A key attribute to consider when hiring a consultant is the value of a time-efficient consultant. A few years ago, I was doing a configuration management and product lifecycle management (PLM) system project for a division of a major international corporation. I needed to have a contact in each of the Read more…
Too Many Emails to the Sales Team from the Marketing Team? When I consulted for a Fortune 50 company, I noticed the constant bombardment of emails to the sales team from the marketing team. The incoming emails had to feel like incoming missiles to be dodged on a daily basis. Read more…
Look at all that auto inventory! With the benefit of Google Earth, I’ve provided an image near one intersection of several auto dealerships on Stevens Creek Boulevard in Silicon Valley. This picture reflects less than 15% of the total number of dealerships conducting business on the Stevens Creek auto row Read more…
May 11, 2009 Mass Customization Expert Announces Signing of Book Contract with Happy About San Jose, CA—David J. Gardner, Mass Customization Expert, is pleased to announce that he has signed an agreement with Happy About of Cupertino, California, to publish a new book about mass customization in the Spring of Read more…
I had an interesting discussion with a VP of Engineering a couple of weeks ago. He was lamenting the fact that: He has at least 3 engineers tied up full time working on order configuration issues–he believes he also has other people in his department who were probably drug into Read more…
In the 20th century, the U.S. auto industry led the automotive manufacturing world by perfecting mass production. In the 21st century, the U.S. auto industry needs to lead the automotive manufacturing world by adopting mass customization. Mass production is about pushing products through the dealer/retail channel and deeply discounting what Read more…
Earlier this week, I received an email with several manufacturing and mass customization questions from a graduate student at the University of Hanover in Germany. He’s just getting started understanding mass customization so I’ve provided some responses and thought I’d share them with you. What mass customized products do already Read more…
Manufacturers with highly-configurable products face daunting challenges to create the flexibility, transparency, and customer experience that delights customers without undermining profits. If a company continually experiences the pain of not being able to seamlessly connect the customer to the enterprise and efficiently drive order demand across the enterprise, the business Read more…
An information technology department contacted me seeking assistance in selecting a new configurator software package. My response: before we can talk about the technology, I first need to understand your business and your business requirements as well as the needs of your customers and channel partners. What is the immediate Read more…