Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published in:
1995
Length: 22 pages
Data source: Field research
Abstract
The purpose of this case is to introduce the students to: (1) the role of customization in business strategy formulation and implementation; (2) the interaction between mass production and mass customization as a source of knowledge creation; and (3) the role played by information technology and advanced manufacturing technology in competitive strategy. The case focuses on National Bicycle Industrial Company, a firm that has attracted extraordinary attention in the media for pioneering a unique approach to mass customization. It highlights NBIC''s production capability, its organizational structure and its approach to mass customization and mass production of bicycles in the changing Japanese bicycle industry.
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Abstract
The purpose of this case is to introduce the students to: (1) the role of customization in business strategy formulation and implementation; (2) the interaction between mass production and mass customization as a source of knowledge creation; and (3) the role played by information technology and advanced manufacturing technology in competitive strategy. The case focuses on National Bicycle Industrial Company, a firm that has attracted extraordinary attention in the media for pioneering a unique approach to mass customization. It highlights NBIC''s production capability, its organizational structure and its approach to mass customization and mass production of bicycles in the changing Japanese bicycle industry.