The purpose is to develop a structured new product development (NPD) process portfolio for manufacturing companies that facilitates the organization of NPD processes for both standardized products, focusing on time-to-market, and customized products, focusing on time-to-customer. The research combines different literature streams, enriching and advancing the understanding of decoupling thinking in NPD processes of manufacturing companies. It includes extensive empirical data from six manufacturing companies and presents testable propositions for further research. The resulting NPD process portfolio separates technology development from product development, acknowledges the different drivers and outcomes of processes and addresses the lead-time trade-offs. It provides an overview of potential options for NPD processes and shows different pathways through the processes. Companies can use the portfolio to support decisions related to the overall configuration of their NPD portfolios, the role and the range of different NPD processes, as well as to determine when and how to engage customers.

Leagility is a strategic concept that represents a combination of lean and agile. Lean is assumed to be a cost-based strategy that is appropriate in a forecast-driven context upstream of the customer order decoupling point (CODP). Agile is the corresponding flexibility-based strategy in a customer-order-driven context downstream of the CODP. Competitive advantage is based on that the position of the CODP is aligned with the market requirements. In a dyad setting this alignment can be realized with relative ease but in a triad setting it becomes more complicated if both supply actors pursue a leagile strategy. If lean based purchasing faces an agile based delivery strategy or the opposite, where agile based purchasing faces a lean based delivery strategy, the interface is misaligned. In this paper, four interface configurations are identified and empirical examples of each are given based on a case study.

The interest in customization has increased due to globalization, and globalization makes competing on price more difficult if access to low-cost production is unavailable. Customization usually implies the creation of variants, where the final products are customized in form, place and/or time. However, the relation between customization and variants is unclear; therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze customization in terms of form, place and time, as well as relate it to product proliferation (i.e., variant creation). Here, a time perspective is used, creating a clear relation to flow thinking. Using flow thinking and the two strategic decoupling points related to flow driver (customer order decoupling point) and flow differentiation (customer adaptation decoupling point) provides a better understanding of what, where and when customization can be applied.

The literature on demand-driven supply chain operations management strategies (DDSCOMSs) is excellent in describing when, where and how the strategies can be used. However, managers of manufacturing companies usually employ more than one DDSCOMS when designing and operating their supply chains, thus needing to understand when, how and why two or more DDSCOMSs can be used in combination. The answers to these questions are not stated well in the literature. The purpose of this study is therefore to explore the relations among the DDSCOMSs, using a combination of a structured literature review and analytical conceptual research. The study identifies and establishes both direct and indirect relations among the five studied DDSCOMSs. These results assist in nuancing the complex and dynamic relations between the DDSCOMSs, by showing the effects different decisions have on operational performance. The study also points out further research directions, such as the DDSCOMS relations that are under-studied.

Since its introduction, postponement as a supply chain strategy has received a lot of attention in the operations management and the supply chain management literature. Nevertheless, there are still mixed answers about the meaning of postponement and as such, about its operational benefits. For instance, while some scholars argue that postponement results in a shorter delivery lead time, others claim the contrary. To reconcile these apparently conflicting findings, the purpose of this study is to establish a typology that highlights the three key properties of displacement, which is a collective term for preponement and postponement. By breaking down postponement into the three dimensions of form, place, and time, as well as introducing its antithesis preponement, a typology for displacement is presented and illustrated using a well-known postponement case. 

Balancing efficiency and responsiveness has been identified as an overall challenge for decision makers in supply chain management. The literature offers several strategies for managing this balance challenge. From a decision-making perspective this is a significant contribution but in combination the strategies also result in complexity related to the different alternatives offered. This study does, however, show that the strategies share a common foundation in terms of content related to decoupling thinking, which is based on flow discontinuities. Using the strategies’ individual strengths, a process is outlined that takes advantage of these strengths through a four-phase ongoing process.

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to describe the implications of strategic lead times (SLTs) for return oninvestment (ROI).

Design/methodology/approach – This study was part of an interactive research project and is based on thelogic of theory application leading to theory building. It uses a multiple case study with five holistic singlecases. Empirical data (ED) have mainly been collected from interviews and focus groups.

Findings – The length of and uncertainty in SLTs have implications for companies’ financial performance.These implications vary in strength and can be either direct or indirect. These findings are incorporated into aframework on SLTs’ implications for ROI.

Research limitations/implications – The presented array of SLTs’ implications for ROI could be furtherinvestigated, focussing on their strength. Additionally, it would be interesting to substantiate the findings inthe context of environmental and social sustainability (i.e. the triple bottom line).

Practical implications – The findings offer practitioners a rich description and understanding of SLTs’actual implications for financial performance in terms of ROI. This knowledge can support practitioners inanalysing supply chain designs based on financial performance.

Originality/value – Using a combination of a relative financial performance measure (ROI) and a set of SLTs(systems perspective), this study focuses on SLTs’ actual implications for ROI. The findings provide evidencethat different sections of a supply chain can have different implications for revenue, cost and investment (i.e. thethree absolute measures related to ROI).