Purpose Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, generate innovative and fast exchanges without any physical form and facilitate online payments; thus, they may bring about revolutions of the future economic system. Recent investigations reveal that China, the second largest Bitcoin market, accounts...

Process improvement plays a significant role in reducing production costs over the life cycle of a product. We consider the role of process improvement in a decentralized assembly system in which a buyer purchases components from several first-tier suppliers. These components are assembled into...