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Abstract

In early markets, job shops abound where many sellers designedtheir goods and services based on each customer's whim and caprice. Tailors made slacks and suits for the individual man and woman and cobblers custommade shoes. These craftsmen did not produce for inventory but for individual order, because they did not know beforehandwhat sizes or materials their customers would require. Even today, however, some people order customized products, but generally, the advent of mass production led producers to produce standard products for inventory, thus ending many job shops. But things seem to come in cycles. Today, customized marketing is coming back as part ofthe modern strategic marketing in the form of mass customization. Mass customization is the ability to produce on a mass basis individually designed products to meet an idea-customer's requirements. At the same time, there still exists a substantial gap between applications andwhat is both desirable and attainable. An examination of the marketing management literature suggests that one of the things that is needed, if the full potential ofmass customization is to be realized, is a structure for dealing with issues that the vractitioner must address. The purpose of this article is to bring together much ofwhat is already known and to supply a framework that will provide guidance for the strategist in applying this knowledge to each situation and in focusing on what additional knowledge is needed.

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