Product Line and Production Planning in an Environment of High Product Variety

通过批量生产数量有限的产品而实现的规模经济是本世纪制造业成功的基石。对于大多数行业来说，随着竞争重点转向以接近大规模生产效率的成本生产种类繁多的产品，这一战略正迅速过时。这种多样化竞争的趋势是由许多因素驱动的。本提案描述了一个研究计划，以开发模型和算法来设计产品线中的产品，以及在高产品品种环境中设计和管理生产过程。我们研究的第一个组成部分是开发详细的排序模型和算法，适用于管理混合模型传输线，这将很快成为汽车的主要生产过程。第二个组成部分是开发战略规划模型和算法，将产品规划、技术选择和生产线设计结合起来。

Economies of scale achieved through mass production of a limited number of products has been the cornerstone of successful manufacturing throughout this century. For most industries, this strategy is rapidly becoming obsolete as the competitive emphasis shifts to producing an enormous variety of products at costs approaching the efficiency of mass production. This trend to variety competition is driven by many factors. This proposal describes a program of research to develop models and algorithms for designing the products in a product line and for designing and managing the production process in an environment of high product variety. The first component of our research is concerned with developing detailed sequencing models and algorithms appropriate for managing the mixed-model transfer lines that will soon become the dominant production process for automobiles. The second component is developing strategic planning models and algorithms that integrate product planning, technology choice and design of production lines.