The Era Of Individualisation Has Only Just Begun

For todays generation of digital natives, the ability to personalise the products they buy is increasingly expected as a given. To keep pace, the makers of these products need highly flexible manufacturing systems that are at the same time efficient and profitable. This introduces a whole new set of demands on plant infrastructure. An insight by Carmen Klingler-Deiseroth, a freelance journalist

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THE VARIETY of options available for customising mass-produced products continues to grow. It’s no longer limited to the usual suspects like breakfast cereals, cars and photo books. Particularly among the younger generation of digital natives, there is a growing desire to fine-tune every online purchase to match their individual tastes and preferences. “The era of individualisation has only just begun,” declares Robert Kickinger, Mechatronic Technologies Manager, B&R.

Profitable production in batches of one Batch-size-one production is nothing new, really. In fact, it’s standard practice in many craft businesses. “What is new, however, is the idea of making customised products under mass-production conditions,” asserts Kickinger. So far, this has proven difficult to implement in a way that is economically viable. That’s because any increase in system flexibility is usually accompanied by a reduction in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). “When that happens, individualisation is no longer profitable.”

The goal of mass customisation is therefore to keep the three factors of OEE – availability, performance and quality – at a level consistent with what can be achieved in mass production. In addition, manufacturers seek to maximise their return on investment (ROI) and to minimise their time to market (TTM) for new and improved products. “This is the only way to make mass customisation viable from an economic perspective.”