An evolutionary approach for product line adaptation |
| |
| Authors: | Songlin Chen Shuli Wu Xiaojin Zhang Hongyan Dai |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Division of Systems &2. Engineering Management, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singaporesonglin@ntu.edu.sg;4. Engineering Management, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore;5. Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China |
| |
| Abstract: | A product line is rarely designed from scratch but usually evolves with products phased in and phased out. The adaptations of a product line and the associated changes in product mix and prices have complicated implications upon both market demand and manufacturing cost. This paper proposes an evolutionary approach to support coordinated decision-making among marketing, engineering and manufacturing regarding product line adaptation. A mixed logit discrete choice model and an activity based costing model are developed to quantify the demand and cost implications of product line adaptation, respectively. Product line adaptation is then formulated as a mixed integer non-linear programming problem. Given the coexistence of both discrete and continuous variables, a bi-level optimisation procedure combining genetic algorithm and differential evolution is developed for problem-solving. The proposed methodology is illustrated with an example of netbook product line design. |
| |
| Keywords: | product line adaptation pricing |
|
|
