Differentiation and customer decoupling points: An integrated design approach for mass customization

Mass customization draws a twofold benefit: cost reduction, inherited from mass production techniques, and good response to customer requirements, inherited from customization. Two main decisions, relevant to design and manufacturing, are required for the proper implementation of mass customization. First, product features should be split between standard and customizable ones. This will position the product differentiation points. Second, processes should be split between make-to-stock and make-to-order. This will position the customer-order decoupling point. Most often, these two decisions are made separately. In this article, the authors advocate that both decisions should be made simultaneously. They propose an integrated method for design for mass customization. It is based on simultaneously evaluating the impact of these two criteria on enterprise and customer value through the modeling and simulation of value networks. A real case study on Alpina footwear industries is simulated and analyzed. The computational results highlight the joint impact of the two decisions on the overall performance. These two levers should then be considered, simultaneously, when designing the mass customization strategy.