How many steps are in a 'typical' production chain?

Question

I am modeling production chains and I want to know what is a reasonable assumption for how many sequential steps (one after the other in linear sequence) are there in a production chain. Starting from the very beginning( raw material ) and going to the very end ( final good ), how many production steps are there?.Each step purchases goods from the previous step, except the first which extracts raw material. Note: If there is a vertically integrated company, count the number of steps before integration occurred.

I realize that a complete analysis is more of a production tree, narrowing down to the final product. But I am concerned with following only one starting product (only one linear path).

For example, is 15 way too large? Is 5 too small? If you want to pick an industry, and make your estimate for that industry, that is fine. I just want some better information to go on. Any sources and links are encouraged. Do not plagiarize.

Answer 1

about 8or 10

Answer 2

1: Market research (competition level, demand projections, profit calculations, etc),

2: Building production lines (purchasing, renting, etc.)

3: Hiring workers,

4: Purchasing other resources,

5: Ensuring smooth production process,

6: Selling products/goods

7: Market reaction and it's dynamics feedbacks, etc.

8: repurchasing resources to keep appropriate stock level

9: Modifying product to market needs,

10: Modifying production lines (investments)

...

...

etc. cycle is repeating all the time.