Mass customization — making products tailor-made for each individual buyer, in which even the base components are varied — sounds impossible. Yet it is a reality in Japan and represents a new Japanese competitive advantage. Roy Westbrook and Peter Williamson, reflecting on many visits to...

The Supply Chain concept is one of the most important ideas to emerge in management research and practice in the last twenty five years. Organizations do not exist in isolation. Any organization, whether a large corporation, public body, or small business, which aims to meet the needs of its...

The UK government promoted a 'manufacturing, planning and implementation' (MPI) scheme between 1991 and 1994. Its aim was to support the strategic development of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) in participating companies. For such AMT developments to be strategic required the companies...

This article examines the introduction of centralized processing. It looks at the multiple objectives underlying the initiative and how these were managed in implementation. Drawing on empirical data gathered at three similar sites a comparative analysis of the outcomes of centralization is...

This paper investigated the relationship between Internet-enabled supply chain integration strategies and performance in manufacturing and services. It summarizes the literature on demand and supply integration and describes four web-based strategies. A stratified random sample was collected...

Though there is a wide acceptance of the strategic importance of integrating operations with suppliers and customers in supply chains, many questions remain unanswered about how best to characterize supply chain strategies. Is it more important to link with suppliers, customers, or both?...

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to explore issues surrounding mass customization and in particular its implications for operations management. The findings cover the market changes driving customization, the methods used to provide customized goods, the positive and negative...