Shafiee, Sara

In a configuration system, we use the computers to store, examine, retrieve, and manipulate data related to products, demands and processes. The main consequences are fewer expenses for the customers and more revenue for producers

Online Research Database In Technology

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Downloaded from orbit.dtu.dk on: Dec 20, 2017Make your own product in the CustomerpediaShafiee, SaraPublication date:2017Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink back to DTU OrbitCitation (APA):Shafiee, S. (2017). Make your own product in the Customerpedia MADE - Manufacturing Academy of Denmark.Accessed Jan 01, 2017, from http://www.made.dk/forskning/make-your-own-product-in-the-customerpedia/ﻮھﺎﯾMake your own product in the CustomerpediaWe are all unique!We are all different and unique. Each one of us has a set of specific desires, needs and attitudes. This is why weneed to make and specify our own products the way we want, not the way industry dictates. We no longer haveto feel like a hostage of a company's choices. We are putting together a wiki - a customerpedia - of our choicesin our role as customer. Valuing the customers is something industries and markets are competing on. Type ofindustry does not really matter. Based on all the different tastes in this world, it is not easy to let everybody startto design their own products. We want to build on the values that have meaning for us: creativity, adventure,wisdom, joy, passion.On the other hand, we spent hours on shopping but we are not always satisfied with the result. Let's face it! Wefrequently get disappointed with the products we shop because our needs and expectations are not fulfilled.However, personalization of your shopping experience is not a dream anymore. You can save more time andmoney when buying customized products that meet your special needs. The solution is a sort of InformationTechnology (IT) system, which is referred to as a configuration system. In a configuration system, we use thecomputers to store, examine, retrieve, and manipulate data related to products, demands and processes. The mainconsequences are fewer expenses for the customers and more revenue for producers.We are all unique!Severa Yellow and Scarlet Macaws sitting in a row by Reza KabirPhoto by rezakabir on Fivehundredpx.ﻮھﺎﯾEasy and cheap shopping, anyone?Configuration systems can save considerable amountof time and resources! Several researches indicate thatwrong consumerist behaviors such as impulseshopping waste human capitals in contemporarysocieties. We are all victims of store environments,windows displays, in-store sales or promotion signsand glitter of the stores. Online shopping can makeour purchase more planned and less emotional. Nowjust imagine you can personalize your onlinepurchase. That is, instead of ordering your targetedproduct on a website, you make intentional smartdecisions  on  all  its  features  such  as  color,  size,materials, packaging, etc. So you can be the creator ofyour own shoes instead of just buying them. Almostall of the well-known fashion and apparel companiesuse this simple selection system to give the customersthe joy and freedom of being themselves.A better product, a better life!Configuration systems are not just about enjoyingshopping; it has many other important applications, e.g.for, products related to health. They can change a normaland simple medical aid to a high value product for thesociety!  To  shed  the  lights  on  the  perceived  values,  I’dlike to share a real story. My uncle has had the hearingproblem form his birth. Maybe you think that hearing aidsare great  helpers  as  I  did!  Once in a  family gathering,  Ifound out that he had a painful struggle to communicate.His hearing aids could not solve his problem completelydue to its unsuitable size and volume. “Half of the loaf isbetter than none”, he responded me with a smile on hisface. Taken form the words of my uncle and people with the same problem, it can be interpreted that factorssuch as environment, gender, age, shape of ear, etc. can influence the effectiveness of a medical instrument.Thus, a simple configuration system can make life easier and happier for people like my uncle by providing thepossibility of personalizing a product based on their needs.Business to Business application of configuration systemsThere are lots of configuration platforms in the market to help the producers offering online customized products.One of  the examples could be the configuration of  food and apparels.  These systems are easy to use for  thecustomer and companies have full control over prices, colors, textures, discount offers and a lot of otherspecifications that customer define. This particular platforms study the differentRationing: Many NHS trusts are being forced to denyhearing aids to patients with mild hearing loss (2017).http://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/ people-hearing-problems-five-times-7370064Impulse shopping (2017), retrieved from http://www.wisebread. com/9-simple-ways-to-stop-impulse-buying.ﻮھﺎﯾFinally, the configuration systems also play an important role in engineering companies. Imagine yourself in anengineering company as the sale manager of the computers. The configuration systems performance is not justabout the selection it provides for the customers on the website (maybe that is the fun visible part). In the salesprocess of the companies, they receive all the specifications from the customer and estimate the price or printthe 2D, 3D figures and send out the catalogues and proposals as well. These configuration systems specificallycalled Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) and they are already the fast and precise solutions in the sales phase. Theyare not just configuring but they are able to calculate the price and generate the documents.What are the steps toward the configuration system?How are these IT systems working? It can be explained in a very brief and precise way. First of all, a specialistin the field needs to know the details of the product, characteristics of potential customers and practicalrestrictions. This requires the knowledge of market, IT and people. In the second step, this information will betranslated to an IT system. All the components in a simple product are interrelated and rely on a lot of rules.Afterwards, the system might need integrations to other IT systems. Piloting and assessing the system might takemonths based on the complexity of the configured product. The final step is very challenging, in the trust of thecustomers in the system guarantees its success.What are the benefits?You wonder if it can be resembled to having a tailor make a suit just for you which means you don’t buy aprepared suit from the wardrobe of a store in a shopping center. Yes, you are right. We also “tailor” the productsto suit the customers’ preferences. The point is that while tailored suits are very expensive, tailored productscustomized by configuration systems have reasonable prices even cheaper in comparison with ordinary ones.The selling point which make different industries interested in investment is that configurators simply savemoney. Configuration systems can save time from the resources and customer while they increase the quality byeliminating the manual tasks. By positively affecting the sales, design, engineering and manufacturing processesat the company, these systems are a big step towards automation process. They are making the customerautonomous in selecting and ordering. Furthermore, they are able to be connected to other IT systems and totransfer be up-to-date knowledge over the supply chain.DeinSekt configuration system (2017), referenced onwww.combeenation.com, https://www.deinsekt.de/ImpishLee configuration system (2017), referenced onwww.combeenation.com, https://impishlee.com/customizer/ﻮھﺎﯾSo just remember that the next time you decide to purchase something, you have this opportunityto personalize it. You are not a consumer anymore; you are a smart customer; you are a creator!

Make your own product in the Customerpedia

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Make your own product in the Customerpedia

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