With the mass production system, it is getting harder to compete in the global market that ever diversified and discrete customer needs. Mass customization concept was proposed as one of the alternatives that response more flexible and quicker to the customer's needs. But the study of economies and effectiveness of mass customization, how to set-up the strategy and how to build the capability was not proceeded too much.
The purpose of this study is to identify the competitive dimensions that contributed by mass customization and to propose a strategy development model for mass customization. For that purpose, this study proposes a strategy development model for mass customization and then tries to analyze and find the characteristics of the case of Samsung Heavy Industries forklift division(SHIFL). This study also tries to extract practical limits and possible solutions in operational system for SHIFL as the perspective of mass customization. Finally, CSFs for mass customization and managerial implications were proposed.
Even though Hart defined 4 factors for mass customization as customer sensitivity, organizational readiness, competitive environment and process amenability, the model proposed in this study consists with 4 basic factors. One of the factor is environment including customer sensitivity, competitive environment and geographical dispersion, second is competitive priority of the company's strategy, third is capability which includes organizational readiness, process amenability and information infrastructure. The last factor is competitive advantage that is the result of strategy.
3 types of mass customization and supply chains that aligned with mass customization types also proposed in this study. Modular design in the development process and mixed model production in the manufacturing process were found as one of the effective approach for variety of customer requirements. As the result, delivery can be shorten and more stable than that of mass production system.
The first finding of this study is the difference of paradigm, in the mass production concept, organizations are divided for collective customers but in the mass customization concept, making whole process for individual customers, every individual order contains whole process for flexible and quick response. The cost factors for mass customization are loss of line balance, cost for flexible facilities. And the benefit factors are set-up cost for model shift, inventory carrying cost, capital cost for inventory. The other finding in the case is that benefits of mass customization were greater than costs. Another is that flexibility and responsiveness of the company were improved significantly.
Information infrastructure was emphasized for the mass customization as the process enabler and network that eliminates time differences and geographical differences in the global era.
CSFs for mass customization were found as customer sensitivity, geographical dispersion, management's leadership, cooperative organizational culture that emphasize total process, tightly integrated process supported by information system and network. Sales people who can elaborate even customer's implicit requirement was important too. Finally, agile and flexible manufacturing system including stable supplier network is one of the key factors of successful mass customization strategy.
This study proposes an information system architecture for mass customization which consists network to individual customer's needs to company and information system which makes process integration at the last.
