Impact of the customer demand on order fulfilment strategies based on floating decoupling point: a simulation analysis. Issue 24 (16th December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Calle, Marcos; González-R, Pedro L.; Pierreval, Henri
• Is Part Of: International journal of production research. Volume 54:Issue 24(2016)
• Page Start: 7359
• Page End: 7373
• Publication Date: 2016-12-16
• Subjects: mass customisation -- floating decoupling point -- VBTO -- i-VBTO -- simulation -- order fulfilment; Factory management -- Periodicals; 658.57
• DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2016.1186295
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7543

Abstract

Abstract : Order Fulfilment Strategies have become more and more popular, thanks to their capability of improving the delivery times and reducing the inventory levels. Among the postponement strategies of Mass Customisation are the Virtual Build-To-Order (VBTO) and i-Virtual Build-To-Order (i-VBTO) systems which are two systems with the ability to serve customers from anywhere in the inventory (Work-in-Process and Finished Goods Inventory) showing an interesting potential of adaptation to the variability of the demand. This study is aimed at testing the suitability of the basis of the i-VBTO system against the VBTO system through the study of the influence of characteristics of demand that are common in real environments. Regarding the contribution of this work, some weaknesses of the VBTO system can be highlighted (e.g. under certain demand conditions it loses the efficiency), and some benefits of the i-VBTO system (e.g. it turns out to be more robust and stable regarding changes in demand than the VBTO system).