Mass customisation systems:Complementarities and performance consequences

Mass customisation (MC) is considered to be an important competitive tool to increase the performance of manufacturers. Due to the importance of MC as part of the manufacturing process, there is an increasing amount of research devoted to exploring the nature of MC and how to effectively implement MC processes. Based on the theory of complementary assets, this study investigates the relationships between different MC practices and the effects of these practices on the firm's financial performance. In this study, simultaneous equation modelling and hierarchical regression analysis are applied to data collected from a large-scale survey in China. The results show that different MC practices positively affect each other, and that the interactions between the MC practices positively influence a firm's financial performance. This indicates that the complementary adoption of MC practices is important for a firm's success, requiring the simultaneous deployment of elicitation, process-flexible technology and logistics practices

Making it lean: applying lean practices to the work of it

Making IT Lean: Applying Lean Practices to the Work of IT presents Lean concepts and techniques for improving processes and eliminating waste in IT operations and IT Service Management, in a manner that is easy to understand. The authors provide a context for discussing several areas of application within this domain, allowing you to quickly gain insight into IT processes and Lean principles.The text reviews IT Service Management, with reference to the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) as a framework for best practices-explaining how to use it to accommo