ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the concept, its background, and the fundamental capabilities that companies have to develop when building a mass customization offering. In many industries can observe an uninterrupted trend toward heterogeneity of demand. Explanations may be found in a growing number of single households, a changing demographic structure, an orientation toward design, and a new awareness of quality and functionality that demands durable and reliable products corresponding exactly to the specific needs of the purchaser. The key to profiting from mass customization is to see it as a set of organizational capabilities that can supplement and enrich an existing system. While the nature and characteristics of these additional capabilities are clearly dependent on industry context or product characteristics, there are three fundamental groups of capabilities that determine the ability of a firm to mass customize. A mass customizer must first identify the idiosyncratic needs of its customers – specifically, the product attributes on which customer needs diverge the most.
