Linking supply chain management with mass customization capability

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of supply chain management in enabling manufacturers' mass customization capabilities.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based upon survey data from 262 manufacturing plants, spanning nine countries and three industries. Responses from multiple employees were aggregated for each item. Hypothesized relationships between variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results generally indicate that plant mass customization capabilities are driven by customer‐focused product design and reduced supplier lead times. In turn, these factors are driven by management's emphasis on supply chain planning. Post hoc tests show that the effects of supply chain planning on mass customization capabilities are fully mediated by customer‐focused product design and reduced supplier lead time.Originality/valueWhile the literature suggests that mass customization depends upon a dynamic extended enterprise, extant empirical work has focused on internal firm characteristics. The paper is among the first to examine the significance of supply chain management upon the development of mass customization capabilities.

A Classification of Supply Chain Problems

“…It is apparent that although many different supply chains are represented, there is more extensive coverage of some than of others. This also reflects patterns observed elsewhere in supply chain management research, which has previously been noted to have relatively extensive coverage of the electronics, machinery and automotive sectors (Liu & Deitz, 2011), and of consumer goods retail (Burgess et al, 2006).…”

When to Mass Customize: The Impact of Environmental Uncertainty*

“…Most of these studies examined organizational design features or manufacturing practices that facilitated the acquisition of MC ability. These factors include quality management practices (Kristal, Huang, & Schroeder, 2010), information technology (Peng et al, 2011), product modularity (Ahmad, Schroeder, & Mallick, 2010), work design practices (Liu et al, 2006), functional integration (Liu et al, 2012), organizational structure (Huang, Kristal, & Schroeder, 2010), learning (Huang, Kristal, & Schroeder, 2008), supply chain planning and management practices (Liu & Deitz, 2011), and supply chain uncertainty management practices (Liu, Shah, & Schroeder, 2010), etc. Only two studies examined the performance consequences of MC and they found that MC had a direct positive impact on operational performance (Liu et al, 2012) or competitiveness (Ahmad et al, 2010).…”

Modularity in building mass customization capability: The mediating effects of customization knowledge utilization and business process improvement

“…Organizational theorists argue that the knowledge embedded in the process is the key to obtaining a competitive advantage (Fiol and Lyles, 1985). Existing MC studies focus on the customer requirement acquisition or customer involvement (Kristal et al, 2010;Lai et al, 2012;Liu and Deitz, 2011), indicating the importance of customer knowledge. However, few studies have concerned the critical role of using the knowledge in manufacturing business processes.…”