Delayed Differentiation

	Delayed Differentiation Delayed differentiation or Postponement is a concept in supply chain management where the manufacturing process starts by making a generic or family product that is later differentiated into a specific end-product. This is a widely used method, especially in industries with high demand uncertainty, and can be effectively used to address the final demand even if forecasts cannot be improved. An example would be Benetton and their knitted sweaters that are initially all white, and then dyed into different colors only when the season/customer color preference/demand is known. It is usually necessary to redesign the product specifically for delayed differentiation, and resequencing to modify the order of production manufacturing steps. See also * Postponement * Mass customization In marketing, manufacturing, call centre operations, and management, mass customization makes use of flexible computer-aided systems to produce custom output. Such systems combine the low unit costs of mass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Supply Chain Management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services including all processes that transform raw materials into final products between businesses and locations. This can include the movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, finished goods, and end to end order fulfilment from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Interconnected, interrelated or interlinked networks, channels and node businesses combine in the provision of products and services required by end customers in a supply chain. Supply-chain management has been defined as the "design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronising supply with demand and measuring performance globally". SCM practice draws heavily on industrial engineering, systems engineering, operations management, logis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Benetton Group Benetton Group S.r.l. () is a global fashion brand based in Ponzano Veneto, Italy, founded in 1965. Benetton Group has a network of about 5,000 stores worldwide. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benetton family's holding company Edizione. History In 1965, the Benettons opened their first store in Belluno and three years after in Paris. The company's core business consists of clothing brands United Colors of Benetton and Sisley. Benetton was an iconic brand in the 1980s and 1990s, but has since struggled to regain this position. In 2000, it ranked 75th in Interbrand's ranking of the best global brands; however, by 2002, it had dropped out of the list. In 2012, Benetton Group was delisted from the stock exchange and is now a fully owned subsidiary of the Benetton family company Edizione holding. In 2017, the group posted a loss of €180 million. Prompted by the heavy losses, Luciano Benetton, who was then 83 years old, returned from retirement as Executive Chairma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Color Preference In the psychology of color, color preferences are the tendency for an individual or a group to prefer some colors over others, such as having a favorite color or a traditional color. Introduction An 'ecological valence theory' (EVT) has been suggested to explain why people have preferences for different colors. This is the idea that the preference for color is determined by the average affective response to everything the individual associates with the color. Hence, positive emotional experiences with a particular color are likely to increase the propensity to develop a preference for that color and vice versa. Social and cultural factors also factor into this affective response. A study in 2011 on the effects of "school spirit" and color preferences found members of Berkeley were more likely to favor the school's official colors than rival university Stanford. This degree of preference was also correlated with their self-reported level of "school spirit". The researchers con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Postponement Postponement is a business strategy employed in manufacturing and supply chain management which maximizes possible benefit and minimizes risk by delaying further investment into a product or service until the last possible moment, or where a manufacturer produces a generic product, which can be modified at a later stage before the final distribution to the customer. An example of such a strategy is Dell Computers' build-to-order online store. One of the earliest references to the concept was in a paper by Zinn and Bowersox in the ''Journal of Business Logistics'' in 1988, which highlighted five types: labelling, packaging, assembly, manufacturing and time postponements. One of the most modern definitions today is the following, suggested by Christopher (2005): A successful example of postponement – delayed differentiation – is the use of "vanilla boxes". Semi-finished computers are stored in advance of seeing the actual demand for the finished products. Upon seeing the deman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Mass Customization In marketing, manufacturing, call centre operations, and management, mass customization makes use of flexible computer-aided systems to produce custom output. Such systems combine the low unit costs of mass production processes with the flexibility of individual customization.Mass customization is the new frontier in business for both manufacturing and service industries. At its core, is a tremendous increase in variety and customization without a corresponding increase in costs. At its limit, it is the mass production of individually customized goods and services. At its best, it provides strategic advantage and economic value. It is one of the product design strategies and is currently used with both techniques (delay differentiation and modular design) together with effective innovative climate to enhance the value delivered to customers. Mass customization is the method of "effectively postponing the task of differentiating a product for a specific customer until the latest pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]