Scheduling Auction: A New Manufacturing Business Model for Balancing Customization and Quick Delivery

Abstract

This paper proposes a new manufacturing business model that is enabled by a novel scheduling method based on an auction, called Scheduling Auction. The proposed scheduling method and the associated business model aim to balance expanding customization and quick delivery to better satisfy customers. It accepts bids from customers, captures their preferences in terms of product type and due date more extensively than before from the bids and reflects those preferences in the production schedule. The fundamental framework of the method and its working are illustrated with a simple case of a factory with a single machine. Future research directions include conducting validation experiments with human subjects and extending the method to more complex production systems.