MODULARITY AND VARIETY SPINOFFS: A SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING PERSPECTIVE

Authors

  • Khaled Medini

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23055/ijietap.2015.22.6.2057

Keywords:

product variety, product modularity, linear programming, supply chain planning, assembly

Abstract

Rising customer demand for customized products induces an increasing complexity on the side of manufacturing firms and their supply chains. Such complexity goes hand in hand with increasing costs and lead times of customer order fulfilment process. Product modularity is a common way to cope with diversified demands while reducing costs and lead times. This paper proposes a linear programming model for assembly supply chain planning considering product variety and supply chain operations costs. The model is used to analyze the impact of modularity on the economic performance of a fictive assembly firm in the field of electronic equipment, which is inspired by a real case. Several insights are drawn from the illustrative example. For instance, the model turns out to be very useful in identifying trade-offs between customer demand for variety and respective costs incurred by the enterprise.

Author Biography

Khaled Medini

Khaled Medini is currently an Assistant Professor at Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne, Fayol Institute. He received his PhD from Ecole Centrale de Nantes in 2013. He holds a MSc of Industrial Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Lille, 2010 and an Engineer Diploma from Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Tunis, 2009. His research interests relate to mass customization, product-services systems, sustainability, performance evaluation, and enterprise modelling and simulation to support decision making.

Published

2016-01-14

How to Cite

Medini, K. (2016). MODULARITY AND VARIETY SPINOFFS: A SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING PERSPECTIVE. International Journal of Industrial Engineering: Theory, Applications and Practice, 22(6). https://doi.org/10.23055/ijietap.2015.22.6.2057

Issue

Section

Product Design and Development