Mass Customization And Mass Customization

Since the earliest artisans offered items for sale, price and customization have been two important product characteristics to the consumer. So is it today, but with a few twists. Breakthrough came when the French military used interchangeable parts for cannons and muskets at the end of the 18th century, By the middle of the 19th century, many more products were being made from interchangeable parts. This paradigm shift caused consumers to become comfortable with buying standard products that were cheaper and easier to repair. Mass production became dominant since it enabled complex products like automobiles to be made cheaply enough that average people could afford them. The general trend of standard designs competing on price and customized

This ability to deliver customized products to each consumer’s requirements at the cost of near mass production is the Holy Grail of retailing. Giving customers the opportunity to have a product anywhere they want it, any way they want it, and any time they want it, resonates extremely well with consumers. The number of mass customized products is gradually increasing as are the personalized services, and this is what we call Mass Personalization. By 2025, retailers must be able to support a highly various set of orders and distribution channels in keeping up with mass customized products and delivery methods. Except for traditional retail outlets, kiosks, Customers will want to order with their own computers and mobile phones and perhaps as-yet-unimagined channels. Delivery modes will be just as diverse from time-definite, long-lead-time delivery to next-day delivery, same-day delivery and even same-hour

The personalization of production is tailored to the preferences and needs of individual customers[19]. Customers create innovative products and realize value by collaborating with manufacturers. Based on different known customer needs by marketing analysis customers are categorized into different market segments in customization. The customers grouped in the same market segment receive similar or parameter based customized products from a predefined product family. The configuration mechanism, product architectures, basic modules and critical parameters have been kept stable within the predefined realm of configuration[20]. Computer configuration is a classic example of mass customization. Computer manufacturers predict the potential ranges of products that customers would like to purchase in advance. Then producers determine the common denominators to find the best set of building blocks for customers to mix and match to satisfy their needs[20]. As a result, the essence of mass customization is to configure various product variants through modularity with the commonality embedded in the product platforms so as to reuse proven design among product families[21]. On the other hand, in the paradigm of mass personalization, it requires