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The Platform Formation Problem

  • Chapter
Mass Customization

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing ((SSAM))

Abstract

Today’s globally competitive world of manufacturing requires participating firms to introduce an increasing number of products with shorter life span, at a lower cost, in an environment where demands are uncertain and with shorter lead times to fulfill those demands. One approach towards meeting these demands is the use of mass customization, specifically the platform based design and production strategy. This chapter presents the platform design problem in which a platform is created with the objective of producing a family of products at a minimum cost. By using the platform every product variant in the family is assembled either directly from its components or from the platform. Three methods for developing such a platform-based strategy are described: design of a single platform, design of multiple platforms, and design of a single platform while considering demand uncertainty.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of IMSE, Kansas State University, 66503, Manhattan, KS, USA

    David Ben-Arieh

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  1. David Ben-Arieh
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial and Transportation Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 90040-020, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Flavio S. Fogliatto

  2. Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, T2N 1N4, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Giovani J. C. da Silveira

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© 2011 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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Ben-Arieh, D. (2011). The Platform Formation Problem. In: Fogliatto, F., da Silveira, G. (eds) Mass Customization. Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-489-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-489-0_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84996-488-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84996-489-0

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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