Concepts for Product Families and One-of-a-Kind Production

Since the mid-1970s overcapacity has predominated worldwide, particularly for investment goods, in industry, and in the service industry. This has moved customers into a very strong position. When the customer reigns, the customer is in a position to demand fulfillment of needs and even wishes. This has posed a challenge to the supplying company’s entrepreneurial objectives (see Section 1.3.1). If customers focus upon short delivery lead time and low costs, the just-in-time concept presents a possible solution. However, the corresponding simple kanban technique requires production with frequent order repetition.