Optimizing Cost Databases for Flexible and Resilient Supply Chains: A Novel Approach to Enhance Customer Satisfaction
Mohamed M. El-Gibaly
*
Brunel University, UK and Beni Suef University, Egypt.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The main objective of this research is to examine the application of cost tables in flexible production systems within intelligent and resilient supply chains. This application aims to find out, promptly, how changes in customer preferences lead to changes in the technical industrial process, the costs of the new product, and the other changes required. The current work has tried to investigate all previous changes that led to the existence of a flexible production system, within the context of the resilient intelligent supply chain. The existence of the intelligent supply chain has created states of cooperative games, a matter which indicates the existence of some sorts of debates and negotiations between the different partners of the chain, and the existence of continuous games. To put an end to the supposed game between the previous partners, the search theory was put to work as a rational tool to stop the game at the optimal level of variation and the acceptable iteration numbers. Flexible systems are designed to handle a wide variety of customer demands and rapid changes in requirements, driven by evolving product designs and preferences. This variability has increased the need for early cost prediction, raising issues of cost accuracy and product suitability. The Japanese concept of multivariate cost tables emerged to address this need, particularly in industrial settings. These models account for dynamic product technology changes to satisfy diverse demands from both customers and competitors. Considering flexible, resilient, and intelligent supply chains expands the model’s variables to adapt to continuous customer changes, necessitating cooperative mechanisms—such as collations and game theory applications—rather than purely competitive approaches. The model supports flexible manufacturing, delivery, and after-sales service within a closed-loop supply chain. Suggested examples validate the model’s credibility and adaptability to other issues. Flexibility reflects competitive interactions among supply chain partners, where external influences and intersecting utilities prompt bargaining and conflict. Search theory is proposed to resolve extended debates and disruptions, aiming to enhance customer value.
Keywords: Cost tables, flexible manufacturing systems, intelligent/resilient supply chain, customer satisfaction, search theory, game theory