Discovering the Process of Mass Customization: A ... - CiteSeerX

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Discovering the Process of Mass Customization: A Paradigm Shift for Competitive Manufacturing ______________________________________________ INVESTIGATORS: L.J. Anderson (PI), E. L. Brannon, P.V. Ulrich, T. Marshall (Auburn); N. Staples (Clemson); M. Grasso(UNCG); Pete Butenhoff (TC″); Marie Beninati (C.S.C Consulting)

PROJECT GOAL: The objective is to define and model mass customization by meshing consumers' interests and concerns with industry's potential to deliver customized textile and apparel products. ABSTRACT: An unstable economic climate, changing consumer needs, and emerging technology have challenged the existing manufacturing paradigm of mass production. Companies can no longer continue to do business without considering the impact of the turbulence in the marketplace. The driving force in this new marketplace is the consumer. The driving factor is technology. This report introduces a consumer driven model for mass customization in the apparel industry. It discusses research to identify consumer wants, needs and interests in an emerging business opportunity in combining a mass production strategy with flexible manufacturing and information technology to meet consumer desires with customized textile and apparel products. INTRODUCTION: Mass customization is a broadly based term encompassing vast changes in manufacturing, distribution and delivery of products. First identified in Future Perfect, Davis (1987) based the oxymoron on the mass production of customized goods. The term has evolved along with significant enabling technologies to be viewed as a strategy that uses information technology to efficiently produce customized goods and services with maximum differentiation through low-cost production. Pine (1993) viewed mass customization, not as an extension or evolution in the history of mass production, but rather as a catastrophic shift or movement toward a totally new business paradigm. The impetus fueling this new paradigm is two fold. First, companies are being faced with competition in the marketplace and are looking for different business strategies to redefine themselves in this changing business environment. Secondly,

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linking and enabling technologies like faxes, modems, and kiosks now allow manufacturers to communicate better, faster, and more effectively with the consumer and within the organization. Manufacturers can now establish direct contact with consumers to learn what they desire in products. Enabling technologies like CAD/CAM, laser cutting, and body scanning allow manufacturers to cost effectively deliver lot sizes of one to meet consumer demand. The focus of this project has been to investigate the current status of mass customization in the textile and apparel industry and to discover the potential for mass customization to be utilized as a competitive business strategy by the entire integrated textile complex with a focus on the development of a consumer driven model. This has been a three phase project with a research strategy to 1) identify consumer interest in participating in some level of mass customization of textiles or apparel products, 2) develop a model for a consumer driven strategy for mass customization, and 3) review and refine the model with a panel of industry experts. The primary work in this year has been to test the consumer-driven model in both a consumer and industry environment. SUMMARY OF MODEL DEVELOPMENT: The overall focus of the research project is the development of a consumerdriven model of the process of mass customization in the apparel industry. Researchers used the in-depth content analysis of the seven focus groups to construct a model (Figure 1) of consumer-driven mass customization for the apparel market. The model represents the underlying notion that mass customization grows out of advanced mass production process methodology. It is driven by meshing the standardized capabilities of the mass production process with enabling technologies that allow for individualizing standardized product components. Consumer interest in expanded selection and expanded search represent a first line approach to customization.

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MASS PRODUCTION

EXPANDED SELECTION SMART CARD (SC)

MASS CUSTOMIZATION

EXPANDED SEARCH

SUPER SMART CARD CLOTHES CLONES

SC Measurements SC Fit

A strategy that uses information and manufacturing technology to efficiently produce goods with maximum differentiation with low-cost production. - Pine, 1993

TOTALLY CUSTOM BODY SCAN

CO-DESIGN

DESIGN OPTIONS

= BARRIERS

with Standard Sizes

MASS CUSTOMIZATION: A CONSUMER DRIVEN MODEL c 1997 Copyright, Anderson, Brannon, Ulrich, Marshall

Figure 1

Supported by increasingly intelligent search systems, apparel manufacturers and retailers will be able to interact directly with consumers to offer expanded search and selection options. Emerging technologies like body scanning and the translation of body measurements to a portable digitized format like a smart card will move mass customization forward. Four options emerged from focus group analysis. Consumer's interested in "clothes clones" want multiple versions of successful styles currently existing in their wardrobe. An option to produce totally customized garments will allow consumers to interact directly with supporting technologies to individualize a style and select fit and fabric options. Focus group data indicated that consumers were interested in co-design, an option to work with an already well-trained person to individualize apparel. A fourth category that emerged was the idea of design options, wherein technology allows a consumer to make selections from a menu of based on standardized sizes. At each level of the consumer-based model barriers exist to the forward movement of the process. Model Definitions The terms expanded selection/search are functions emerging from both mass production and mass customization process evolution. Expanded selection and expanded search emerge as potential first level approach to integrating processes and

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technology as a directional move toward customization or what Gilmore and Pine (1997) refer to as cosmetic customization which involves representing a standard product differently to different customers. Expanded Selection opens manufacturers' and retailers' lines to broader access by consumers. Using direct delivery modes either in a public or private environment, consumers would be able to view and search entire lines of a manufacturer/retailer, rather than the limited lines available locally or through catalogs as a result of the gatekeeping function of buyers. Expanded Search uses intelligent search capabilities to allow consumers in either a public or private environment to search for specific apparel items across manufacturers/retailers lines. The ability to capture and utilize information in a digital format known as a Smart Card will continue to move both mass production and mass customization forward in the evolution of one-to-one marketing and customization for the individual consumer. Smart Card moves both expanded selection and expanded search to a second level of customization by capturing preferences for color, fabric, style along with information of previous purchases. This could allow either manufacturers/retailers to target consumers with specific apparel products based on personal Smart Card preferences. Or, it could also allow consumers to query manufacturers/retailers based on the availability of personal preferences. Smart Card (Measurements) uses 3-D body scanning to include personal measurements as a part of the consumer profile available in a digital format. Smart Card (Fit) uses a digital format to move beyond basic measurements to understand the personal fit preference for the individual. Super Smart Card combines the evolving capabilities into a card that captures preferences for psychological and physical attributes of individual consumers. It will be used for intelligent searches based on personal preferences and one-to-one marketing. Based on consumer research, digital information combined with evolving technology in process manufacturing will allow customized apparel to emerge in four options. These four options are based on collaborative customization (Gilmore and Pine, 1997) which allows customizer to conduct a dialogue with individual customers to help them articulate their needs, to identify the precise offering that fulfills those needs, and to make customized products for them.

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Design Options (with standard sizes) will emerge with Computer Aided Design (CAD) and digital printing. Digital imaging of apparel products that allows the consumer some flexibility to interact with manufacturer/retailer designs based on standard processes and sizing with options in style, style details, color and fabric will represent a first approach to collaborative customization. Co-Design may offer the same range of design options as design options with the addition of personal fit and supported by a design manager. It is driven by the notion that some consumers are either insecure in their creative/artistic ability or do not have either the technical skills to or the time to devote to learning the enabling technologies associated with the process. Totally Custom will be initiated by the consumer interacting in a digital environment using digital imaging to seek manufacturers/retailers to meet a specific customized need expressed by the consumer. Clothes Clones would be initiated by the consumer seeking to repeat a successful purchase exactly or in alternate colors and fabrics.

Summary of Research on Co-design: One option identified by the consumer-driven model for mass customization is co-design which involves a collaborative relationship between a design manager and individual consumers. To further investigate consumers’ interest in co-design, Wu (1998) design a study exploring consumers’ comfort, satisfaction, and ease of use of a CAD supported scenario of co-design. A design manager manipulated the CAD program which was developed using Snapfashun® and Micrografx®. An apparel style bank was developed with the guidance of a panel of experts and based on current fashion. Twelve jackets, twelve skirts, and three blouses made up the potential basic selections. Subjects interacted with a design manager to select basic bodies for a jacket, skirt, and blouse. Once a basic style was selected, the design manager used Micrografx® to manipulate additional components including collars, pockets, closures, belts, cuffs and color options to customize each style based on selections made by each participant. The CAD screen was video taped during each session for later transcription. The convenience sample was comprised of 35 students from the School of Human Sciences and the College of Business. Participants completed a prequestionnaire, worked with the design manager to design an outfit appropriate for a job interview and filled out a post-questionnaire. The pre-questionnaire was used to profile subjects on age, major, computer experience, custom-clothing experience, and personal involvement in clothing selection and innovativeness. Following each participant's design session, a post questionnaire was administered to evaluate the co-

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design experience relative to ease of use, comfort with the design process, and satisfaction with the design product. Overall subjects had a moderate score on computer use with business students indicating a higher computer use and greater enjoyment. The average time to complete the co-design session was 16 minutes and 28 seconds. All subjects in the study were comfortable with the co-design process and interested in co-designing apparel if such a program were available. Based on the images created during the research study, 64.8% would place an order. Participant’s scores (97%) indicated high satisfaction with the co-designed images. A majority of the subjects (88.3%) felt that it was easy to make design decisions. Though there were no significant correlations among innovativeness and ease, comfort, and satisfaction with the co-design process, one of the sub-scales, ambiguities and problems, was positively correlated with comfort for business students. For all subjects, consumer involvement in clothing and ease, comfort and satisfaction with the co-design images were not significantly correlated. However, there was a high positive correlation (r=0.707) between one sub-scale, risk probability, and ease of making design decisions for business subjects. For human sciences subjects data indicated positive correlations between ease and comfort (r=0.561), ease and satisfaction (0.541) and between comfort and satisfaction (0.549). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.8221 for ease of making design decisions and 0.7520 for satisfaction with the codesigned images. However, the value for comfort with co-design was zero.

Summary of Research on Profiling Consumer Interest in Mass Customization: The purpose of this research was to pilot test a questionnaire to be used to identify and understand consumers’ interest in the various levels and options of mass customization of apparel as proposed by the consumer-driven model. Objectives included determining if there were any differences between consumer profiles that could be attributed to geographic differences, to identify the degree of consumer interest in the various levels and options represented in the model and to develop profiles of consumers interested in the various levels and options of mass customization. A survey instrument was designed using existing research tools to measure the relationships of shopping preferences, demographics, innovativeness, feelings about clothing, computer use and enjoyment, and previous experience with customized apparel. These concepts were assessed with a survey based on scenarios defining consumer interest in mass customization of apparel which included expanded search/selection, personal advisors, smart cards, and custom clothing. Scenario I represented the ability to have on-line access. Scenario II explored the ability to use an interactive personal advisor. Scenario III investigated consumer interest in a smart card. Scenario IV looked at consumer interest in designing one’s own clothing. A convenience sample of 209 participants consisted of two populations of students from two geographically distinct universities. Finding no significant differences

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between the samples from the two universities, data was pooled for final analysis. Nearly 65% of the sample indicated a high interest in on-line access. Almost 57% were very interested in the use of an interactive personal advisor. Over 70% were very interested in using a smart card. About 50% of the sample were very interested in designing their own clothing. Based on correlation analysis, the following variables emerged as significant for profiling consumers interested in each of the scenarios: •Scenario I (On-line access)–more frequent shopping at specialty stores, more frequent shopping by catalog, more enjoyment from shopping, more enjoyment from clothing, more enjoyment from computer use and higher levels of novelty seeking. •Scenario II (Interactive personal advisor)–more frequent shopping at large specialty stores, more frequent shopping at specialty stores, more enjoyment from shopping, more enjoyment from clothing, and higher levels of novelty seeking. •Scenario III (Smart card usage)–more frequent shopping at specialty stores, more enjoyment from shopping, more enjoyment from clothing, more frequent use of computers, more enjoyment from computer use, and higher levels of novelty seeking. •Scenario IV (Designing own clothing)–more enjoyment from shopping, more enjoyment from clothing, more enjoyment of computer use, higher levels of novelty seeking. Reliability for all scales as measured by Cronbach’s alpha was high except for computer use which was .650. Reliability for all scenarios was above .858. This study was used a pilot test of the questionnaire for investigation of the concepts with a national sample. The original questionnaire was refined and an additional variable of the relationship of consumers and time was added. Researchers are analyzing data from the national survey.

REFERENCES: Davis, S. M. (1987). Future Perfect. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Gilmore, J.H. and Pine, B.J. II. (1997) The four faces of mass customization. Harvard Business Review, 1, 101-110. Pine, B.J.,II. (1993). Paradigm shift: Mass customization: The new frontier in business competition. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

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DISSERTATION/THESIS TOPICS: Pisut, G.P. (1998). Mass Customization: Profiling consumer’s interest. Unpublished master's thesis, Auburn University, Auburn, AL. Wu, Weifang. (1998) Consumers' interest in and satisfaction with co-designing apparel in a customized design scenario by using a computer-aided design system. Unpublished master's thesis, Auburn University, Auburn, AL. O'Mara, Kevin. (1997) An enterprise model of mass customization within the textile industry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Peavy, Karla. (1996) An evaluation of market turbulence in the apparel industry. Unpublished master's thesis, Auburn University, Auburn, AL. Graeber, M. (In Process) An evaluation of retail store managers acceptance of mass customization scenarios. Unpublished master’s thesis, Florida State University, Tallassee, FL. Gao, Shuo. (In Process) The consumer as co-designer in mass customization: Artistic ability, interest, and self-confidence in design. Unpublished master's thesis, Auburn University, Auburn, AL. Biedron, Melissa. (In Process) Consumer perceptions of time relative to the mass customization process. Unpublished master's thesis, Auburn University, Auburn, AL. PRESENTATIONS: Wu, W., Anderson, L.J., Ulrich, P.V. (Accepted for Presentation). An investigation of consumer interest in co-design for mass customization of apparel. Paper presented at the International Textile and Apparel Association national meeting. Dallas, Tx. Pisut, G.P., Anderson, L.J., Ulrich, P.V., Grasso, M. (Accepted for Presentation). Profiling Consumer Interest in Mass Customization. Paper presented at the International Textile and Apparel Association national meeting. Dallas, Tx. Anderson, L.J. (1998, September 10). Mass Customization: A business strategy. Paper presented a part of the Apparel Research Seminar of the American Apparel Manufacturers Association Task Group. Atlanta, GA.

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Anderson, L.J., Brannon, E.L., Ulrich, P.V., and Marshall, T.E. (1997, July) Confluences: Toward a Consumer-Driven Model for Mass Customization in the Apparel Market. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Textile and Apparel Association Confluences: Fashioning Intercultural Perspectives conference. Lyon, France. Anderson, L.J. (1997, August) Mass Customization: A Consumer-Driven Model. Paper presented at the American Apparel Manufacturers Association Apparel Research Committee meeting on mass customization. Clemson, S.C.

PUBLICATIONS: Wu, W., Anderson, L.J., Ulrich, P.V. (Accepted for Publication). An Investigation of Consumer Interest in Co-design for Mass Customization of Apparel. Published in the proceedings of the International Textile and Apparel Association national meeting. Dallas, Tx. Pisut, G.P., Anderson, L.J., Ulrich, P.V., Grasso, M. (Accepted for Publication). Profiling Consumer Interest in Mass Customization. Published in the proceedings of the International Textile and Apparel Association national meeting. Dallas, Tx. Pisut, G.P., Anderson, L.J., Ulrich, P.V., Grasso, M. (In review). Toward a consumer-driven model for mass customization in the apparel market. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. Anderson, L.J., Brannon, E.L., Ulrich, P.V., and Marshall, T.E. (1997, July) Confluences: Toward a Consumer-Driven Model for Mass Customization in the Apparel Market. Published in the Proceeding of the International Textile and Apparel Association Confluences: Fashioning Intercultural Perspectives Conference. Lyon, France. Scheller, H. (1998, September 11). Customization matures. Bobbin World Daily News, 3. Scheller, H. and Rabon, L.C. (1997, September 23). Mass customization making progress as big new trend. Bobbin Show Daily News , 1, 5.

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INDUSTRY CONTACTS: AAMA Apparel Research Committee, Clarity Fit Technologies, Super Fit, DuPont, Eastman Kodak, Bowden, Friedman Associates, Kurt Salmon Associates, American Apparel Contractors Association, Manifold Graphics, Diamond Technology. WEB SITE: www.auburn.edu/mcrp.html