Title: Determining product platform elements for mass customisation

Authors: Kwang-Jae Kim, Dong-Uk Lee, Myeong-Soo Lee

Addresses: Division of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31, Hyoja-Dong, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Kyungbuk 790–784, Republic of Korea. ' Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning, Dongwon Industry Bldg., 275, Yangjae-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137–130, Republic of Korea. ' Division of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31, Hyoja-Dong, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Kyungbuk 790–784, Republic of Korea

Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of how to determine the physical elements of a product which should be included in the product platform, called the product platform elements, for mass customisation. Two types of indices, namely, the similarity index and the sensitivity index, are proposed to determine the product platform elements from the mass and the customisation perspectives, respectively. The physical elements with a large similarity index and a small sensitivity index are selected as the product platform elements. The proposed methodology is demonstrated via a case study. The product platform developed in the proposed methodology should be useful in accommodating various customer tastes while maintaining the cost efficiency of mass production.

Keywords: mass customisation; product platforms; sensitivity index; similarity index; customer satisfaction; product development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2006.008379

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2006 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.168 - 182

Published online: 12 Dec 2005 *

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