Postponement

Chapter 6

Application of Postponement: Examples from Industry

In this chapter we report on two case studies of applying postponement strategy in industry. The first case is a study of a Hong Kong based toaster manufacturing company, which has successfully implemented postponement strategy. We present a summary of how postponement strategy was implemented in its supply chain and elaborate on all the benefits arising from the implementation of postponement. We also discuss the implications of postponement for its supply chain. In the second case an empirical analysis by Chiou et al. [28] is introduced. They empirically examine the application of postponement strategy in Taiwanese information technology (IT) firms. First, the four types of form postponements are examined. Second, the factors affecting the adoption of different form postponement strategies are explored. The managerial and practical implications are also discussed. This chapter is organized as follows. In Section 6.1 a case study form Hong Kong are discussed. In Section 6.2 the case of Taiwan’s information technology industry is addressed. Some concluding remarks are given in Section 6.3.

6.1 A Case Study from Hong Kong

A survey was conducted by interviewing the managing director of an electric toaster manufacturer whose headquarters is based in Hong Kong.1 All the production processes of the manufacturer are located in Guangdong province, China. The company was chosen because it has implemented postponement strategies for more than ten years. It provides some useful insights into the implementation of postponement strategies in a real-life situation. Moreover, both advantages and disadvantages of the strategy can be evaluated in comparison with our theoretical findings.

1 The

following discussion in this Section is largely based on the ideas and results presented in Wan [125].

T.C.E. Cheng et al., Postponement Strategies in Supply Chain Management, International Series in Operations...