The document discusses mass customization, which allows companies to offer individually tailored products to customers without maintaining finished good inventory. Mass customization involves three pillars: eliciting customer information, process flexibility, and logistics. It integrates customers during product design and specifications. While it increases costs like transaction costs and costs of variety, companies can realize benefits like increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profits through strategies like modular fabrication and IT systems. However, mass customization requires highly flexible manufacturing and strong direct customer logistics and information systems. It also may not work if customers are unwilling to pay more for customization.