Evaluation of delayed product differentiation structures for coordinating product, process and supply chain design

There could be considerable benefits in designing supply chains structures taking into account the design of the product and the design of the manufacturing processes. The revised structures involve delaying product differentiation until later production stages. We develop models representing possible implementations of the delayed product differentiation structures and compare their performance in total supply chain costs involving the cost of expected customer waiting times. Some numerical experiments were designed to investigate how different factors affect the performance of structures. We also offer guidance to managers using reasonable structure for a balance between customization and responsiveness.