How to Implement a Mass Customization Strategy: Guidelines for Manufacturing Companies

Erlend Alfnes and Lars Skjelstad
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Erlend Alfnes: Department of Production and Quality Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Norway
Lars Skjelstad: Department of Operations Management, SINTEF Technology and Society, Norway

Chapter 3 in Handbook of Research in Mass Customization and Personalization:(In 2 Volumes), 2009, pp 44-64 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: AbstractThe attention on Mass Customization as a viable manufacturing strategy is increasing in academia. Also, more and more companies report from successful implementations. However, the transformation process necessary to become a mass customizer (from the company's outset as a mass producer or a handcraft type industry) is still not fully developed, and research on practical implementations is needed to gain experience on how to proceed. The research presented in this paper is based on two case studies in the Norwegian furniture industry. Efforts towards the new strategy in both companies are analyzed related to central decision areas when implementing mass customization. The decision areas are extracted from literature. Three performance objectives; low cost, short delivery time and degree of customization are considered to be the order winning criteria's, and it is argued that enterprises need to balance these performance objectives in their effort to realize mass customization. The lessons learned from the cases are structured in a set of guidelines for mass customization, which propose the necessary changes to undergo for a mass-producer as well as for a craft manufacturer.

Keywords: Mass Customization; Personalization; Engineer-to-Order; Open Innovation; User Co-Creation; Modularity; Platform Design; Customer Centricity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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