What Is Mass Customization?
Mass customization is the process of delivering market pieces and services which may also be modified to satisfy a specific purchaser’s needs. Mass customization is a promoting and advertising and manufacturing technique that combines the flexibility and personalization of customized products with the low unit costs associated with mass production. Other names for mass customization include made-to-order or built-to-order.
Key Takeaways
- Mass customization is a process that allows a purchaser to personalize sure choices of a product while nevertheless protective costs at or just about mass production prices.
- Forefront manufacturing techniques lend a hand firms produce interchangeable parts that can be jumbled in a lot of tactics to build an affordable product that satisfies a specific purchaser’s needs.
- The 4 primary kinds of mass customization are collaborative customization, adaptive customization, transparent customization, and good looks customization.
- Slightly a large number of firms employ mass customization techniques, along with retail firms, utility creators, financial services firms, and modular space builders.
- Firms that provide mass customization can give themselves a competitive receive advantages over other firms that only offer generic products.
Figuring out Mass Customization
Mass customization lets in a purchaser to design sure made-to-order choices of a product while nevertheless protective costs closer to that of heavily produced products. In some circumstances, the portions of the product are modular. This adaptability lets in the buyer to mix-and-match alternatives to create a semi-custom final product.
Mass customization would possibly follow to many fields, alternatively many connect it to the retail business. Tool creators would possibly use this option to include software-based product configurations that allow end-users so that you can upload or business specific functions of a core product. Even the financial services business embraces mass customization all through the expansion of independent, fee-only advisory firms.
The Expansion of Mass Customization
B. Joseph Pine II gave the impression at the expansion of the American financial machine as a result of mass production. In his guide, Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Industry Pageant (Harvard Industry Analysis Press, 1992), he describes 4 primary kinds of mass customization which took the concept that of mass production to a brand spanking new degree:
- Collaborative customization: firms artwork in partnership with shoppers to offer products or services uniquely fitted to each and every consumer
- Adaptive customization: firms produce standardized products which the end-user would possibly customize
- Transparent customization: firms provide unique products to individual shoppers without overtly stating the products are customized
- Good looks customization: firms produce standardized products alternatively market them in numerous tactics to quite a lot of customers
Pine occupied with the concept that of creating a small selection of interchangeable pieces. The individual parts is also jumbled in a lot of tactics producing a cost-efficient production taste and nevertheless lets in customers to choose how the pieces go together.
Examples of Mass Customization
Price-only, independent financial advisors allow their shoppers to customize their portfolio holdings to check their unique situations. The consumer would possibly select products that tournament their investment probability tolerance, time horizon, investment style, and long term objectives.
Positive furniture firms offer mass customization by the use of providing a few alternatives for quite a lot of portions or choices. This adaptability would possibly include different fabrics, furniture legs, or pieces that blend in a large number of configurations. Moreover, modular space builders use mass-customization models by the use of allowing customers to make changes to the ground space bundle deal.
Benefits of Mass Customization
Mass customization lets in manufacturers to lengthen the step of product differentiation until the total phase of manufacturing. Rather than the manufacturer deciding on the choices that make the product unique, mass customization lets in the shopper to make the ones choices. For some customers, the ability to customize a product is enough to sway their buying choice in want of one company over every other.
Mass customization can then become part of a successful marketing strategy for a company. Firms that provide customization can give themselves a competitive receive advantages over their fighters. They can tout their skill to offer a semi-custom product at an reasonably priced value to customers who are in search of an fortify over a generic product. As long as the company is able to send a product that does not compromise on top of the range, they have an opportunity to increase product sales, source of revenue, and logo loyalty for their one-of-a-kind products.
Mass customization can also lend a hand a company with the costs associated with additional inventory. Implementing a just-in-time (JIT) option to manufacturing can have the same opinion firms in minimizing inventory and increasing efficiency. Firms that take a JIT option to mass customization will need loyal suppliers and an inventory replenishment gadget that notifies them exactly when new materials wish to be ordered.
