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Engineering Change Management and Transition Towards Mass Customization

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Managing Complexity

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics ((SPBE))

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.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Aalborg University, Fibigerstraede 16, 9220 Aalborg East, Aalborg, Denmark

    Simon Haahr Storbjerg, Thomas Ditlev Brunoe & Kjeld Nielsen

Authors
  1. Simon Haahr Storbjerg
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  2. Thomas Ditlev Brunoe
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  3. Kjeld Nielsen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simon Haahr Storbjerg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management & Technology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Jocelyn Bellemare

  2. Department of Management & Technology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Serge Carrier

  3. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Kjeld Nielsen

  4. Technology and Innovation Management, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Frank T. Piller

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Storbjerg, S.H., Brunoe, T.D., Nielsen, K. (2017). Engineering Change Management and Transition Towards Mass Customization. In: Bellemare, J., Carrier, S., Nielsen, K., Piller, F.T. (eds) Managing Complexity. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29058-4_12

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