In our series of postings introducing companies that performend very well in our Customization 500 study, we are introducing the next mass customizer. Remember: The order of these feature postings is more or less randomly!

Today: Dress Yourself with the Latest Fashion, Decide What is “in Fashion” Yourself

Proper Cloth, founded in Delaware in 2008, offers a pretty complete customization experience when it comes to dress shirts, a fashion article which, as many of you will agree, tends to just not fit perfectly at some point or another. Proper Cloth’s promise is exactly that: a perfectly fitting shirt, tailored to your needs, based on a well-made configurator which offers assistance in finding out your individual measures in various ways. Additionally, Proper Cloth offer a variety of preconfigured shirt as well.

So, whether you need a new shirt to wear with your favorite suit or a stylish untucked one for leasure, a visit at www.propercloth.com might be worth it for you.

Note: Please see this post for detailed information on how to interpret the above data.

In our series of postings introducing companies that performend very well in our Customization 500 study, we are introducing the next mass customizer. Remember: The order of these feature postings is more or less randomly!

Summer has finally arrived in Germany (somewhat) and as every year this means people are enthusiastic to spend some recreational time outdoors.

Riding a bicycle is fairly popular here as in a lot of other countries (in the Netherlands, roughly one third of all trips are made by bike… biking in the Netherlands even has its own wikipedia entry…) and so many two-wheeled vehicles in different states of maintenance are being dusted off these days.

However, as with all means of transportation, every now and then it’s time to replace your trusted-yet-old bike with something more modern (and fancy).

If this year’s summer happens to be the beginning of your old bike’s retirement, Mission Bicycle might be worth looking into for you. The California based company offers a simple-yet-convenient configurator which allows you to design the bike of your dreams from a large variety of availible parts. From the very basic frame to different handles, chains and even locks, most parts can be individualized in model and color. You can pick up your bike in their physical store in San Francisco, CA, or simply have it shipped to your doorstep in a multitude of countrys around the world. Including the Netherlands.

Note: Please see this post for detailed information on how to interpret the above data.

In our series of postings introducing companies that performend very well in our Customization 500 study, we are introducing the next mass customizer. Remember: The order of these feature postings is more or less randomly!

Technology is something great. But at times, after a long day’s challenging work, tied to computers, emails, cell phones etc. you might want to disconnect for a while. Sit back in your favorite chair and relax with a good book of your choosing. Not just any book, though. Your book. Your very own personal novel (or thriller, children’s book….) in which you are the main character, a book personalized to read as if it had been written just for you.

PersonalNovel has been a pioneering company to turn this dream into physical reality, coming to you in the form of a nicely printed book, customized through an online editor to match the main character to your persona – or anybody else you would like to read about.

Most impressing is PersonalNovels dedication to get also small details correct, and their innovative business model turning a simple product into a new value preposition.

Note: Please see this post for detailed information on how to interpret the above data.

Our fellow mass customization researcher Golboo Pourabdollahian is conducting a study on MC and sustainability. For this study Golboo is asking for your help:

“Dear colleagues,

May I ask for your kind support for my PhD research?

My research focuses on the fact that how we can make mass customization more sustainable in footwear industry. In this regard I am collecting data to map possible impacts of different Mass Customization enablers on environmental sustainability at the example of the footwear industry.

Therefore I kindly ask you to evaluate a number of relationships between MC enablers and outcomes by responding to a brief survey. You can reach the survey easily by clicking on the following link: goo.gl/so8yY

The survey will take about 10-12 minutes of your time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at golboo.pourabdollahian@mail.polimi.it

Thanks a lot for your support!”

In our series of postings introducing companies that performend very well in our Customization 500 study, we are introducing the next mass customizer. Remember: The order of these feature postings is more or less randomly!

“The computer is personal again”. Right, this marketing slogan was not Dell’s but rather part of HP’s great campaign in 2006. Yet, it would also have been very fitting for the former, one of the pioneers in online PC mass customization. The dell concept to offer computers, individually assembled to the customer’s choices and needs, all through a (mostly) convenient online backend and delivered within a few days (plus good aftersales service) was mind-boggling innovative at its time. The PC did no longer have to be one that vendors pre-assembled en mass, one that was ok in general but always had one or two components that just did not work for you. Now it could be your PC, a truly Personal Computer.

Over 25 years after Dell’s debut on the technology market, the MC500 took a look on how their mass customization concept had evolved over time and where it stands today, compared to a number of competititors incomparable to those of decades ago. More about Dell’s history at their homepage.

Note: Please see this post for detailed information on how to interpret the above data.

In February, we posted the open letter of our colleague Frank Piller with the sad fact that his group could not organize and host this year’s MCPC conference due to capacity constraints. Many of you have inquired about alternative ways to keep the MCPC alive. Today we are glad to announce that the Mass Customization Research Group at Aalborg University has commited to host the conference in 2014.

Please find some extracts from their announcement letter below, including a call to feedback for everybody interested in actively participating in the shaping of this conference.

Read the rest of this entry →

From 8th to 12th of April 2013, famous trade show HannoverMesse will take place in Hannover, Germany. Are you going to be there? Great! The KUMAC project will be there as well.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will have a large exhibition stand in a prominent spot (hall 2, stand C24) and has invited the KUMAC project group to join them. We will present the latest findings from our research project KUMAC which is being funded by the BMBF.

The objective of the KUMAC project is to develop new methods for mass customization providers in the German retail market. These methods support an increase in productivity and value creation potential of these retailers.

At HannoverMesse we will simulate the prototype of an interactive value-creation process in mass customization, using KUMAC technology to demonstrate its potential to increase both effectiveness and efficiency. In detail we will show and expain:

• The Live-Help-System connecting online-offline configuration,
• The Tablet Configuation Software,
• 3D-Scanner and Softwaretools as well as
• RFID-Technology for mass customization.

In our series of postings introducing companies that performend very well in our Customization 500 study, we are introducing the next mass customizer. Remember: The order of these feature postings is more or less randomly!

Feet are by far not as standardized as the shoe industry would like them to be. Neither is the individual customer’s taste in shape, color and details. Until a decade ago the only way to obtain shoes that do both fit perfectly and look exactly as one wants them to, was to take a rather pricy trip to the cobbler. Selve went new ways with their offer to tailor shoes, custom built to the client’s demands in individual size and look, shipped to your doorstep after a convenient visit at www.selve.net. (even if most customers prefer to visit their store in Munich or London for a personal consultation and foot scan).

Note: Please see this post for detailed information on how to interpret the above data.

APMS is one of the major events and the official conference of the IFIP Working Group 5.7 on Advances in Production Management Systems.

For the last several years, APMS has been a major event and the official conference of the IFIP Working Group 5.7 on Advances in Production Management Systems, bringing together leading experts from academia, research and industry.

This year’s conference will offer a special session on Customization in service oriented manufacturing.

In a global and competitive context manufacturing, especially in developed economies, is submitted to great market pressures in order to stay competitive with manufacturing in developing economies, such as China and Brazil. To find a way out, they try to create more advanced products and services which are innovative and better fitting to customer needs. Adding services on products to support and differentiate their offering, it brings new challenges and opportunities for manufacturing. This session is Read the rest of this entry →