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Mass Customization (mass + customization)
Selected AbstractsMass Customization in the Automotive Industry: Comparing Interdealer Trading and Reconfiguration Flexibilities in Order FulfillmentPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010Philip G. Brabazon Mass customization has been viewed as desirable but difficult to achieve in the volume automotive sector. Here we consider flexibility in automotive order fulfillment systems to enhance the ability to satisfy customers with their desired vehicle variants within acceptable delivery lead times. Two types of flexibility are compared in a Virtual-Build-to-Order system,reconfiguration in the planning pipeline and interdealer trading. A representative simulation model is used to investigate the impact of the two types of flexibility across a wide spectrum of product variety levels. The impacts on major stakeholders in the system,the producer, dealers, and customers,are considered. The study shows that both types of flexibilities can bring significant benefits in terms of reductions in lead time and inventory holding. The level of product variety strongly influences the observed effects,an important finding in the mass customization context. Upstream reconfiguration flexibility brings greater benefits than downstream trading flexibility. Reconfiguration tends to dominate trading as a fulfillment mechanism when both are in operation. The findings have implications for the design and management of automotive order fulfillment systems in improving their ability to offer mass customization. The study has relevance for companies in other sectors with high levels of variety that seek to combine efficiency, speed, and flexibility in order fulfillment. [source] From Mass Production to Mass Customization: Hindrance Factors, Structural Inertia, and Transition HazardPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008M. Johnny Rungtusanatham Research on mass customization has largely overlooked the issue of organizational change associated with the mass production-to-mass customization transition. To address this gap in the literature, we conduct a longitudinal case study of a manufacturing facility belonging to a division of a Fortune 1000 discrete manufacturing firm as it seeks to transition from mass production to mass customization. We empirically identify five factors hindering the mass production-to-mass customization transition within the research site and articulate five corresponding generalizations explaining how and why these hindrance factors relate to the mass production-to-mass customization transition hazard beyond the research site (i.e., how and why the five hindrance factors, in general, threaten the likelihood of a successful mass production-to-mass customization transition). We then theoretically validate the five hindrance factors and corresponding generalizations by mapping them onto the antecedents and tenets of structural inertia theory. We conclude with a brief discussion of the scientific and pragmatic significance of the findings and highlight opportunities for future research. [source] Factors Influencing the Adoption of Mass Customization: The Impact of Base Category Consumption Frequency and Need SatisfactionTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2007Andreas M. Kaplan Mass customization has received considerable interest among researchers. However, although many authors have analyzed this concept from different angles, the question of which factors can be used to spot customers most likely to adopt a mass-customized product has not been answered to a satisfactory extent until now. This article explicitly deals with this question by focusing on factors related to the base category, which is defined as the group of all standardized products within the same product category as the mass-customized product under investigation. Specifically, this article investigates the influence of a customer's base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the decision to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. A set of competing hypotheses regarding these influences is developed and subsequently evaluated by a combination of partial least squares and latent class analysis. This is done by using a sample of 2,114 customers surveyed regarding their adoption of an individualized printed newspaper. The results generated are threefold: First, it is shown that there is a significant direct influence of base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the behavioral intention to adopt. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category or the more satisfied his or her needs are due to this consumption, the higher the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. Second, the article provides an indication that base category consumption frequency has a significant moderating effect when investigating the behavioral intention to adopt in the context of the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category, the more important will be the impact of perceived ease of use mediated by perceived usefulness. Finally, this article shows that different latent classes with respect to unobserved heterogeneity regarding the latent variables base category need satisfaction or dissatisfaction have significantly different adoption behaviors. Individuals who show a high level of need dissatisfaction are less interested in the ease of use of a mass-customized product than its usefulness (i.e., increase in need satisfaction). On the other hand, subjects who have a high degree of base category need satisfaction base their adoption decision mainly on the ease of use of the mass-customized product. These results are of managerial relevance regarding the prediction of market reactions and the understanding of the strategic use of product-line extensions based on mass-customized products. This work provides an indication that base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction positively influence the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product. Hence, mass customization can be seen as one way to deepen the relationship with existing clients. [source] The Purchasing and Control of Supplementary Third-Party Logistics ServicesJOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2000Remko I. van Hoek SUMMARY Mass customization poses a challenge to the development of competitive supply chains. Third-party logistics service providers are targeting customizing operations to supplement their transport and warehousing services. Their expansion is driven by strategies for adding value and upgrading customer relations. This article assesses the development of these relations by presenting the results of a survey conducted among service providers. The assessment covers the nature of the purchasing policy and governance structure applied in this particular type of interfirm relations, including the type of services, contracts, frequency, level, and content of coordination and communication among parties in the chain. It was found that the new transactional context does not represent a market environment in which third parties can escape traditional arm's-length fixed contracts. It was also found that supplementary customizing services are not often applied. Recommendations are made about purchasing these services and about initiatives for third parties to start expanding their competence within the governance structure. [source] Mass Customization in the Automotive Industry: Comparing Interdealer Trading and Reconfiguration Flexibilities in Order FulfillmentPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010Philip G. Brabazon Mass customization has been viewed as desirable but difficult to achieve in the volume automotive sector. Here we consider flexibility in automotive order fulfillment systems to enhance the ability to satisfy customers with their desired vehicle variants within acceptable delivery lead times. Two types of flexibility are compared in a Virtual-Build-to-Order system,reconfiguration in the planning pipeline and interdealer trading. A representative simulation model is used to investigate the impact of the two types of flexibility across a wide spectrum of product variety levels. The impacts on major stakeholders in the system,the producer, dealers, and customers,are considered. The study shows that both types of flexibilities can bring significant benefits in terms of reductions in lead time and inventory holding. The level of product variety strongly influences the observed effects,an important finding in the mass customization context. Upstream reconfiguration flexibility brings greater benefits than downstream trading flexibility. Reconfiguration tends to dominate trading as a fulfillment mechanism when both are in operation. The findings have implications for the design and management of automotive order fulfillment systems in improving their ability to offer mass customization. The study has relevance for companies in other sectors with high levels of variety that seek to combine efficiency, speed, and flexibility in order fulfillment. [source] Factors Influencing the Adoption of Mass Customization: The Impact of Base Category Consumption Frequency and Need SatisfactionTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2007Andreas M. Kaplan Mass customization has received considerable interest among researchers. However, although many authors have analyzed this concept from different angles, the question of which factors can be used to spot customers most likely to adopt a mass-customized product has not been answered to a satisfactory extent until now. This article explicitly deals with this question by focusing on factors related to the base category, which is defined as the group of all standardized products within the same product category as the mass-customized product under investigation. Specifically, this article investigates the influence of a customer's base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the decision to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. A set of competing hypotheses regarding these influences is developed and subsequently evaluated by a combination of partial least squares and latent class analysis. This is done by using a sample of 2,114 customers surveyed regarding their adoption of an individualized printed newspaper. The results generated are threefold: First, it is shown that there is a significant direct influence of base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the behavioral intention to adopt. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category or the more satisfied his or her needs are due to this consumption, the higher the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. Second, the article provides an indication that base category consumption frequency has a significant moderating effect when investigating the behavioral intention to adopt in the context of the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category, the more important will be the impact of perceived ease of use mediated by perceived usefulness. Finally, this article shows that different latent classes with respect to unobserved heterogeneity regarding the latent variables base category need satisfaction or dissatisfaction have significantly different adoption behaviors. Individuals who show a high level of need dissatisfaction are less interested in the ease of use of a mass-customized product than its usefulness (i.e., increase in need satisfaction). On the other hand, subjects who have a high degree of base category need satisfaction base their adoption decision mainly on the ease of use of the mass-customized product. These results are of managerial relevance regarding the prediction of market reactions and the understanding of the strategic use of product-line extensions based on mass-customized products. This work provides an indication that base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction positively influence the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product. Hence, mass customization can be seen as one way to deepen the relationship with existing clients. [source] The value increment of mass-customized products: an empirical assessmentJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 4 2006Martin Schreier The primary argument in favour of mass customization is the delivery of superior customer value. Using willingness-to-pay (WTP) measurements, Franke and Piller (2004), Journal of Product Innovation Management, 21, 401,415 have recently shown that customers designing their own watches with design toolkits are willing to pay premiums of more than 100% (,WTP). In the course of three studies, we found that this type of value increment is not a singular occurrence but might rather be a general phenomenon, as we again found average ,WTPs of more than 100% among customers designing their own cell phone covers, T-shirts and scarves. Building on this, we discuss the sources of benefits that are likely to explain this tremendous value increment. We argue that compared to conventional standard products, a mass-customized product might render the following utilitarian and hedonic benefits: (1) First, the output might be beneficial as self-designed products offer a much closer fit between individual needs and product characteristics. In addition to this mere functional benefit, extra value might also stem from (2) the perceived uniqueness of the self-designed product. As the customer takes on the role of an active co-designer, there may also be two general ,do-it-yourself effects': (3) First, the process of designing per se is likely to allow the customer to meet hedonic or experiential needs (process benefit). (4) Customers may also be likely to value the output of self-design more highly if they take pride in having created something on their own (instead of traditionally buying something created by somebody else). This is referred to as the ,pride of authorship' effect. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Mass Customization in the Automotive Industry: Comparing Interdealer Trading and Reconfiguration Flexibilities in Order FulfillmentPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010Philip G. Brabazon Mass customization has been viewed as desirable but difficult to achieve in the volume automotive sector. Here we consider flexibility in automotive order fulfillment systems to enhance the ability to satisfy customers with their desired vehicle variants within acceptable delivery lead times. Two types of flexibility are compared in a Virtual-Build-to-Order system,reconfiguration in the planning pipeline and interdealer trading. A representative simulation model is used to investigate the impact of the two types of flexibility across a wide spectrum of product variety levels. The impacts on major stakeholders in the system,the producer, dealers, and customers,are considered. The study shows that both types of flexibilities can bring significant benefits in terms of reductions in lead time and inventory holding. The level of product variety strongly influences the observed effects,an important finding in the mass customization context. Upstream reconfiguration flexibility brings greater benefits than downstream trading flexibility. Reconfiguration tends to dominate trading as a fulfillment mechanism when both are in operation. The findings have implications for the design and management of automotive order fulfillment systems in improving their ability to offer mass customization. The study has relevance for companies in other sectors with high levels of variety that seek to combine efficiency, speed, and flexibility in order fulfillment. [source] From Mass Production to Mass Customization: Hindrance Factors, Structural Inertia, and Transition HazardPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008M. Johnny Rungtusanatham Research on mass customization has largely overlooked the issue of organizational change associated with the mass production-to-mass customization transition. To address this gap in the literature, we conduct a longitudinal case study of a manufacturing facility belonging to a division of a Fortune 1000 discrete manufacturing firm as it seeks to transition from mass production to mass customization. We empirically identify five factors hindering the mass production-to-mass customization transition within the research site and articulate five corresponding generalizations explaining how and why these hindrance factors relate to the mass production-to-mass customization transition hazard beyond the research site (i.e., how and why the five hindrance factors, in general, threaten the likelihood of a successful mass production-to-mass customization transition). We then theoretically validate the five hindrance factors and corresponding generalizations by mapping them onto the antecedents and tenets of structural inertia theory. We conclude with a brief discussion of the scientific and pragmatic significance of the findings and highlight opportunities for future research. [source] PRODUCT OFFERING, PRICING, AND MAKE-TO-STOCK/MAKE-TO-ORDER DECISIONS WITH SHARED CAPACITYPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002GREGORY DOBSON In an era of mass customization, many firms continue to expand their product lines to remain competitive. These broader product lines may help to increase market share and may allow higher prices to be charged, but they also cause challenges associated with diseconomies of scope. To investigate this tradeoff, we considered a monopolist who faces demand curves, which for each of its potential products, decline with both price and response time (time to deliver the product). The firm must decide which products to offer, how to price them, whether each should be make-to-stock (mts) or make-to-order (mto), and how often to produce them. The offered products share a single manufacturing facility. Setup times introduce disceonomies of scope and setup costs introduce economies of scale. We provide motivating problem scenarios, model the monopolist's problem as a non-linear, integer programming problem, characterize of the optimal policy, develop near-optimal procedures, and discuss managerial insights. [source] Complementing Mass Customization Toolkits with User Communities: How Peer Input Improves Customer Self-Design,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2008Nikolaus Franke In this paper, the authors propose that the canonical customer,toolkit dyad in mass customization (MC) should be complemented with user communities. Many companies in various industries have begun to offer their customers the opportunity to design their own products online. The companies provide Web-based MC toolkits that allow customers who prefer individualized products to tailor items such as sneakers, personal computers (PCs), cars, kitchens, cereals, or skis to their specific preferences. Most existing MC toolkits are based on the underlying concept of an isolated, dyadic interaction process between the individual customer and the MC toolkit. Information from external sources is not provided. As a result, most academic research on MC toolkits has focused on this dyadic perspective. The main premise of this paper is that novice MC toolkit users in particular might largely benefit from information given by other customers. Pioneering research shows that customers in the computer gaming and digital music instruments industries are willing to support each other for the sake of efficient toolkit use (e.g., how certain toolkit functions work). Expanding on their work, the present paper provides evidence that peer assistance appears also extremely useful in the two other major phases of the customer's individual self-design process, namely, the development of an initial idea and the evaluation of a preliminary design solution. Two controlled experiments were conducted in which 191 subjects used an MC toolkit to design their own individual skis. The authors found that during the phase of developing an initial idea, having access to other users' designs as potential starting points stimulates the integration of existing solution chunks into the problem-solving process, which indicates more systematic problem-solving behavior. Peer customer input also turned out to have positive effects on the evaluation of preliminary design solutions. Providing other customers' opinions on interim design solutions stimulated favorable problem-solving behavior, namely, the integration of external feedback. The use of these two problem-solving heuristics in turn leads to an improved process outcome,that is, self-designed products that meet the preferences of the customers more effectively (measured in terms of perceived preference fit, purchase intention, and willingness to pay). These findings have important theoretical and managerial implications. [source] Factors Influencing the Adoption of Mass Customization: The Impact of Base Category Consumption Frequency and Need SatisfactionTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2007Andreas M. Kaplan Mass customization has received considerable interest among researchers. However, although many authors have analyzed this concept from different angles, the question of which factors can be used to spot customers most likely to adopt a mass-customized product has not been answered to a satisfactory extent until now. This article explicitly deals with this question by focusing on factors related to the base category, which is defined as the group of all standardized products within the same product category as the mass-customized product under investigation. Specifically, this article investigates the influence of a customer's base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the decision to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. A set of competing hypotheses regarding these influences is developed and subsequently evaluated by a combination of partial least squares and latent class analysis. This is done by using a sample of 2,114 customers surveyed regarding their adoption of an individualized printed newspaper. The results generated are threefold: First, it is shown that there is a significant direct influence of base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the behavioral intention to adopt. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category or the more satisfied his or her needs are due to this consumption, the higher the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product within this base category. Second, the article provides an indication that base category consumption frequency has a significant moderating effect when investigating the behavioral intention to adopt in the context of the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category, the more important will be the impact of perceived ease of use mediated by perceived usefulness. Finally, this article shows that different latent classes with respect to unobserved heterogeneity regarding the latent variables base category need satisfaction or dissatisfaction have significantly different adoption behaviors. Individuals who show a high level of need dissatisfaction are less interested in the ease of use of a mass-customized product than its usefulness (i.e., increase in need satisfaction). On the other hand, subjects who have a high degree of base category need satisfaction base their adoption decision mainly on the ease of use of the mass-customized product. These results are of managerial relevance regarding the prediction of market reactions and the understanding of the strategic use of product-line extensions based on mass-customized products. This work provides an indication that base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction positively influence the behavioral intention to adopt a mass-customized product. Hence, mass customization can be seen as one way to deepen the relationship with existing clients. [source] | ||||||||||