Abstract (EN)

Mass customisation of products is a significant trend in modern production. In continuous production (flow process), delayed differentiation is not possible at the factory level, as in discrete production (production of objects). Reverse Blending (RB) was designed to delay the differentiation of fertiliser production, in small blending units located in agricultural areas, as they already exist in some regions. The RB models and a significant example of its use were recently published in International Journal of Production Economics (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.107603 ). Without going back on the positioning of the RB approach in the scientific literature, this paper aims to study some of its managerial implications, based on four case studies. The RB models and two other ones involved by these case studies are described in synthesis tables, allowing to understand their differences and their use quickly. These case studies show the value of this delayed differentiation approach in chemical supply chains