Mediator Based Order Acceptance Decision System for Make-to-Order Company

The prosperity of Make-to-Order (MTO) company heavily depends on Order Acceptance (OA) decision. This decision is considered as one of the most crucial activities for the decision maker of such company. The decision includes many stages such as enquiry by the customer, quotation, negotiation, and planning of production system. In practice as well as in academia, OA decision is often functionally separated with quotation and negotiation. As the customers enquire about the product, the manufacturer has to prepare quotation. If the quoted values are not acceptable to the customer, negotiations will begin between the manufacture and the customer. These negotiations will decide the orders that will be finally accepted by the manufacturer, and the price and the due date of orders. In most of the negotiation process, the player who first submits the proposal will be at loss as the other players can exploit his/ her proposal. Therefore, to have a fair game of negotiation, it is necessary to introduce mediators for negotiations between the manufacturer and the customers. This research aims at developing a fair and integrated framework of OA decision that encompasses quotations and mediator based negotiations by considering production planning strategy for the manufacturer with hierarchical workforce system.

The prosperity of Make-to-Order (MTO) company heavily depends on Order Acceptance (OA) decision. This decision is considered as one of the most crucial activities for the decision maker of such company. The decision includes many stages such as enquiry by the customer, quotation, negotiation, and planning of production system. In practice as well as in academia, OA decision is often functionally separated with quotation and negotiation. As the customers enquire about the product, the manufacturer has to prepare quotation. If the quoted values are not acceptable to the customer, negotiations will begin between the manufacture and the customer. These negotiations will decide the orders that will be finally accepted by the manufacturer, and the price and the due date of orders. In most of the negotiation process, the player who first submits the proposal will be at loss as the other players can exploit his/ her proposal. Therefore, to have a fair game of negotiation, it is necessary to introduce mediators for negotiations between the manufacturer and the customers. This research aims at developing a fair and integrated framework of OA decision that encompasses quotations and mediator based negotiations by considering production planning strategy for the manufacturer with hierarchical workforce system.