Eight Strategies for Mass Customization

Abstract

How can we satisfy every customer whim at prices that are no higher than those of competitors who offer only a few products? The following strategies have worked in many circumstances: 1. Analyze the structure of the demand. We need to be able to make what customers do order, not everything they might. 2. Standardize components. Custom products do not always have to be made from scratch. Instead, they can be made from a small number of standard components. 3. Make a catalog with a discrete set of sizes. All shoes used to be custom-made, but today, shoes made in size increments meet the needs of almost all consumers. 4. Postpone customization to the end of the process. Customization happens best at or near the end of the manufacturing process. 5. Identify a common process. Then we can treat custom products like options on standard products. 6. Maintain a database of past designs. It can be an enormous time saver in meeting requirements that appear to be new. 7. Design your custom manufacturing process. While still as a job-shop, the custom workshop must be organized for effectiveness and efficiency. 8. Set up a simple production control system. Cap the number of jobs in process, sequence WIP FIFO, do all priority shuffling prior to job release, and track progress with Ybry charts.