A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process approach in modular product design

Modular products, which capitalize on the concept of mass customization, ar e concerned with the creation of product variants without incurring the exc essive cost that seems to be inevitable in the mass production approach. To implement modular product design effectively, it is essential that a certa in level of decision support functionality is provided during the product d evelopment stages. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which breaks down a complex problem into simple hierarchical decision-making processes, can b e incorporated with fuzzy logic to suggest the relative strength of the fac tors in the corresponding criteria, thereby enabling the construction of a fuzzy judgement matrix to facilitate decision-making. This paper proposes a fuzzy AHP approach in modular product design complemented with a case exam ple to validate its feasibility in a real company. Test findings indicate t hat the approach is helpful for providing key decision support information in terms of product module selection during product development stages. The significance of the contribution of this paper is the suggestion of a nove l approach in modular product design, embracing a combination of computatio nal intelligence and traditional techniques, thereby providing more alterna tives and ideas for those researchers who are interested in this field of s tudy.