
Reducing Lead Time and Inventory by Using Optimized Product ConfigurationsAward last edited on: 11/13/2006
Sponsored Program
SBIRAwarding Agency
NSFTotal Award Amount
$599,651Award Phase
2Solicitation Topic Code
-----Principal Investigator
Roy MarstenCompany Information
Phase I
Contract Number: ----------Start Date: ---- Completed: ----
Phase I year
2005Phase I Amount
$99,833Phase II
Contract Number: ----------Start Date: ---- Completed: ----
Phase II year
2006Phase II Amount
$499,818More manufacturers are moving in the direction of "mass customization", which means allowing each customer to choose the features and options they want. Mass production of a uniform product, or one with a small number of variants, is evolving into flexible production as more and more choices are offered to the customer. But customers not only want to customize their product, they also want to get it quickly. Pure build-to-order systems can result in unacceptably long customer lead times, especially when demand has seasonal ups and downs. This forces manufacturers to build partially finished or fully finished units for inventory, in order to smooth production and reduce customer lead time. This requires a delicate balance between the extra revenue and the extra costs of offering more variety. Emcien's mission is to help manufacturers profit from product variety as a competitive advantage, rather than being overwhelmed by the extra costs of supporting too much variety