Multicriteria methodology for decoupling point placement in manufacturing systems

Abstract

Synchronization between production scheduling and real demand is

an issue of great concern for production practitioners and academics.

Put in a nutshell, the solution requires the placement of a decoupling

point in order to get a trade-off between efficiency and flexibility. In the

context of a postponement production strategy, a decoupling point is an

inventory buffer to create independence between the process and final

demand. Upstream of the decoupling point, the process is managed under

a make-to-stock approach; in contrast, downstream operations meet the

final demand under a make-to-order approach. In this sense, the present

paper proposes a multicriteria methodology to locate decoupling points

in manufacturing systems. The methodology consists of two stages, with

two and three steps respectively. In the first stage, the decision criteria and

alternative for decoupling points are chosen. In the second one, the final

decoupling point placement is determined. By applying the methodology

in a metalworking company, the location of the decoupling points for nine

production lines was obtained.