Z E M C H 2 0 1 2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
22
Discussion
All customisation strategies have a configuration process that involves a chain of
decisions to define product variants that meet clients’ specific requirements. In this paper,
this chain of decisions is conceptualized in terms of the customisation units used in a
strategy and the sequence that needs to be followed in selecting the item in each of
them. Tree elements are proposed here to define how these customisation units are
organised in the configuration process: trees, branches, and levels.
A major contribution introduced by these elements is that they enable the configuration
process of real-world organisations of the house-building sector to be analysed and
improved in light of the knowledge on configuration process. Previous studies (Piller,
2004; Piller
et al.
2005; Piller, Kumar 2006) have discussed problems (e.g. burden of
choice, matching need with specifications) and benefits (e.g. perceived uniqueness,
‘pride of authorship’ effect, process benefits) associated to configuration process.
However they have not proposed concepts such as the three elements presented here
that can be readily used by organisations to devise or improve chain of decisions so that
product variants can be effortlessly configured. The analysis of the configuration
processes adopted in the studies illustrates that these elements can be used to improve
the easiness in creating product variants. It enabled problems to be identified and
alternative chains of decision to be devised as illustrated by studies 2 and 3. Another
contribution of this paper is to recognise that a configuration process does not need to
be fully collaborative or transparent, but can involve a mix of both approaches. This was
in fact corroborated by study 1.
Conclusions
This paper presented three elements (trees, branches, and levels) that can be use to
analyse and improve the chain of decisions that need to be made to configure a product
variant. In order to illustrate the applicability of these elements, they were used to
analyse the configuration process adopted in the customisation strategies develop by
four organisations of the house-building sector. Based on these analyses, alternative
chains of decision were proposed seeking to address problems identified. The results of
this paper suggest that the elements proposed are useful from a practical viewpoint and
can be used by organisations of the house-building sector to devise and improve
configuration processes. Future studies should focus on applying these three elements
in devising a new configuration sequence, rather than analysing and improving existing
ones.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the National Council of Technological and Scientific
Development (CNPq) and CAPES (
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de
Nível Superior
) for sponsoring this research. They would also like to thank Carl Abbot,
Will Swan, and Mike Kagioglou from the University of Salford and Aguinaldo dos Santos
from Federal University of Paraná (UFPr) for supporting the development of the case
studies.
References
GILMORE, J. H.; PINE, B. J. (1997). ‘The four faces of mass customization.’ Harvard
Business Review, v. 75, n. 1, pp. 91-101.
KUMAR, A. (2004). Mass customisation: reflections on the state of the concept. The
International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, v.16, p. 313-334.
