Previous work has analyzed the complexity of Mass Customization assembly lines, demonstrating theoretically the advantages of late customization and of holding low quantities of stock. We extend that analysis in this paper by looking in more detail at the impact of different stock holding strategies. By this, we mean the strategy of allocating stock items to positions in the storage facility, which is important when manufacturing facilities have to retrieve items quickly and flexibly in a customizing environment. We complete the analysis by comparing the complexity of the stock holding strategies with the complexity of the assembly strategies, and comparing the insights available from a complexity-based analysis to those available from a cost-based analysis.
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