1、供应链环境下的大规模定制策略-延迟策略（Strategy of mass customization in supply chain - postponement strategy）Abstract: driven by the current competitive pressures and technological innovation, more and more enterprises are aware that most of the costs of products and services are affected by product design. Therefore
2、, in the current situation of product diversification, enterprises are looking for low-cost and efficient methods to achieve mass customization. The design based on the delay principle saves a lot of cost for mass customization. This paper starts with the effective implementation of mass customizati
3、on, expounds the postponement strategy model used in mass customization under supply chain environment, and then discusses the conditions and steps of implementing postponement.Key words: mass customization; postponement strategy; conditions; stepsWith the continuous progress of the rapid developmen
4、t of science and technology and social demand, individuation and diversification, standardization, traditional mass production has been hitherto unknown challenge, time and flexibility and quick response ability will decide the enterprise in the competitions fate. Today, the dramatic increase in pro
5、duct diversity has led companies to try to find a cost effective way to achieve mass customization. The delay strategy is to adapt to the design concept of mass customization, emphasizes the design remodeling products and processes, the mass production and customization advantages together, in respo
6、nse to the supply chain that led to paralysis of the complex and uncertain factors, has been widely used in the global manufacturing industry.1 the effective way to implement mass customization - delayMass customization helps businesses to enter new markets and attract large quantities of personaliz
7、ed demand that cannot be met by standard products. However, the original mass customization wastes both cost and efficiency. If the customized product exceeds the customers expectation in time and cost, it will only lose the existing customers. Of course, if you cant implement and implement customiz
8、ed commitments, this is also a loss for the enterprise. Therefore, mass customization is difficult to achieve without a low-cost and efficient supply chain.Building a flexible workforce and organizational structure is essential for mass customization. In addition, other methods are needed, such as r
9、educing cycle time and enhancing the degree of reactivity in manufacturing. For example, the use of electronic data interchange and computer aided orders can greatly reduce the delivery and processing time of customer orders; and aircraft transport can greatly shorten the time of delivery to order.
10、Technologies such as flexible manufacturing systems not only shorten cycle time, but also increase responsiveness to multiple product combinations in a particular plant. Finally, the newly developed e-commerce strengthens communication links and improves the decision-making ability of enterprises in
11、 the supply chain operation.Whether it is the improvement of the logistics, information flow, improved cycle shortened, and flexible production, can make effective competitive enterprises in the future market, but the product and process design has greater potential. In fact, it is generally believe
12、d that the manufacturing cost of product 80% is determined by the design of the product. The opportunity lies in the integration of product design and supply chain. As an effective means of mass customization, some pioneering enterprises have applied product design and supply chain reconstruction. T
13、he idea is to design the product distribution and reorganization of manufacturing activities and supply chain activities, so as to make the system produce a variety of products process occurred in the supply chain in the most efficient link, the total cost of the supply chain to a minimum.The most f
14、undamental principle of product and process design that makes supply chain efficiency optimization is “delay“ when the total cost of supply chain is reduced to the minimum“. Postponement is the time to delay the key process. In these critical processes, the final product will form their specific fun
15、ctions, characteristics, signs, or personality characteristics. Therefore, the only way to effectively support the diversification of products while maintaining economies of scale is to use postponement manufacturing. Its core content is: the manufacture of commercial products only produce generic o
16、r modular parts, as far as possible to keep the intermediate state of products, in order to achieve large-scale production,And through centralized inventory to reduce inventory costs, so as to shorten the lead time, so that customer activities closer to the customer, enhance the flexibility to respo
17、nd to individual needs. The goal is to make the right product arrive at the right place at the right time (3R). So the basic idea of delay strategy is: on the surface of the delay is essentially to more quickly respond to market demand, through customized or personalized demand demand on space and t
18、ime delay, low production costs, to achieve supply chain high response speed and high customer value.2 the delay model used in supply chain2.1 pull type delayThere are two extremes in modern production: one is to store the product and sell it to the consumer in a stock setting. Because the productio
19、n has occurred before the customer orders, this inventory plan is based entirely on the prediction. The other extreme is that companies and other customers order, and then use the full order of specific information, start the entire supply chain process to produce and distribute products. Its not po
20、ssible to produce inappropriate products, but this is at the expense of long waiting. Most enterprises operate at a point between the production of inventories and the production of orders. In some supply chains, the early steps are carried out on the basis of predictions, and then the intermediate
21、products are stored. The remaining customization steps are only carried out after the customer orders are received. According to the predicted production model (push mode), the adjacent points converted to the order based production mode (pull mode) are often referred to as push pull boundaries, or
22、decoupling points. Pull delay is to make the decoupling point appear in the process as early as possible. The less the step of production is predicted, the less inventory of semi-finished goods, and the more steps that will be taken in accordance with the exact requirements of customer orders. In th
23、is way, more process steps are delayed until the order is made.The successful implementation of pull delay strategy needs to have the following basic factors:The process steps must be ordered so that less differentiated steps (i.e., fewer outputs in the product structure) appear before the decouplin
24、g point. Fewer output ports make predictions easier and more accurate. Accurate prediction is a key factor in order to effectively implement the production process according to the forecast.The process steps after decoupling point should be implemented flexibly and quickly. Effective and quick custo
25、mer response is very important. Under time saving pressure, these steps can be accurately and in line with the quality standard operation is also very important.Accurate acquisition of orders is a key factor in the success of order based production strategies. The system must be able to record the c
26、ustomers exact order (configuration and specification) and deliver the information to begin production of these processes.For example, as a clothing manufacturer, the past Benetton in the production of its products, often put yarn dyed various colors, then to weave these dyed yarn into final product
27、s. The cost of clothing inventory with different colors leads to costly quarter end sales. The company chairman changed the supply chain creatively by exchanging, dyeing and weaving the two processes. Now, the bleached yarns are woven into various types and models, and then dyed with the final produ
28、ct when the season is in fashion and the color is clearer. An example of Benetton illustrates how pull pull delays work. The exchange of dyeing and weaving is not to put decoupling points at the level of the sweater on the line, but to move the decoupling point to the fabric before and after dyeing.
29、 In this case, the process of dyeing is customized, in accordance with the order based production model.2.2 logistics delaySecond delay strategy call delay strategy for logistics, because this delay is based on the change occurred on the basis of customized procedures, re design the supply chain pro
30、cess including task and module,Customization steps can be carried out downstream of the customer. For example, the traditional method is all steps away from the consumer is carried out in the factory, and by using the method of design change can make those downstream steps in the distribution center
31、, usually geographically closer to the main consumer market. In fact, there are some steps in retail and distribution channels that are closer to consumers. Finally, changes in product design can make it possible for the product to be assembled and made by the consumers themselves.In order to ensure
32、 the successful implementation of the strategy of logistic delay, enterprises must take effective measures to ensure the implementation of customized downstream will not lead to lower quality, and ensure the downstream position has the ability to complete these tasks without the additional cost and
33、time, but also have the ability to obtain the necessary customized components and modules. In addition, the enterprise also ensures that the engineering team can and is willing to design products and processes to make the customization steps effectively postponed to the downstream position.2.3 struc
34、tural delayThe third postponement strategy requires a thorough change of the product structure, using the design that can standardize some components and process steps. If the early steps can be standardized and the results of these steps are not different, then the points that produce product diffe
35、rences can be effectively postponed. We call structural delays because the delay is achieved through changes in the structure of the product.In the past, there were two kinds of power supply and fuse devices installed in Japan, one for 110 volt voltage for North American market, and 220 for European
36、 market. It was a long time to make deliveries, and it was difficult to predict demand in North America and Europe, which could lead to a huge backlog of products in one continent, while another continent was out of stock and out of stock. However, if the host is redesigned so that it has a universa
37、l power supply and a fuse device, the product does not need to be differentiated before serving the final customer. There is an additional advantage of using the universal power supply device, which is that whenever the supply and demand of the product is unbalanced, the product can be transported s
38、moothly from one continent to another. So, in Japan the host production is the sum of the number of required global printer, instead of previously used different power as such, need to predict 110 volts and 220 volts should their production much bare. This is a typical example of structural delay, t
39、he power and fuse devices are standardized, thus changing the structure of the product.3 steps and conditions for delayThere are at least four steps or modules to successfully implement the delay. Although not one hundred percent necessary, these steps really make the postponement strategy easier to
40、 implement.Products and processes must first be modularized in structure. Product modularization means that the product should be designed to be assembled and debugged in a modular manner without having to complete the work as a complete product. This requires the redesign of the module interface, m
41、aking assembly and debugging easier and more convenient. This modularity can bring many benefits:The process of forming the final product is divided into two stages, one is the common parts and / or assembly processes, the other is the process of the parts and assembly are not the same. This differe
42、ntiation enables common components and assemblies to be carried out in the early stages of the production process, enabling this stage to effectively implement standardization and produce scale effects.It is advantageous to the independent production of module production. In fact, the production of
43、modules can be carried out at the same time, which greatly reduces the cycle time of the product.It also facilitates differentiation of modules or assemblies that can be done outside the main plant.A modular product may have more decoupling points in the supply chain.Like product modularization is t
44、he same as the product, the process flow is for the operation process. If the process is not modularized,The whole workflow will be implemented as a whole, which leads to a long time cycle for ordering and delivery, and a insensitivity to the demand for a variety of end products. In these critical p
45、rocesses, the final product will form their specific functions, features, symbols, or personality characteristics. Redesign the process, decompose it into a variety of processes, can implement the postponement strategy very well, this is because of the implementation of the postponement strategy:Som
46、e processes can be delayed to a place closer to the customer, just like logistics delays.These decomposition procedures can be reordered to produce new decoupling points, as mentioned in the Benetton case, as dyeing and weaving.Some of the decomposed processes can also be standardized to achieve str
47、uctural delays.Since the delay strategy is often achieved through the design of products and processes, one important way is to ask the company engineers to supply chain management awareness, and for those who can bring the opportunity to design delay. Most engineers tend to design products from pro
48、duct function, product appearance, and narrow raw material costs, while the supply chain is often neglected in product development and design cycles. Until recently, engineers became aware of the importance of manufacturability design. This is obviously very narrow, because there is still no conside
49、ration of the condition and cost outside the factory. The implementation of the supply chain requires inventory, logistics, transportation efficiency, customs and tariffs, response to customers and flexibility, etc Only when we fully understand the role of design in the entire supply chain, can we see that more designers can support product or process design to support postponement strategy.Postponement strategy often requires collaboration between multiple departments and organizations. For example, structural delays require suppliers to design standardized components. Logistics delay
