Delayed differentiation

Delayed differentiation or Postponement is a concept in supply chain management where the manufacturing process starts by making a generic or family product that is later differentiated into a specific end-product. This is a widely used method, especially in industries with high demand uncertainty, and can be effectively used to address the final demand even if forecasts cannot be improved.

An example would be Benetton and their knitted sweaters that are initially all white, and then dyed into different colors only when the season/customer color preference/demand is known. It is usually necessary to redesign the product specifically for delayed differentiation, and resequencing to modify the order of production manufacturing steps.