Carsten Svensson

Issues of mass customisation and supporting IT-solutions

Mass customisation production is a challenge to the existing production management systems. The opportunity to ensure an efficient utilisation of the production system is reduced due to the build to order (BTO) approach which is most often associated with a customisation strategy. Existing software provides little support because they are mostly based on mass production approaches. BTO on the other side has not been subject to the same attention as mass production, and as the problems are slightly different, the techniques of traditional industrial production can only be applied to a limited extent.

A Lean Six Sigma program in higher education

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to contribute to the body of Lean Six Sigma knowledge within the field of higher education institutions. The paper will review the initial phase of an implementation and highlight future challenges of applying the Lean Six Sigma method in a complex transactional environment. Design/methodology/approach: The observations presented in this paper originate from rolling out a large Lean Six Sigma implementation at a recently established university. The paper is further supported with secondary data from literature. Findings: The implementation of Lean Six Sigma methodology at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has resulted in improvements in business processes and efficiency. This has been achieved through project execution and training programs. Approximately 350 staff members have completed awareness training, 200 yellow belts and 230 green belts have been trained, and the first round of seven black belts have completed training, of which three have completed independent certification. Research limitations: This paper is based on an empirical study of a single instance and the authors’ experiences as practitioners. Originality: This paper is the first description of what is believed to be one of the largest implementations of Lean Six Sigma in higher education.

The Customer at the Final Frontier of Mass Customization

Mass customization is no longer new. A decade of industrial experience have shown how this business paradigm has been used - and abused. Some companies report on a successful implementation leading to a radically improved business while others have not managed to fully exploit the promised potential. At this point in the evolution of mass customization one may look back and examine these cases with the purpose to empirically determine the factors influencing a successful application of mass customization. However, one may also look into the future and speculate how mass customization may be further exploited. With this in mind, we will discuss in this chapter which factors may limit the further expansion of mass customization. We will argue that the customer is the major limiting factor at the final frontier of mass customization. Until now mass customization has mainly focused on the product. In this chapter we show that there is a need for an increased focus on the fulfillment of customer needs. As a result manufacturers have to balance new trade-offs if the paradigm of mass customization becomes a commodity. This chapter’s objective is to open a discussion within research communities working with mass customization. Thus, more questions are raised than answered.

Creating synergy through the integration of advanced planning systems and configuration

In recognition of the individuality of customers, manufacturers have through generations presented solutions, which targeted a specific group of customers. In some cases the preferences of the customers are so diversified that it is impossible to include a satisfying number of solutions within a fixed product program. Instead, manufacturers have applied a “customisation” approach. A. customisation approach means that the product is partially designed for the customer, and thereby it is possible to adapt the product to fit a very wide range of customers.