The concept of trade-offs is a basic principle in economics that arises from the idea that resources are scarce. As a general principle, trade-off analysis shows that for a given set of resources and technology, to obtain more of a desirable outcome of a system, less of another desirable outcome is obtained (Stoorvogel et al., 2004a). Although there can be win–win outcomes in two dimensions, even such a win–win must come at the expense of some other desired attribute.
This concept is based on the principle that each activity has a cost within the logistics operation and that it can be traded off against another logistics activity. Three Levels of Trade-offs including: Intra-functional trade-off which looks at Transportation vs. Inventory; Inter-functional trade-off which considers logistics vs. marketing and Inter-organizational trade-off that considers cost balance among supply chain partners
In today’s highly competitive markets, manufacturers must provide high quality products to survive and remain profitable. Manufacturers can achieve higher levels of quality by changing their manufacturing process and/or by product inspection where a multitude of different strategies are often adopted. Each option has its own cost implications that must also be taken into account. By reconciling the competing objectives of quality maximization and cost minimization, a cost of quality approach serves as a useful framework for comparing available manufacturing process and inspection alternatives. Still, any rigorous comparison requires both a metric as well as a profound understanding of cost of quality tradeoff.
The cost of quality tradeoffs in manufacturing process and inspection strategy selection are examined through a probabilistic cost of quality model explored analytically using a sample set of fundamental inspection strategies (reinspect rejects, reinspect accepts and single inspection) and applied to the case of electric vehicle battery pack assembly.