Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises

With the rise of technology, increasing competitiveness, market globalization and the fourth industrial revolution, companies are forced to rethink the way they do business to create or maintain a competitive advantage. Consumers, who are increasingly informed, demanding and concerned about sustaina...

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Main Authors: Stéphanie Bouchard, Sébastien Gamache, Georges Abdulnour
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-12-01
Series:Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277239092300032X
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author Stéphanie Bouchard
Sébastien Gamache
Georges Abdulnour
author_facet Stéphanie Bouchard
Sébastien Gamache
Georges Abdulnour
author_sort Stéphanie Bouchard
collection DOAJ
description With the rise of technology, increasing competitiveness, market globalization and the fourth industrial revolution, companies are forced to rethink the way they do business to create or maintain a competitive advantage. Consumers, who are increasingly informed, demanding and concerned about sustainable development, are forcing companies to adapt to their needs to respond adequately to personalized demand. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector must adjust to this new context. The move towards mass customization is one way of meeting customer requirements. However, no strategy for making this shift currently exists in the literature. The aim of this article is to present a strategy for operationalizing mass customization using modular tools. Action research is used to test the proposed strategy. The paper proposes 4 transformation axes to migrate towards mass customization: Modular product design, Modular process design, Technology use, Collaboration network. This article also highlights the need to tackle modular product design first to migrate to mass customization, by proposing a 3-stage strategy: modular product architecture, standardization of interfaces and definition of configuration rules. A case study is used to test the proposed strategy.
format Article
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institution OA Journals
issn 2772-3909
language English
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain
spelling doaj-art-69c7152c7c494a2dbc3a56ef858149332025-08-20T02:22:16ZengElsevierCleaner Logistics and Supply Chain2772-39092023-12-01910012310.1016/j.clscn.2023.100123Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprisesStéphanie Bouchard0Sébastien Gamache1Georges Abdulnour2Corresponding authors.; Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaCorresponding authors.; Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaCorresponding authors.; Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaWith the rise of technology, increasing competitiveness, market globalization and the fourth industrial revolution, companies are forced to rethink the way they do business to create or maintain a competitive advantage. Consumers, who are increasingly informed, demanding and concerned about sustainable development, are forcing companies to adapt to their needs to respond adequately to personalized demand. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector must adjust to this new context. The move towards mass customization is one way of meeting customer requirements. However, no strategy for making this shift currently exists in the literature. The aim of this article is to present a strategy for operationalizing mass customization using modular tools. Action research is used to test the proposed strategy. The paper proposes 4 transformation axes to migrate towards mass customization: Modular product design, Modular process design, Technology use, Collaboration network. This article also highlights the need to tackle modular product design first to migrate to mass customization, by proposing a 3-stage strategy: modular product architecture, standardization of interfaces and definition of configuration rules. A case study is used to test the proposed strategy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277239092300032XMass customizationToolsManufacturingProduct modularityAgilityIndustry 4.0
spellingShingle Stéphanie Bouchard
Sébastien Gamache
Georges Abdulnour
Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises
Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain
Mass customization
Tools
Manufacturing
Product modularity
Agility
Industry 4.0
title Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises
title_full Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises
title_fullStr Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises
title_full_unstemmed Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises
title_short Strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises
title_sort strategy using modularity tools to operationalize mass customization in manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises
topic Mass customization
Tools
Manufacturing
Product modularity
Agility
Industry 4.0
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277239092300032X
work_keys_str_mv AT stephaniebouchard strategyusingmodularitytoolstooperationalizemasscustomizationinmanufacturingsmallandmediumsizedenterprises
AT sebastiengamache strategyusingmodularitytoolstooperationalizemasscustomizationinmanufacturingsmallandmediumsizedenterprises
AT georgesabdulnour strategyusingmodularitytoolstooperationalizemasscustomizationinmanufacturingsmallandmediumsizedenterprises