Abstract: In order to better supply the customer demand , the conception of demand flow chain (DFC) is put forward, and the information function model of DFC is build. The system structure of demand mapping in DFC is studied. Under homomorphic mapping and isomorphic mapping, demand information is converted to product design characteristic through the mechanism of feature mapping. The restriction mechanism of variable, rule, process are depicted. The importance degree of characteristic mapping matrix is analyzed through analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, and then, linear programming (LP) is applied to assess demand mapping optimized, which realizes the quantitative expression of demand information. Finally, the example of steam turbine is applied concretely to verify the theory. The result objectively reveals that the mechanism of demand characteristic mapping realizes the conversion between semantic expression and design characteristic on demand information, and supplies reliable basis for enterprises to implement production centered on the customer demand.

Key words: Demand flow chain(DFC), Design characteristic, Function characteristic, Importance scale, Linear programming(LP), Mapping