Mass-Individualisation – the twenty first century manufacturing paradigm

Abstract

The forthcoming paradigm of Mass-Individualisation will combine the low-cost advantage of the Mass-Production paradigm with the buyer’s individual need of a specific product. The buyers will initiate the product and its features that fit their explicit taste and individual needs, and the manufacturer will build it at low cost in a local factory, which enables a rapid communication of the factory with the buyer. The realisation of the mass-individualisation paradigm requires innovations in (a) product development, (b) manufacturing system and network design, (c) system operations, and (d) business strategies. New factories will have to be in proximity to the customers who participate in the design of their product, which will have an enormous economic impact on local economies. We elaborate on the research challenges and directions for the realisation of the emerging mass-individualisation paradigm.

KEYWORDS:

• Mass-Individualisation
• open-architecture products
• reconfigurable manufacturing systems
• system operations
• distributed manufacturing network

Dedication

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Esther (Asi) Koren, the daughter of the corresponding author, who passed away at age 49 due to cancer on October 28, 2020. Asi established and managed the Ana House to help many girls who experienced difficulties in their lives. These girls stayed at Ana House for periods of several months to a couple of years, and most of them were later married and have today a traditional family life.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xi Gu

Xi Gu received the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, the M.S. degree in industrial and operations engineering and the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A. He is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. His research interests include smart manufacturing, design and operation of reconfigurable manufacturing systems, maintenance decision-making in manufacturing systems, and engineering education.

Yoram Koren

Yoram Koren is a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and Honorary Member of SME. Dr. Koren authored 350 papers and 4 original books, that have 33,000 citations per Google Scholar. He is the inventor of 15 U.S. patents, including the patents on Reconfigurable Manufacturing System, Reconfigurable Machine Tool, and Reconfigurable Inspection Machine. From 1996 to 2010, he was the Director of the NSF-sponsored Engineering Research Centre for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems at the University of Michigan that was sponsored by the NSF ($33 million), U.S. industry ($10 million), and State and Federal agencies ($4 million). The ERC-RMS implemented RMS technologies in numerous factories of GM, Ford, Chrysler and Cummins.