Build-to-Order & Mass Customization; The Ultimate Supply Chain Management and Lean Manufacturing Strategy for Low-Cost On-Demand Production without Forecasts or Inventory (Hardcover)

~ David M. Anderson (Author) "Most manufacturers are being forced to offer more variety to satisfy customers and compete in niche markets..." (more)
Key Phrases: spontaneous supply chain, dimensional customization, older legacy products, Wall Street Journal, Industry Week, Lean Thinking (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An outstanding and practical navigation guide for the complex task of implementing mass customization." -- Harold Pinto, President, Fire Rescue Group, Federal Signal Corp.

"Like all of the other books by Dr. Anderson, 'Build-to-Order & Mass Customization' is excellent." -- Dr. E. Ray Ladd, Professor, Master of Engineering Management Program, Washington State University

Product Description

This 2008 book will show how to: Build any product, standard or mass-customized, on-demand without forecasts or inventory. Simplify supply chains to resupply spontaneously, rather than trying to manage complex supply chains that order and wait for parts. Achieve substantial cost advantages from eliminating inventory and many overhead costs. Revolutionize company business models with evolutionary self-supporting steps for dramatic growth of revenue and profits.

This book will be extremely valuable for manufacturers that have any of these challenges:

Customization. Craft customizing is slow, expensive, and hard to maintain quality. Customizing by mass production is inefficient and compromises the other production.

Product Variety. Build-to-forecast producers sell products from inventory. As variety increases, it gets harder to keep enough of every variation in stock to satisfy demand.

Unreliable Forecasts. Forecast accuracy decreases dramatically as variety and market volatility increase, which are both rising.

Inventory Problems. Selling products from inventory creates many problems: out-of-stocks, obsolescence, write-offs, inventory carrying costs, and discounting unsold inventory.

Response time. Manufacturers of products or industrial parts may try to build products to-order but will not be able to deliver them quickly if they have to wait for parts, setup changes, and equipment availability.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: C I M Pr (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878072307
• ISBN-13: 978-1878072306
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #609,204 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Build-to-Order & Mass Customization, December 29, 2006

By	James William Martin "Six Sigma Integration, ... (Boston/ Providence) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Mass customization is a goal of almost every manufacturing organization. It is especially difficult to find in one book the essential tools, methods and concepts which will enable an organization to migrate towards a build-to-order or mass customization system. This book provide practical advice regarding product rationalization, design standardization and other tools, methods and concepts which any organization will find immediately useful in expanding its operational flexibility.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and useful, February 28, 2006

By	David Novellon Latre (Spain) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are a manager in something related with production, or just interested in Mass Customization, this book is for you. It brings a new aproach to the usual concepts, and may change your point of view about supply chain management or product design.
I really consider it's worth the trouble reading it

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feedback from a mass customization implementor, June 30, 2004

By	David Gardner "mass-customization-expert.com" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very practical, "must-have" book--in contrast to the earlier "wouldn't-it-be-nice" writings that focus on the mass customization or build-to-order paradigm shift. This excellent book shows how to implement mass customization including the prerequisites, like product line rationalization and standardization, that greatly simplify supply chains and operations and thus make it easier to implement mass customization. The chapter on outsourcing is the most thorough treatment out there -- reading this would save many companies from costly mistakes that inhibit flexibility and thwart mass customization.

Five chapters on supply chain management show how to simplify supply chains to the point where parts and materials can be pulled into production on-demand to support on-demand production. Intricate perspective plant drawings show the flow of parts and information for the mass customization of fabricated or electronic products. The two chapters on total cost and how to quantify it are something all companies need, especially mass customizers. The book concludes with a chapter on implementation and another that presents the business case for mass customization.

The 520 page book is comprehensive, but busy executives can get up to speed quickly by reading the executive summary which summarizes the whole book. It is easy to read with hundreds of side-bars which highlight key points. It makes a fantastic reference book with hundreds of headings and a huge index.