Loading...
The manufacturing profile of flexible and low-cost producers: an empirical study
Vereecke, Ann Pandelaere, Els
Vereecke, Ann
Pandelaere, Els
Citations
Altmetric:
Publication Type
Working paper
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2004
Journal
Book
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
21
Publication Begin page
Publication End page
Publication NUmber of pages
24
Collections
Abstract
Since the introduction of the concepts of lean manufacturing, agility and mass customization it is questioned to what extent the trade-off between cost and flexibility still holds. It has been the objective of our research to test the trade-off theory empirically using the data of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS). Our research confirms the well accepted manufacturing profile of low cost producers, which typically use a line process, and of flexible producers, which typically produce in a job shop. However, we also observe that some companies manage to overcome the cost/flexibility trade-off, by introducing the concept of postponed manufacturing. These companies are characterized by an assembly-to-order policy of standardized semi-finished products, produced in a line process. Flexibility and low cost are thus obtained by playing with the position of the decoupling point. Keywords: manufacturing strategy, mass customization, flexibility
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Manufacturing, Mass Customization, Flexibility