Mass customization: Literature review and research directions

Mass customization relates to the ability to provide individually designed products and services to every customer through high process flexibility and integration. Mass customization has been identified as a competitive strategy by an increasing number of companies. This paper surveys the literature on mass customization. Enablers to mass customization and their impact on the development of production systems are discussed in length. Approaches to implementing mass customization are compiled and classified. Future research directions are outlined.