5 Customer Driven Manufacturing Versus Mass Customization
Comparing system design principles for mass customization and
(traditional) customer driven manufacturing
Klaus-Dieter Thoben
University of Bremen and Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science (BIBA),
Bremen, Germany
For the last years the concept
of mass customization has gained broad attention within various branches
of industry. Mass customization has been identified as a competitive strategy
by an increasing number of companies. Accordingly theoretical, technical
as well as managerial aspects have been studied aiming at a better understanding
of this new paradigm. However, especially in Europe there is a long tradition
of designing and manufacturing customer specific products such as machinery,
ships and even cars. For this chapter we have analyzed various industrial
cases, consultancy projects as well as research work in the broader field
of customer driven manufacturing. We will identify a number of design
principles for the appropriate design of customer driven manufacturing
systems. Doing so, we will discuss concepts and principles for the design
of manufacturing systems delivering a wide range of products and services
that meet specific needs of individual customers. Synergies, similarities
as well as limitations and potentials of both mass customization and (traditional)
customer driven manufacturing will be evaluated.
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