The customer order decoupling point determines the position of what in the supply chain?

Customer Order Decoupling Point is a Term describing the process or node in the supply chain network where the activities are no longer driven by individual orders. Managing Customer Order Decoupling Points is a Best Practice.

Understanding the Customer Order Decoupling Point of a supply chain is important for Supply Chain Management processes. The behavior of processes upstream and downstram of the Customer Order Decoupling Point is quite different:

  • Upstream processes are driven by forecast based planning information (blue in the diagram), Materials are pushed downstream. Optimization is realized by balancing inventory and capacity.
  • Downstream processes are driven by actual customer orders (green in the diagram). Materials are pulled by the order. Optimization is realized by balancing capacity and lead-times.

The OpenReference Supply Chain Operations Domain recognizes these differences in behavior at level-2: Make-to-Stock (MTS), Make-to-Order (MTO, CTO, ATO, PTO), and Engineer-to-Order (ETO). Customer Order Decoupling Points (white rounded box in the diagram) typically reside in the first MTS process (when looking upstream):

Contents

  • 1 Strategy
  • 2 VMI (MTS)
  • 3 D*
  • 4 S1
  • 5 M1
  • 6 M1
  • 7 M1
  • 8 D1
  • 9 D1
  • 10 S*
  • 11 MTS
  • 12 D*
  • 13 S1
  • 14 M1
  • 15 M1
  • 16 M1
  • 17 D1
  • 18 D1
  • 19 S*
  • 20 PTO (MTO)
  • 21 D*
  • 22 S1
  • 23 M1
  • 24 M1
  • 25 M2
  • 26 D2
  • 27 D2
  • 28 S*
  • 29 ATO (MTO)
  • 30 D*
  • 31 S1
  • 32 M1
  • 33 M2
  • 34 M2
  • 35 D2
  • 36 D2
  • 37 S*
  • 38 CTO (MTO)
  • 39 D*
  • 40 S1
  • 41 M2
  • 42 M2
  • 43 M2
  • 44 D2
  • 45 D2
  • 46 S*
  • 47 D*
  • 48 S2
  • 49 Use Cases
  • 50 Process(es)

Strategy

Supplier Receive, Store Pre-build/ Produce Assemble/ Finish Package, Store Pick, Load, Ship Invoice Customer

VMI (MTS)

Vendor Managed Inventory

D*

S1

M1

M1

M1

D1

D1

S*

MTS

Make-to-Stock

D*

S1

M1

M1

M1

D1

D1

S*

PTO (MTO)

Package-to-Order

D*

S1

M1

M1

M2

D2

D2

S*

ATO (MTO)

Assemble-to-Order

D*

S1

M1

M2

M2

D2

D2

S*

CTO (MTO)

Configure-To-Order

D*

S1

M2

M2

M2

D2

D2

S*

D*

S2

  Supplier Source Make Deliver Customer

For Engineer-to-Order replace Customer Order with Customer Intent.

Use Cases

  • Align Network
    • Define Network Process Flow
    • Define To-Be Supply Chain Network
  • Align Strategy
    • Define Supply Chain Network

Community Importance Rating:

Process(es)

IDNameLevelx
A108 Define Supply Chain Network 3 A108
A202 Define Supply Chain Network 3 A202
A203 Define Network Process Flow 3 A203
A210 Define To-Be Supply Chain Network 3 A210

Customer Order Decoupling Point Best Practice, Customer Order, Decoupling Point, Order Cycle, Order-to-Cash, Supply Chain, Network The process or node in the supply chain network where the activities are no longer driven by individual orders

What is the customer order decoupling point?

The CODP is traditionally defined as the point in the value chain for a product, where the product is linked to a specific customer order. Sometimes the CODP is called the order penetration point [1], [2].

What is decoupling point in supply chain?

A decoupling point is the boundary between make-to-order (MTO) and make-to-stock (MTS). Many researchers have discussed the decoupling point in a serial supply chain. In reality, a product consists of many parts and components, and, consequently, their supplies form a supply network instead of a supply chain.

What determines the optimal position of the decoupling point?

The CODP position is determined with the best fit point which balances between the modularity and customization. This concept is applicable to the overall supply chain design too in addition to manufacturing process flow design.

What does selection of decoupling points determine?

Selection of decoupling points is a strategic decision that determines customer lead times and can greatly impact inventory investment. The closer the point is to the customer, the quicker they can be served.