers.
Q: Does a factory worker need access to a shelf?
Yes. Workers need a reachable path to shelves so they can load input stations and move products from output stations.
Q: Does factory worker skill affect production quality?
The available factory information does not distinguish production quality by worker skill. Higher-skilled workers can cost more without providing a stated production benefit.
For additional mechanics, use the official Big Ambitions factory guide, which covers warehouse selection, machines, factory workers, import contracts, delivery vehicles, logistics managers, and production-line setup.
Build one compact line, supply it with conservative import targets, and verify the full loop from raw materials to store delivery before adding another product.