C o n f i g u r i n g P r o d u c t V a r i a n t s I n C u s t o m i s a t i o n S t r a t e g i e s
13
CONFIGURING PRODUCT VARIANTS IN CUSTOMISATION
STRATEGIES
Cecília Gravina da Rocha
1
& Carlos Torres Formoso
2
1
Building Innovation Research Unit, Postgraduate Program In Civil Engineering, Federal
University of Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Brazil,
2
Building Innovation Research Unit, Postgraduate Program In Civil Engineering, Federal
University of Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Brazil,
Abstract
Mass customisation involves the provision of customised products (or product variants)
that fulfil clients’ specific requirements. A configuration process, which involves a chain
of decisions, needs to be undertaken to create product variants that meet each client
specific requirements. In this paper, this chain of decisions is conceptualized in terms of
the customisation units (a customisable attribute and the range of items offered for it)
used in a strategy and the sequence that needs to be followed in selecting the items in
each of them. Tree elements are proposed here to define the configuration process:
trees, branches, and levels. In this paper, these elements are used to analyse the
configuration process adopted by four organisations of the house-building sector. These
analyses enabled the identification of problems (e.g. burden of choice) and opportunities
for improvements. In addition to that, alternative chains of decision could be devised
based on these analyses.
Keywords:
Mass customisation, housing, co-design, configuration process.
Introduction
Mass customisation involves the fulfilment of clients’ specific requirements through the
provision of customised products (or product variants) that should fall within the scope of
customisation offered in a strategy. The scope of customisation is defined by a set of
customisable attributes (e.g. colour, size, shape) and the range of items offered for each
of them (e.g. small, medium, and large are items for the size attribute). In general, a
product variant is configured once an item for each customisable attribute is selected.
For example, if the customisable attributes are colour and size, a product variant is
defined once a particular size and colour are selected. Since most customisation
strategies involve more than one customisable attribute, the configuration process
involves a chain of decisions rather than a single decision. This chain of decisions can
assume different forms depending on technical constraints (e.g. an attribute might need
to be defined prior to another). However, it can also be shaped to some extent by the
organisation offering the customisation strategy.
It is necessary to shape this chain of decisions so that product variants can be effortless
created and that configuration problems described by Piller et al. (2004) such as burden
of choice and matching needs with specifications are minimized or eliminated. In addition
to that, configuring a product variant is often a creative problem solving process that
adds value and increases client satisfaction (Kumar, 2004). Therefore, the chain of
decisions should be devised so that it is enjoyable and generates these benefits. The
importance, benefits, and problems often associated to configuration processes are
described in the literature. However, most studies fail to translate this knowledge into
concepts that can be readily used by real-world organisations to devise or improve their
processes.
