Engineering Change Management and Transition Towards Mass Customization

Abstract

Intensified competition and increased demand for customization have put manufacturing companies under pressure for finding more efficient approaches at handling the operations. As a response to this, mass customization (MC) has arisen as a strategy aiming to build the capabilities needed for delivering customized products, while maintaining the economies of scale. Engineering change management (ECM), which concern the handling of technical changes, is another field that has grown in importance with the increased demand for customization. Despite the commonalities of these two fields, the relation between MC and ECM has until now not been studied. This paper reports the results of a longitudinal case study in a global manufacturer. The paper contributes an overview of the key enablers of ECM for pursuing the MC benefits. Based on this, the paper contributes with new knowledge on the relation between the maturity of ECM capabilities and the success of MC.