Implementing Mass Customization Research Articles

Innovative strategy toward mass customization of geospatial information: the case of National Geographic Information Institute in South Korea

Current ready-made geospatial information (GI) production method of National Geographic Information Institute causes issues, including duplications and inconsistencies of data, and low customer satisfaction. This study suggests concept, framework, approach, and strategy for mass customization of GI to tackle the current production method. First, this study defines mass customization of GI as “a method of producing and providing GI that reflects customer needs, based on modularized and standardized geospatial data as source data”. It is to develop modularized and standardized National Geospatial Data (NGD) based on object-oriented database, using this as source data to produce and provide multi-services of GI. Second, this study suggests three phases (i.e., development/update, management/combination, customization/provision) and seven unit tasks (i.e., data acquisition/synchronization, security management, data maintenance, specification-oriented combination, demand survey, demand-oriented combination) as approach to implement mass customization of GI. Third, this study suggests strategy for GI mass customization, including modularization and standardization of NGD and production process, and customization. Fourth, this study confirms high feasibility of the approach and strategy, through discussion on sufficient condition, success factor, and goal achievement for GI mass customization. This study has implication in shifting paradigm of GI production method from ready-made to customization.

マスカスタマイゼーションの実現と戦略的コスト・マネジメント :マツダ株式会社のモノ造り革新からのレッスン

マスカスタマイゼーションの実現と戦略的コスト・マネジメント :マツダ株式会社のモノ造り革新からのレッスン

Product and service modularization for variety management

Abstract Due to the increased diversity in customer requirements, many manufacturers are in the process of evolving from mass production to mass customization (MC) whereby products and services are tailored to specific customer needs. Even though MC strategy was described decades ago, its implementation within industry is hindered by the partial understanding of its underlying philosophy and operational drivers. A central question to be dealt with for a successful MC implementation is how to balance between products and services variety and their induced complexity. Modularity is one of the commonly used means for dealing with such as question. While this concept has been widely discussed in product design and operations management literature at large, its applicability to service or product-service systems is only poorly addressed. This paper addresses the question of how to deal with the service modularity and how this can be exploited jointly with product modularity to modularize an offering, in a way to increase offering variety and improve internal company performance.

Implementation guidelines for mass customization: current characteristics and suggestions for improvement

Interest in mass customization (MC) is increasing in both industry and academia. Academic research on MC implementation guidelines (IGs) has, however, lagged behind other research streams in the MC literature. The present article reviews the existing literature on MC-IGs and inductively derives a classification scheme for prior research findings to identify potential areas for further research. While the issue of what enables MC has been intensively researched, investigation of several questions is still required, such as which enablers should be implemented and in what sequence, depending on the specific context in which MC is pursued. Other areas for future study of MC-IGs include applicability context specifications, as-is analysis tools, hindrance factors and required resources. This article complements previous MC literature reviews by providing an overview of MC-IGs available in the literature, identifying the building blocks of MC-IGs and proposing a definition of MC-IGs that can be used as a basis for future research in MC implementation.

An Approach to Iot Service Optimal Composition for Mass Customization on Cloud Manufacturing

For implementing mass customization on cloud manufacturing (CMfg), Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled service optimal composition (ISOC) is a key technology used to effectively composite a manufacturing cloud service with selected IoT services to satisfy the users’ customized production requirements. The solving of the ISOC problem is done inefficiently in the context of the growing scale of IoT services and increasing sophistication of the ISOC execution path, being partly due to insufficient investigation of accumulated empirical knowledge (EK) of IoT services. In this paper, we propose an EK-oriented genetic algorithm (EK-GA) for the large-scale IoT service composition. First, by fully considering the distinctive features of IoT service and service domain features, the EK of IoT services are richly explored to divide the service space. Second, EK-oriented optimization strategies in the initial population, operators, and fitness function are presented to improve the local and global search abilities of the genetic algorithm for solving ISOC problems. Finally, the effectiveness of EK-GA for solving real-world ISOC problems in a private CMfg is verified through three types of experiments. By exploiting EK of IoT services for ISOC problems, this work makes novel contributions for mass customization on CMfg and enriches the practice of EK-oriented intelligence optimization.

Car sequencing for mixed-model assembly lines with consideration of changeover complexity

Implementing mass customization can inevitably lead to a large product variety, which makes the assembly process in mixed-model assembly lines (MMALs) very complex. In this paper, the concept of product variety induced changeover complexity, as one major source of uncertainty in mixed-model assembly, is proposed. Three types of changeover complexities measured using information entropy are presented. As the negative impact of changeover complexity on the performance of a MMAL can be reduced by selecting a suitable model sequence, a bi-objective car sequencing problem taking it into account is proposed. The problem is aimed at finding a model sequence with the minimum number of violating sequencing rules as a primary criterion, and the minimum level of total changeover complexity as a secondary criterion. A lexicographic approach based on ant colony optimization (ACO) is applied to solve the problem. Computational experiments show that both objectives can be effectively addressed using the presented ACO algorithm.

Impact of mass customization on cost and flexiblity performances: the role of social capital

More than ever, companies have to cope with ever changing market conditions. Some companies have reacted to shortened product life cycles, constant changes in customer preferences and cost pressures by implementing mass customization practices. Mass customization has been hailed as a way to overcome the tradeoff between cost and flexibility performance. However, there is lack of consistent empirical evidence to demonstrate that this really is the case. We advance this debate by proposing that in order for mass customization to be more effective, a company needs to possess and utilize social capital (i.e., cognitive, relational and structured social capital) within their supply networks. This study uses primary survey data from 513 plants from nine countries collected by the Global Manufacturing Research Group (GMRG). We used structural equation modelling analysis to test our hypotheses. Results indicate that mass customization has the ability to improve a company’s cost and flexibility performance. Furthermore, results regarding the moderating role of social capital are mixed. Cognitive capital only moderates the impact of mass customization on cost performance while relational capital increases this impact on both cost and flexibility performance. Structural capital does not moderate the impact of mass customization on performance.

A method for product platform planning based on pruning analysis and attribute matching

Product platform planning can greatly support product variant design, which is of great help to the implementation of mass customization (MC). In most of product platform planning methods, product modules and product families have been usually preplanned before products are designed, which would not make full use of the existing product resources. In this paper, we propose a method for product platform planning using the existing product data in product lifecycle management (PLM) database. The proposed method introduces two key technologies, i.e., pruning analysis and attribute matching. The pruning analysis is used to find out the sharing parts of different product families, which constitutes the basic framework of product platform; the attribute matching is used to classify product modules into different categories according to their sharing degrees, which reveals the relationships of different product modules and forms the association rules of product platform. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the product data in the PLM database of a valve company. The proposed method greatly improves the reuse rate of existing product resources, providing an effective and fast way for enterprises to implement the MC strategy.

Effects of organizational learning on process technology and operations performance in mass customizers

This study investigates the role of organizational learning and process technology in the implementation of mass customization based on 211 samples obtained from 6 provinces and municipalities in China.Results show that team and systems orientation learning can increase process automation and operations performance. Furthermore, learning orientation does not affect process technology and operations performance. Memory orientation can improve throughput directly without the mediating effects of process technology. None of the four orientations of organizational learning affect process flexibility, but this flexibility can increase inventory and operating expenses slightly.On the basis of a theoretical view of mass customization, the current study confirmed that process automation is significantly connected to throughput. However, process flexibility does not contribute to it. As per theory of knowledge-based view, different orientations perform varied functions in the advancement of process technology and operations performance. Learning orientation does not contribute at all. Then this study confirms that the learning of existing knowledge is useful and important in MC implementation. Emerging knowledge does not contribute to process advancement and operations performance significantly; therefore, MC is not an innovative strategy. Rather, this concept is founded on the basis of existing knowledge, as with lean production.

Differentiation and customer decoupling points: An integrated design approach for mass customization

Mass customization draws a twofold benefit: cost reduction, inherited from mass production techniques, and good response to customer requirements, inherited from customization. Two main decisions, relevant to design and manufacturing, are required for the proper implementation of mass customization. First, product features should be split between standard and customizable ones. This will position the product differentiation points. Second, processes should be split between make-to-stock and make-to-order. This will position the customer-order decoupling point. Most often, these two decisions are made separately. In this article, the authors advocate that both decisions should be made simultaneously. They propose an integrated method for design for mass customization. It is based on simultaneously evaluating the impact of these two criteria on enterprise and customer value through the modeling and simulation of value networks. A real case study on Alpina footwear industries is simulated and analyzed. The computational results highlight the joint impact of the two decisions on the overall performance. These two levers should then be considered, simultaneously, when designing the mass customization strategy.

Exploring the “mid office” concept as an enabler of mass customization in services

Purpose– Mass customization (MC) is a well-established strategy for providing high levels of customization while achieving the scale economies of high volume production. The purpose of this paper is to explore a new service design configuration, the “mid office,” as a service interface which may support front office customization capabilities while protecting the back office from disruption. The authors posit that it may facilitate MC by enabling product/service and organizational modularity.Design/methodology/approach– The research is based on a single case study of a large European bank’s payment services, traditionally high volume, low variety operations. The bank adopted a MC strategy which involved the creation of a mid office. The analysis spans product/service and organizational design.Findings– When combined with menu-driven customization and reuse modularization, the mid office appears to support partial rather than full MC. It facilitates postponement of customization to the assembly stage through service coproduction, organizational decoupling, and the streamlining of employee adaptive behaviors.Research limitations/implications– The study bears the limitations typical of case study research; however this was appropriate given the exploratory nature of the research into a nascent concept.Practical implications– The paper identifies a series of design decisions to enable practitioners to choose between full and partial service MC, ensuring design coherence through a mirror effect of service modularity and organizational modularity.Originality/value– It is argued that the mid office is a service interface which facilitates partial MC by enabling service and organizational modularity. The paper reinterprets the archetypes of full and partial MC in service terms, and proposes a contingent approach to service MC implementation based on service value.

Types of Apparel Mass Customization and Levels of Modularity and Variety

Mass-customization (MC) is a hybrid of mass production and customization, and it offers potential solutions for problems in the apparel industry. This theoretical study contemplates on the contradicting concepts that are combined in the configuration of apparel MC. The study uses the segmentation principle of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving for an analysis framework. Terms for apparel MC including the levels of modularity and variety and the attributes of design and fit are clarified. This study provides a theoretically grounded explanation of how an effective implementation of apparel MC can solve existing problems in the ready-to-wear industry. To offer a managerial tool to identify an efficient scope of apparel MC, this study proposed structured categories of apparel MC in a matrix based on modularity and variety levels for the attributes of design and fit. Examples of the implementation of MC using the proposed matrix were also provided.

A Method for Proposing Valued-Adding Attributes in Customized Housing

In most emerging economies, there has been many incentives and high availability of funding for low-cost housing projects. This has encouraged product standardization and the application of mass production ideas, based on the assumption that this is the most effective strategy for reducing costs. However, the delivery of highly standardized housing units to customers with different needs, without considering their lifestyle and perception of value, often results in inadequate products. Mass customization has been pointed out as an effective strategy to improve value generation in low-cost housing projects, and to avoid waste caused by renovations done in dwellings soon after occupancy. However, one of the main challenges for the implementation of mass customization is the definition of a set of relevant options based on users’ perceived value. The aim of this paper is to propose a method for defining value adding attributes in customized housing projects, which can support decision-making in product development. The means-end chain theory was used as theoretical framework to connect product attributes and costumers’ values, through the application of the laddering technique. The method was tested in two house-building projects delivered by a company from Brazil. The main contribution of this method is to indicate the customization units that are most important for users along with the explanation of why those units are the most relevant ones.

Driving Model of Implementing Mass-Customization Manufacturing in Cluster Supply Chain

To explore the attributes of cluster supply chain, and provide its driving model (2P&2BP) for more effective and more efficient way in implementing mass customization. The paper analyzes cluster supply chain driving model for implementing mass customization manufacturing using data from case study from 8 garment and IT industrial clusters. In process of implementing mass customization, we found that cluster supply chain has supplying level, marketing level and supplementing level to support its driving model (2P&2BP: Pull/push/burst power/bottleneck press) rather than conventional pull\push model. thus SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in industrial cluster would have chances to extensively participate cooperate with core companies in the form of supply chain, thus expanding gradually.

Research on enterprise customization diagnosis for mass customization

In order to determine and address the problems which appear when enterprise implement mass customization products, the conception about mass customization diagnosis is confirmed, and basal thought and process on mass customization diagnosis are presented. According to the characteristics of customization system and the intention of diagnostic, a multi-layer corporation customization diagnosis model based on fuzzy mathematics theory and set-covering technology is built. The consistency and coverage of this customization diagnosis model are analyzed, and solving strategies are given. Finally, the customization diagnostic model is applied to two bike companies and occurred cause of the problems is positioned by comparing with standard enterprise, using mass customization capability evaluating index, combined with factors of corporation mass customization ability, from the top to the lower layer, step by step going fault location, finally positioning occurred cause of the problem. According to this, the improvement measures and methods are proposed for the two enterprises.

Mass customization: the bane of OD or the cure to what ails it?

Purpose – This applied position piece discusses the potential advantages of applying a mass customization framework to the field of organization development (OD). Mass customization, adapted from the manufacturing industry, is posited as a potential way to address the OD identity (or lack thereof) debate. Four speculative applications of mass customization to OD are presented, as well as a real-world example of how mass customization is currently being applied in one organization. Implications at the individual-, group-, and systems level are discussed. Design/methodology/approach – After key arguments are introduced, a case study is presented to illustrate the application of mass customization to an OD process. Findings – Implementation of mass customization can be successful in traditional OD practices. Practical implications – This paper addresses a common debate in the field of OD: should we limit our scope, or will that sacrifice inclusivity? By applying a mass customization framework, OD can retain its flexibility while still applying boundaries to the field. Originality/value – This paper addresses a common debate in the field of OD: should we limit our scope, or will that sacrifice inclusivity? By applying a mass customization framework, OD can retain its flexibility while still applying boundaries to the field.

Stepwise Modularization in the Construction Industry Using a Bottom-Up Approach

The manufacturing industry has experienced a great deal of improvement in efficiency and cost reductions throughout the last centuries. But although there have been improvements in the manufacturing industry, the principles and work methods in the construction industry have stood still for more than a hundred years. Based on principles of mass customization applied in the manufacturing industry, two cases of successful implementation of mass customization and modularization have been investigated as a means of showcasing the possibility to incorporate standardization in parts of the construction industry. The investigation examined two different companies that have standardized parts of a construction. One, Altan.dk, standardized the method for constructing balconies; and NCC Skakt standardized the construction of shafts.

A Customer's Requirements Analysis Approach for Kano’s Model

Modularity has been recognized as a vital factor to implement mass customization. To obtain the optimization project of modular design, customer's requirements must be gained firstly. There has different level for each customer's requirement. So, the classification technology of customer's requirements, which using KANO model investigate questionnaire, is expatiated in this paper. Then, the attribute class of customer's requirements can be gained. A questionnaire, which using the household hanging air-conditioning system as an example, is proposed in this paper. The result, which using KANO theory to analyze, demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed approaches.

Grey‐based and fuzzy TOPSIS decision‐making approach for agility evaluation of mass customization systems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop an agility evaluation approach to determine the most suitable agile system for implementing mass customization (MC) strategies. Evaluating the alternatives and comparing across them, the best practices of the efficient organization can be identified and transferred to different organizations.Design/methodology/approachGrey relation approach is a simple mathematical technique useful in situations where the information is not known precisely. Grey relation approach has been applied to measure the agility of various organizations based on agile entities and accordingly the organizations are ranked. The ranking so obtained is compared with the ranking obtained by a popular multi‐attribute decision making (MADM) process known as Fuzzy TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution) to test the robustness of the proposed method. It is to be noted that grey theory considers the condition of the fuzziness and can deal flexibly with the fuzziness situation.FindingsIt is demonstrated that the grey approach is an appropriate method for solving MADM problems in an uncertain situation with less computational efforts. The alternatives can easily be benchmarked and the best agile system can be selected. As the ranking obtained through grey relation approach closely agree with the ranking found from Fuzzy TOPSIS method, the robustness of the proposed approach is validated. Both the methods lead to choosing a suitable agile system related to mass customization.Research limitations/implicationsIn this paper, the proposed approach has been compared with Fuzzy TOPSIS method to test the robustness of the method. Other MADM approaches may be used for comparison purpose to gain insight into the methodology of the proposed approach.Originality/valueAn alternative approach for MADM is proposed to obtain good decisions in an uncertain environment and used for agility evaluation in selected organizations. As agile manufacturing is relatively a new concept, certain and complete information on systems are not available. In such situations, the proposed method can deal with the issue conveniently and results in workable solutions.

Fuzzy Logic based Decision Support System for Mass Customization

Intelligent decision support system is one of the key enabler of successful implementation of mass customization (MC). Manufacturing enterprises in the business of mass customization ought to leverage software embedded with optimized intelligent and intuitive algorithms for decision making at each stage of company’s functioning from designing through to product life cycle management.. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an example of such available tools that enables composite atomization of technological and organizational preparation of manufacture of customized products. In MC the requirement given by the customer may be semi structured or nonstructural, incomplete, contradictory or difficult to formalize. The manufacturer offers customer interactive tools on the web to configure their product and assist in placing an order. The fuzzy logic tool (FLT) can be used to assist the customer to finalize their requirements from the options given from the manufacturer. In automotive, customization has many facets like color, material, electronic instrumentation, seats, engine, brakes, etc. The paper describes the application of FLT to improve the decision support system of MC. The feasibility and effectiveness of the decision support system using FLT are empirically validated by case study implementation of engine selection and braking system as features of automobile.