RMS Capacity Utilisation Through Product Life Cycles

This chapter proposes a methodology for evaluating RMS capacity and alternative configurations allocated to product families in an uncertain market condition. Production capacity of an RMS, as the hub of an integrated supply chain, is evaluated by developing a hybrid methodology of decision trees and Markov analysis. The proposed Markov chain model is developed to evaluate and monitor system reconfigurations required in accordance with changes in product families with consideration of the product life cycles. The proposed model is illustrated through an industrial case study with given product families and transition probabilities. The expected value consisting of revenue and changeover cost is taken into account for product-process (re)configuration and optimum capacity utilisation over configuration stages in the planning horizon.