Efficient algorithms to detect pricing inconsistency for customizable products

For assemble‐to‐order manufacturers, the production is an assembly of predefined items. Products from these manufacturers are usually sold to customers directly, instead of through resellers. When these manufacturers adopt electronic commerce for their businesses, they explicitly publish the prices for their products in their electronic commerce web sites, and allow customers to make on‐line purchases based on the prices and the customized configurations. It is critical for the manufacturers to ensure that the same type of products has the same price, no matter how a customer does the customization. Unfortunately, pricing inconsistency exists in some electronic commerce web sites due to various reasons. In this paper, we present the problem to be solved at first. Then, we define two types of pricing inconsistency. Finally, we propose efficient algorithms to solve the problem based on reasonable assumptions. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.