Title: Decision support tools for product customisation: an in-depth review

Authors: Carter Powell; Sheng Yang

Addresses: School of Engineering, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. E, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada ' School of Engineering, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. E, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

Abstract: Product customisation has grown in popularity in recent decades with the advent of Industry 4.0 technologies and other advanced manufacturing tools. Decision support systems can play an important role in the early planning stages of the customisation process to assist companies in selecting strategies for customisation and guide them through the product design process. Such decision support tools must take into consideration many factors relating to the capabilities and goals of the company, the market, and the product being offered. The focus of this paper is to identify the different types of customisation strategies that a firm can pursue, highlight the key factors of success in offering customisation and review decision support tools for deciding to customise, selecting a customisation strategy and for the design customisation process. This paper culminates with a proposed framework for a decision support tool for automatic matching of customisation needs and services. [Submitted 7 October 2022; Accepted 15 August 2023]

Keywords: product customisation; mass customisation; personalisation; product design; decision support; strategy selection; machine learning; customisation as a service; automation; production support.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2024.136569

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2024 Vol.19 No.1, pp.62 - 97

Received: 07 Oct 2022
Accepted: 15 Aug 2023
Published online: 07 Feb 2024 *

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