Running a manufacturing operation has never been easy. While the details vary, the basic business challenges facing manufacturers have not changed – they have just expanded due to global competition and increasing customer expectations.

The never-ending challenge is to increase the customer-perceived product value* while maintaining a competitive cost level, or the other way around depending on the market segment. Most companies need to do both.

To handle this dual challenge successfully, a company must constantly strive for operating excellence throughout the whole value creation process and its supporting processes.

All this forces companies to design a lean operating system that is increasingly capable of producing customized products with mass-production efficiency. The concept behind this most advanced, customer-focused lean operating system is called “mass customization”.

Making mass customization truly work is not a simple task. To achieve superior levels of operating excellence, it is usually necessary to redesign and realign nearly all existing business processes to support strategic objectives and the competitive environment.

As operational excellence is mainly driven by the design of the existing production system and the product design, the keys for success are existing build-to-order manufacturing capabilities and excellence in product development. Mass customization therefore not only drives the adoption of the just-in-time / lean manufacturing philosophy within the industry, it also forces companies to shift from a reactive to a proactive operating mode within the R&D department based on LeanProductDesign guidelines.

Before starting the mass customization journey, the executives in charge of Product Development should evaluate the existing processes and products regarding their capabilities to support mass customization.

MOVEAHEAD® has unique knowledge in redesigning and implementing "lean" and flexible processes that can handle the mass customization challenge. We also assist our clients in redefining R&D guidelines, which is necessary to ensure successful LeanProductDesign.