Innovation Alphabet
Mass Customization
In a nutshell
Mass customization is an initiative adopted by companies to embrace the increasingly diversified needs of customers. By offering customizable products and services, consumers feel engaged and can bring their creativity into play. Brands gain from this a boost in perceived value and the opportunity to fuel positive word-of-mouth marketing.
Application Fields
| Customization | Personalization |
|---|---|
| Controlled by consumer | Controlled by brand |
| Built via consumer choice | Built via consumer data |
| Active consumer involvement | No active consumer involvement |
• Configuration Software: Most mass customizations take place directly on the company’s website, through toolkits for product transformation. The customer gets to choose a few parameters, through which they will be responsible for creating a custom-made, original asset in line with their personality.
• Data Analyst: Mass customization reflects the personal tastes of each customer. As a result, it represents a unique tool for businesses to collect and study new data and information. For example, a fashion industry might pick up on current trends that are most popular.
• Customer Experience: The ability to purchase a product that is more unique than rare but still recognizable, and above all designed by the buyers themselves, will create a much stronger and more loyal customer base. Customers are no longer part of a homogeneous market cluster – each one has different needs, but all of them can be satisfied.
Industries
• Mass Customization in the clothing industry
Nike is among the most influential sportswear brands on the market. Therefore, the introduction of footwear customization tools from the website could only be successful. Nike allows consumers to change color and material for virtually every single component of the shoe, from the label to the sole.
• Mass Customization in the IT industry
Dell is a U.S. multinational manufacturer of personal computers and computer systems. The company has distinguished itself by offering mass customization since the 1990s. Users can “build” their own devices and configure computers to the specific features they want. It is one of the reasons why Dell has become one of the world’s most popular PC manufacturers.
• Mass Customization in the music industry
Fender is one of the world’s best-known companies in building guitars, basses, pianos and other musical instruments. The famous Stratocasters have been harnessed by musical geniuses such as George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Buddy Holly. Their website makes it possible for aspiring musicians to personally modify their dream instrument, from the neck to the material used. Of course, the final price will depend on the options chosen. Of course the greatness of the music itself is all up to the user.
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Business Functions
• Mass Customization in support of sustainability
Son of a Tailor is a clothing company located in Copenhagen which wants to revolutionize the fashion industry model. It offers, in fact, the possibility to design online a garment tailored to customers’ needs by literally creating a personal size. By simply providing an algorithm with data on height, weight, age, and shoe size, a 95% accurate fit can be achieved. Each garment is a sure sale because it is produced after the order is placed, and there will be no waste or extra materials that would inevitably pollute the planet.
• Mass Customization in support of design
Since 2001, the world-famous toy company LEGO has been introducing and experimenting with the concept of mass customization. A few years later, LEGO Factory was born, which is a highly advanced toolkit for innovation and co-design by young users. This taps into the real possibility of design: children become “toymakers” and can design the sets of their dreams.
• Mass Customization in support of 3D technology
Baume et Mercier has been specializing in the construction of luxury Swiss watches for nearly 200 years. The company is collaborating with the French startup Hapticmedia, which provides its three-dimensional configurator through which watch enthusiasts can design their customized watches by choosing dials, hands, and straps.
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Check out more of the Innovation Alphabet:
3D Printing
3D Printing
“3D printing” is a process carried out by an electronic device which, instead of resorting to the canonical ink, it molds almost any kind of material: from concrete to living tissue, most usually plastic, but also metal. And the operating principle is similar to that of a traditional printer. The creation of three-dimensional models can lead to the redesign of a company’s production capabilities.
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5G
5G
5G is the new frontier of cellular telephony. It was designed to improve (or completely replace) previous generations of mobile networks. The 5th generation features lower latency, ensuring flawless performance of business applications and many other digital experiences – thus enabling the new cultural generations to furiously play Fortnite away from home.
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Advanced Analytics
Advanced Analytics
The term “Advanced Analytics” refers to the ability to autonomously or semi-autonomously analyze data and content to identify correlations, develop analyses, predictions, and recommendations. It is not just a matter of collecting information and then organizing it into watertight compartments: the ultimate goal is to identify a dialogue pattern from a data-driven perspective.
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Agile
Agile
Agile is an approach to software development designed to respond to change. Teams quickly analyze the context in which they operate, identify uncertainties faced, and figure out how to adapt to always move forward. Interaction between individuals comes before processes and tools; collaboration with the customer is more important than negotiating contracts.
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Ansoff Matrix
Ansoff Matrix
The Ansoff Matrix is a marketing planning model that arises from the intersection of new and existing products and markets. It derives four possible strategies for expanding the company’s market, which are built around four variables with a changeable factor of risks and possibilities: existing product, new product, existing market, new market.
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Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is not strictly defined. Basically, it is a computer system able to make decisions in an independent and flexible way. A good AI application can perform everyday tasks better than an average person (e.g., identifying other people from their photos on social media or beating the best chess player). Nothing to fear, then. Unless you are a chess champion.
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Artificial Scarcity
Artificial Scarcity
We often tend to desire what we cannot have. Or what we are in danger of losing: Artificial Scarcity is a strategy that flaunts a limited number of items that do not correspond to actual availability. The goal is to stimulate the perception in consumers that the stock of items is about to run out and thus create a need based on the “fear of being cut off” or the intention to buy the item in order to resell it at a higher price.
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Attack Surface
Attack Surface
The term attack surface refers to the part of a system that may be subject to attack or breach by hackers. The smaller that surface is, the easier it will be to protect it. Indeed, the Internet is an ocean of deep, dark waters: those who navigate it must be aware that they are exposing themselves to a flood of digital risks. Yet, ironically, we do not need a big boat to shelter us.
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Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is an ever-evolving technology that overlays multimedia information on top of our common sensory horizon to gain a deeper understanding of our surroundings. No, it doesn’t allow you to step out of the Matrix dream simulation, nor can it be accessed by swallowing a red pill. But neither is it the disturbing experience of the Playtest episode of Black Mirror.
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Balanced Scorecard
Balanced Scorecard
In business, as in life, you need balance. The Balanced Scorecard is a holistic tool for strategic management. It offers, in fact, the possibility of assessing corporate performance in its wholeness. An overview that embraces four perspectives: the business/financial side, customers and stakeholders, internal processes, and learning and growth.
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