Product has a hundred billion variations

Product variants are not the exception at Coutant Electronics — they are planned for in the production system. The UK company based in Ilfracombe, a scenic part of the West Country, estimates that the number of product variations it could make is somewhere close to 1014 or one hundred billion formats. Just as amazing is the fact they can be supplied on a guaranteed four‐week schedule, which can be trimmed to seven days if need be. The company estimates that 50% of all ongoing customer enquiries effectively involve the creation of ‘non‐standard’ products.