Towards mass customization: automatic processing of orders for residential shipping containers – a case study example

Abstract

Along with changes in customer expectations, the process of ordering a house, especially one built with the most modern technology from prefabricated HQ 40-foot shipping containers, should take place in an atmosphere of free-flowing, customer-friendly conversation. Therefore, it is important that the company producing such a solution has a tool supporting such offers and orders when producing personalized solutions. This article provides an original approach to the automatic processing of orders based on an example of orders for residential shipping containers, natural language processing and so-called premises developed. Our solution overcomes the usage of records of the conversations between the customer and the retailer, in order to precisely predict the variant required for the house ordered, also when providing optimal house recommendations and when supporting manufacturers throughout product design and production. The newly proposed approach examines such recorded conversations in the sale of residential shipping containers and the rationale developed, and then offers the automatic placement of an order. Moreover, the practical significance of the solution, thus proposed, was emphasized thanks to verification by a real residential ship container manufacturing company in Poland.