Mass customization as a new, competitive business strategy

The challenges associated with the functioning of enterprises in the era of the “New Economy” necessitate revolutionary changes in the approach to the customer. A consequence of these changes is the fact that mass production and the sale of goods and services rarely satisfy individual customer needs. Traditional solutions are ceasing to be effective and competitive. The realities of the “New Economy,” in which business processes are supported by information technologies, have shaped a comprehensive strategy for the production and sale of goods and services known as mass customization. The term mass customization can be defined as a comprehensive business strategy aimed at producing goods and providing services on a mass scale that are tailored to individual customer needs at standard costs. Information obtained during the execution of an order can form the basis for a long-term relationship with the customer. The mass customization strategy allows for the maximization of customer satisfaction at every stage of the purchasing decision process, which can form the basis for gaining a competitive advantage in a given market segment. Mass customization represents the next stage in the development of methods for producing goods and providing services, combining the best elements of craft production, mass production, and variant production. The development of mass production initiated in the United States made many initially luxury products widely available at affordable prices (e.g., cars, radio and television receivers, household appliances, computers). The price, acceptable to the middle class of society, results from the fact that products are manufactured on a mass scale using specialized machines and production lines, which allows for the minimization of unit production costs (economies of scale). Mass production performs its role perfectly in the case of large, homogeneous markets with demand and customer preferences that remain constant over time.

In the 1970s and 1980s, enterprises using mass production faced a new challenge related to changes occurring in sales markets, shifts in consumer preferences, and universal access to information.