Mass customization facing logistics challenges

Introduced by Joseph Pine in 1993, the marketing strategy of mass customization has rapidly become indispensable for the strategic development of many enterprises. The basic idea of mass customization with all its different facets excites marketing and retail workers as well as marketing directors and CEOs. Nevertheless mass customization is still not yet a world wide standard. The reason for this can be seen in the complexity of implementing mass customization in actual existing mass or serial production. Pioneering examples often focus on newly founded enterprises or exclusively on production lines already set up. Since every product, every form of production and every logistics system have evolved individually no standard solution is or can be offered for implementation in an existing production or joint production line. Thus questions such as which product, which feature and how many features should or could be individualized remain. In addition time becomes an even more crucial factor than it has been before. Logistic systems have to be redesigned in order to face the new challenges. Long transport times have to be reduced within and between production lines. Lot size I in the machine does not imply lot size I in transport. Both information and goods have to be controlled and steered in order to be at the right place at the right time. Logistics therefore plays an essential role in mass customization.