Enterprise Design for Mass Customization

Demand for standard products has fragmented in many markets, and niche markets are becoming smaller even down to the individual customer. Price, precision, and speed will still be major competitiveness determinants, but competition for manufacturing companies will increasingly require greater product variety and customer focus. The challenge is therefore to achieve mass customization – the ability to provide variety, and individual customization, at prices comparable to standard goods and services. Existing manufacturing approaches like ERP investments or lean production seldom provides the performance for mass customization. The Control Model methodology was developed at SINTEF/NTNU to design enterprises for mass customization. The major principles of this methodology include differentiation of manufacturing principles, simplification of material flow, strategic positioning of stocks, decentralized decision making in clearly defined control areas, and floworientated information. The Control Model methodology has been successfully applied in more than twenty manufacturing companies. Biographical details: Jan Ola Strandhagen holds a Ph.D. in simulation, and is professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Production and Quality Engineering. He also works as a senior researcher at SINTEF Technology Management, Department of Economics and logistics. His background is in logistics, production management, and business development. Erlend Alfnes is a Ph.D. student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Production and Quality Engineering. His doctoral work focuses on logistics and production management in the food industry. Correspondence: Erlend Alfnes Department of Production and Quality Engineering Norwegian University of Science and Technology N-7034 Trondheim, Norway Telephone: +47 73 59 38 00 Fax: +47 73 59 71 17 E-mail: erlend.alfnes@ipk.ntnu.no