Focus Group Data

Global Trends in Mass Customization and Digital Transformation (Industry 4.0)

Managers, experts and researchers working both at international level and with Italian and Austrian companies highlight that:

The coalignment of MC 4.0 levers is needed to successfully implement mass customization
Configuration technology is crucial for future implementation of mass customization
SMEs do not have a clear view of Industry 4.0 implementation and Digital transformation
SMEs could suffer a risk of a digital gap, in some sectors more than in others since disruptive technologies differ in their impact across sectors
The disruption of international supply chains due to COVID and the need for more flexible supply chains is favoring the development of local competencies and re-shoring to Europe
SMEs must consider sustainability in their strategies for the future
In the living sector, domotics is a very complex issue with high uncertainties and with considerable sustainability and customization implications
Domotics projects require high assessment efforts before starting because subsequent changes are hard to implement and costly

Entrepreneurs, managers, researchers and experts working for Veneto SMEs highlight that:

Variety and customization of the products and services offered by Veneto SMEs are constantly increasing
This trend increases organizational complexity and costs and can become a threat if appropriate solutions are not implemented
Customization is also an opportunity: for example, many Veneto SMEs were born and are born to satisfy specific customer personalization needs not satisfied by the market
Technological innovation is also an important opportunity to be exploited both to offer innovative products and services and to improve business processes (for example by implementing Industry 4.0 solutions)
Customization and technological innovation lead to the need for organizational change and adaptation
In this context, human resources play a fundamental and critical role, for example in terms of individual competencies (both soft skills and technical-professional skills), resistance or not to change, acceptance of technology
With reference to training for Industry 4.0, the topics most important and immediately applicable are cyber security, data analysis and digital integration of processes

The main issues highlighted by experts involved both in international and Italian and Austrian projects are:

In the building sector, the Mass Customization approach clashes with the customer's desire to have a unique product
In the construction sector, standardization is more effective and replicable if applied to the process rather than the product
The current trend is to customize the envelope rather than the plant
Small and medium-sized companies often find difficult to share their know-how. Universities and Standards could play an important role in providing guidelines
There is often a gap between the desire to outline a Mass Customization strategy and the ability to manage its developments and apply it in practice
Having a holistic approach, the designer has a fundamental role in the Mass Customization process
For many small and medium-sized companies it is not economically viable to develop Mass Customization projects from scratch
Mass Customization in the building sector should start with the industrialization ofthe construction site