Mass customization allows companies to provide customized products and services to meet specific customer needs on a mass scale. Bentley utilizes mass customization through its Mulliner division to offer limitless customization options for vehicles. Customers work closely with Mulliner designers to translate their vision into a unique Bentley specification. The Bentley Inspirator app also helps customers explore customization options and receive a recommended specification. Mass customization allows Bentley to forge strong customer relationships while reducing waste.

1. Mass Customization
for Business Sustainability
25th March 2017
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Surabaya, Indonesia
Researchers: Heoy Shin Loo, Boon Cheong Chew, Yu Xin Ou Yang
Faculty of Technology Management & Technopreneurship
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)

2. Mass Production vs Mass Customization
Parameters Mass Production Mass Customisation
Goal Deliver standardised goods/services
with low price.
Deliver varied goods/service to fulfil specific
customer groups with different wants/needs.
Try to offer a lower unit cost.
Economics Economies of scale Economies of scope with customer
integration.
Focus Efficiency through large volume
production, stability and control
Variety through personalisation, flexibility
and responsiveness
Key
Features
Stable demand, low cost, consistent
quality
Fragmented demand, mid-high cost, specific
quality
Customer
Involvement
Passive Active
Modified from Thakur et al. Mass Customization.

3. Mass Production vs Mass Customization
Source: Imaterialise.com

4. Involvement of CAD/CAM in mass customization
CAD
(Computer-aided Design)
• Application of computers
graphics software to aid or
enhance the product design
from conceptualization to
documentation.
CAM
(Computer-aided Manufacturing)
• The effective use computer
technology in manufacturing
planning and control.
Source: Technology Review of Mass Customization (Ramani, 2004)

5. Imagine if…

7. Authorship (year published) Definition
Davis, S. M. (1987) The same large number of customers can be reached as in mass markets of the
industrial economy, and simultaneously they can be treated individually as in the
customized markets of pre‐industrial economies.
Pine (1993) Providing tremendous variety, and individual customization, at prices
comparable to standard goods and services.
Broekhuizen and Alsem
(2002)
Its ability to provide superior customer value through customization on a mass
scale.
Mula et al. (2004) The customers can select, order and receive a specially configured product (with
hundred of options of the product) to satisfy their specific requirements.
Haug, A., Ladeby, K. and
Edwards, K. (2009)
To offer customers customized products (goods and services) at prices close to
the ones of mass production.
Flavio and Giovani (2011) One of the key enabling principles as people improve production effectiveness to
meet the ever changing demands on large scale commercial product.
Literature of mass customization

8. The paradigm shift to mass customization caused by three forces:
1) Market demand
A prosperous society and diversifying demographic characteristics demand
products/services that are conformed to specific needs.
2) Market competition
Exploring of the product variety to standout from differentiation and positioning
marketing strategy.
3) Technological revolutions
Emergence of new technologies helps in decreasing the time and enhance
flexibility of production to suit customer needs.
Factors of mass customization

9. Mass customization platforms make the third wave of mass customization:
First wave:
Driven by the early pioneers (early 1990s), motivated by the opportunities of
new flexible manufacturing technology.
Second wave:
Came with the internet economy (around 1998-2002), broader development
of online configurators that made mass customization happening in larger scale.
Third wave:
Encourage the entrepreneurs to start up a dedicated mass customization
business at lower-mid cost, able to create niche markets.
Mass customization platforms

10. Process for mass customization
Steps involve to start the mass customizing of the offer by companies:
1) Identify space where customer needs diverge the most
Begins with figuring out the desires differ (market) and determine the most useful
features to customize.
2) Achieve levels of mass production reliability
Ensure the mass customization does not disrupt upon supply chain operations,
development of robust process design (to restructure existing organizational and
value-chain resources).
3) Minimize complexity and offer sets of options
Too many choices cause overwhelming during selection, implement a system that
provide a series of choices based on personal information that provided by the
customers, recommendations based on past purchases.
Source: Three Steps for mass Customization (Blackman, S., 2004)

12. Features of mass customization
• Customer– value creation by defining, configuring,
matching or modifying an individual solution.
• Co-design – performed in an act of company-to-
customer interaction and cooperation.
Customer co-
design
• Increment of utility of a good.
• The assortment of customer’s preferences will
increase directly proportional with the gain in utility.
The needs of each
individual
customers

13. Features of mass customization
• Solution space: the pre-existing capability and
degrees of freedom built into a given
manufacturer’s production system.
Stable solution
space
• Customers willing to pay a premium price: reflect
the increment of utility gain from a product that
better fits their needs than standard products.
Adequate price
Source: Overcoming the challenges of implementing mass customization
(Piller, F. and Walcher, D. , 2004)

14. Challenges of mass customization
There have seven challenges for customization:
1) Marketing focus
 Traditional marketers lack the appropriate knowledge and tools required by a
mass customizer.
 When urged to add more variety to the product lines: unimaginatively rely on
product differentiation criteria that successful in the past or mimic differentiating
attributes introduced by competitors.
2) Design culture
 Mass production: product development focus on design uniqueness or
minimizing the variable cost.
 Mass customisation: product development focus on design that share parts and
processes as part of solution space.

15. Challenges of mass customization
3) Accounting procedures
 Have trouble determining the precise cost implications of expanding the product
offerings and fail to appreciate the advantages of parts standardization.
4) Investment criteria
 Dominant investment logic for a mass producer is the quest for economics of
scale: is rigid fixed assets not suitable to fit with mass customisation. (falls into
daily consume products)
5) Value-chain Constraints
 Reconfiguring a value chain that was originally conceived for volume production
can present number of problems: external structural constrains within suppliers
and distribution channels poses significant obstacles.

16. Challenges of mass customization
6) Maintaining quality
 Employees must be empowered and specialised to do whatever it takes to
ensure a top-notch product.
7) Time and price pressures
 Customer love the idea of a customised product but might not willing to pay
more, while customised products has to be waited longer.
8) Adaptable supply networks
 Require constant communication to ensure that every node in the network is
aware of changes in demand or any event that could affect operations time.
Source: Overcoming the challenges of implementing mass customization
(Piller, F. and Walcher, D. , 2004)

17. Strategies to overcome mass customization
Design thinking
Ensure the product can
be assembled easily to
customer specifications.
Product configuration
Allow the customers or
the teams to decide
what to include in the
product.
Forecasting
Forecast each option
individually; facilitate the
process for next/future
demands.
Source: Biggest challenges of mass customization and tips for addressing these challenges
(Mouw, R. 2016)

18. (Approach) Strategies for mass customization
Adaptive
Transparent Collaborative
Cosmetic
No Change
Representation
Change
Product
ChangeNoChange

19. There have four strategies for customization:
1) Collaborative
 Identify the precise offering that fulfils the needs of customers and make
customised products.
 Appropriate for business whose customers cannot easily articulate what they want
and grow frustrated when there have plenty of selection. Ex: Glasses/Sunglasses
2) Adaptive
 The product is designed based on customisation with offer one standard where
the user can alter themselves.
 Appropriate for business whose customers request the product to display in
different ways and existing technology require for customisation. Ex: Light
Strategies for mass customization

20. 3) Cosmetic
 Products and services that provided to the individual customer are unique
without letting them know explicitly that have been customised to them.
 Appropriate when customers’ specific needs are expectable or can easily be
determined. Ex: shoes, T-Shirt.
4) Transparent
 Present a standard product differently to various customers.
 Appropriate when customers use a product the same way and differ only in
how they want it present.
Strategies for mass customization
Source: The Four Faces of Mass Customization (Gilmore, J. H. And Pine B. J. , 1997)

21. Advantages of mass customization
1) Allow customers to engage more intensively to create customized products of
what they desired.
2) Customers are often more pleased with the finished products.
3) Companies can forge strong relationships with customers.
4) Reduce scrap quantity and storage costs.
5) By analysing consumer requirements, can detect certain trends and gain
competitive advantages.
6) Eliminate wastes.

22. Limitation of mass customization
1) Requires highly flexible production technology – expensive and time-consuming
to set up the system.
2) Mass customization with mass production (quantity and cost) is difficult to
achieve.
3) Maintaining high variety of stock can incur high warehouse costs.
4) Requires a strong direct to customer logistics system.

23. Three reasons that the late followers will do well in their field:
1) Strong growth opportunities in every market:
The market still have enough space and welcome all the late comer to join the
field as the custom products are located few tenth of percent of the overall
category.
2) Market education:
Late comers always can build on the generated market education since the
previous pioneers have spend a lot in educating the market and promote the
availability of the custom products.
3) “Best of Breed” solutions:
Besides combining the design elements of pioneers, late comers also involve
in customization sites in other categories.
Advantages of late followers in mass customization
Source: The market for mass customization today: Result from the customization 500. (Piller, F. T. , 2012)

24. Case Study: Bentley

25. Company Overview
• Is a British luxury automaker and subsidiary of German Volkswagen AG.
• Principal activity: design, manufacture, engineering and distribution of luxury
automobiles sold under Bentley morgue.
• Founder: H.M. (Horace Millner) Bentley; W.O. (Walter Owen) Bentley
• Founded: 18 January 1919; 98 years old
• Headquarters: Crewe, England, United Kingdom
• Besides involving in automobile industry, Bentley also produce a series of
special collection: golf, bags, luggage and accessories, fragrances, eyewear,
handbag and pen.

26. Vision
We will become the world’s most successful luxury car company
Mission
1) We are the definitive British luxury car company.
2) We will develop, craft and sell the world’s most desirable luxury cars.
3) We stand for powerful, exquisite, individual.

27. Car Collection (Latest)
Mulsanne Flying Spur Continental Bentayga
Is a British handmade full-
size luxury car produced
by Bentley Motors Limited in
the United Kingdom.
Is a four-door saloon variant of
the Bentley Continental
GT coupé.
Is a Grand tourer produced by
the British automaker Bentley
Motors since 2003.
Is a British handmade four-,
five- or seven-seat, five-door
ultra-luxury SUV produced in
2015.
Production: 2010-present Production: 2005 - present Production: 2003 - present Production: 2015 - present
Class: Full-size luxury car (F) Class: Full-size luxury car (F) Class: Grand tourer (F) Class: Large luxury crossover
SUV
Model:
1) Mulsanne Extended
Wheelbase
2) Mulsannne Speed
3) Mulsanne
Model:
1) Flying Spur W12 S
2) Flying Spur W12
3) Flying Spur V8 S
4) Flying Spur V8
Model:
1) Continental Supersports
2) Continental GT Speed
3) Continental GT
4) Continental GT V8
Model:
1) Bentayga
2) Bentayga Onyx Edition
3) Bentayga Diesel

28. Interview:
Christophe Georges, President & CEO of Bentley Motors Inc.
“Customers are looking for something special but they don’t always know what
exactly that looks like.”
Just as you would not go to a Michelin starred restaurant and have the chef ask you what you would like to eat.
Of course you want sophistication, but there needs to be direction and translation of the vision of the client.

29. Bentley Mulliner
• A division of the company with the sole purpose of customization with
unparalleled craftsmanship.
• Galvanised the automotive world’s most dedicated craftspeople, supported by
the vast styling and engineering experience of Bentley.
• Immerse the customer into a totally new environment, to understand the needs
and desires and translate into design and features.
• Have a process that helping to have a better understanding on customers in
terms of taste, colour scheme, materials.
• Throughout the process, there are generation of more ideas, and the team
support it by refining the vision into a product.

30. Limitless World of Mulliner
DARK TINT FLYING B
A symbol of progression and performance: endow any chosen Bentley
with a striking and contemporary aesthetic.
LED APPROACH LAMPS
Project the iconic Bentley Wings, or for the ultimate expression of
personalisation an image of your choice, onto the ground in front of you,
creating a well-lit area on even the darkest nights.
HIDDEN DELIGHTS
Catching a glimpse of a striking accent colour, which had been lovingly
adorned into the cabin’s usually unseen areas.

31. Bentley Inspirator App
• A new luxury commissioning experience: facial reactions shape and guide a
way to a recommended Bentley specification.
• Billion of combinations are possible: from the vast selection of exterior paint
colours, wheels, leather hides and wood veneer.
• Personal vision of extraordinary is defined based on the engagement that
captured by the device’s camera and bespoke Bentley is recommended.

32. Car Configuration (Bentley: Bentayga)
Let’s check the suggestion from Bentley

33. Let’s create a own design for Bentayga
Car Configuration (Bentley: Bentayga)

34. Boon Cheong Chew
Email: bcchew@utem.edu.my
LinkedIn:
https://my.linkedin.com/in/bcchew
My Primary Research Interests:
(a) Renewable Energy Development &
Deployment
(b) Clean Technologies Innovation &
Implementation
(c) Green & Sustainability Practices
(d) Human Technology Innovation &
Introduction
*Please google BCChew to follow my
work
Heoy Shin Loo
Email: heoyshin_loo@outlook.com
LinkedIn: https://my.linkedin.com/in/heoyshin-
loo-71251a113
My Primary Research Interests:
(a)Green & Sustainability Practices
(b)Technology Management
(c)Design Engineering
Yu Xin Ou Yang
Email: yuxin01_ouyang@hotmail.com
My Primary Research Interests:
(a)Green & Sustainability Practices
(b)Robotics & Automation Engineering
*Please google Ou Yang Yu Xin to follow my work