Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises

With the rise of technology, increasing competitiveness, market globalization and the fourth industrial revolution, companies are forced to rethink the way they do business to create or maintain a competitive advantage. Consumers, who are increasingly informed, demanding and concerned about sustainable development, are forcing companies to adapt to their needs to respond adequately to personalized demand. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector must adjust to this new context. The move towards mass customization is one way of meeting customer requirements. However, no strategy for making this shift currently exists in the literature. The aim of this article is to present a strategy for operationalizing mass customization using modular tools. Action research is used to test the proposed strategy. The paper proposes 4 transformation axes to migrate towards mass customization: Modular product design, Modular process design, Technology use, Collaboration network. This article also highlights the need to tackle modular product design first to migrate to mass customization, by proposing a 3-stage strategy: modular product architecture, standardization of interfaces and definition of configuration rules. A case study is used to test the proposed strategy.