'Fuzzy logic' explains secret of six-week sofa

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2005

LONDON (AFP) — Six weeks will always be the delivery time given for your new sofa regardless of where it is made, according to findings by a team of British mathematicians.

As part of research into logistics, academics at the University of Derby asked more than 70 furniture firms how long it would take to deliver a suite -- and every one gave the 42-day period.

Transportation, waiting for the right colour and a need to follow what competitors do were all reasons for the stock industry-wide answer, said Stuart Berry, a senior lecturer in mathematics.

"Furniture makers would each quote the same delivery time but this quote was made without taking any notice of workload," he said. "They all said it would be ready in six weeks. It was a standard answer."

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