Operations Management The increasing amount of Mass Customization in the Automobile industry - Essay Example

At that time, it is fair to say that consumers were more interested in the function of the product, and in the case of Henry Ford, his market domination prevented other manufacturers from offering personalization as a unique selling point. However, as automobiles became more affordable, consumers began to seek ways with which they could customize their possessions with a view differentiating themselves from other consumers, and to create their own sense of identity. The growing need to establish this identity led to the gradual customization in the automobile industry where automobiles could be produced to match individual consumer needs (Mayland and Heiland 2005).

Mass customization requires a significant amount of input from all suppliers and producers involved in the operations management process. Each of these suppliers and producers will be part of other industries as well, which have their own technological advances and business strategies. For mass customization to be efficient the automobile industry will have to look at changing its supplier relationships, but in doing so has to ensure that its relationship is not affect its suppliers relationship with producers.

The automobile industry will therefore need to adopt a few examples of good practice from the service industry, as mass customization has introduced the consumer into its processes. Mass customization is likely to create a network of suppliers and a supply chain that is unique to traditional ones, but this may also involve adopting totally radical business strategies to maintain the inefficiencies. This may involve forming business alliances and partnerships that will enable the automobile industry to working closely with its suppliers by sharing more information and being involved in planning and forecasting as a group, as opposed to individuallyTable of ContentsI. 1.0 History & Background of the Automobile industry The automobile industry is one which has its roots in America following the mass production of cars by Henry Ford in 1912 (Mozian et al 2007).

The mass production of automobiles has now become a global phenomenon with other countries such as Germany, Brazil and Japan being key players in the industry. As a result of this global reach the automobile industry is experiencing influences which have forced the industry to re-assess the way they work. For instance, manufacturers are having changing relationships with their customers, as more demand high levels of personalization; manufacturers are having to form new partnerships with suppliers in order to meet their customer demands in terms of quality and cost; and these two influences have led to the need to re-invent the factory floor to accommodate the numbers and degrees of personalization demanded by the customer (Benko and McFarlane 2003).

When Henry Ford mass produced the automobile in 1912, he introduced the concept of mass production which made it possible for industries to manufacture standard products in large quantities at low unit costs (Mayland and Heiland 2005). This meant that the automobile industry at that time, could manufacture automobiles that were identical, and this was largely possible due to consumer attitudes. At that time, it is fair to say that consumers