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Product, process and customer preference alignment in prefabricated house building

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  • Schoenwitz, Manuel
  • Potter, Andrew
  • Gosling, Jonathan
  • Naim, Mohamed

Abstract

Much of the extant literature exploits the customer order decoupling point (CODP) from an aggregate product level. We develop a systematic approach to determine the alignment of CODP configurations at product, category and component levels, with customer preferences in terms of their customisation requirements. We adopt a participatory research method incorporating focus groups and interviews with personnel from a German case study company that builds prefabricated houses. From this we determine the product architecture. We also undertake a customer preference survey utilising a questionnaire that is based on a paired comparison technique. The survey informs customer preferences for choice for various elements of the architecture. We find that while at the product level the company produces a house that as a whole offers a high degree of customisation, at a category or components levels there are various offerings from pure standardisation to pure customisation. Furthermore, there is not always alignment between what customers want and what is actually being offered by the customer. So the company has options in terms of reconfiguring its operations, design new products/categories/components and/or seeking new marketplace opportunities. While the research has developed a technique that determines the extent to which the CODP positioning for a product architecture is aligned against customer preferences, there is a need for further research to test our findings beyond a single case study and into other industry sector contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Schoenwitz, Manuel & Potter, Andrew & Gosling, Jonathan & Naim, Mohamed, 2017. "Product, process and customer preference alignment in prefabricated house building," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(PA), pages 79-90.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:183:y:2017:i:pa:p:79-90
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.10.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Carlos T. Formoso & Patrícia A. Tillmann & Cynthia dos S. Hentschke, 2022. "Guidelines for the Implementation of Mass Customization in Affordable House-Building Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Yang Liu & Jianjun Dong & Ling Shen, 2020. "A Conceptual Development Framework for Prefabricated Construction Supply Chain Management: An Integrated Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-29, March.
    3. Pablo Jimenez-Moreno, 2021. "Mass Customisation for Zero-Energy Housing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-24, May.
    4. Cannas, Violetta G. & Gosling, Jonathan & Pero, Margherita & Rossi, Tommaso, 2019. "Engineering and production decoupling configurations: An empirical study in the machinery industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 173-189.
    5. Cynthia dos Santos Hentschke & Carlos Torres Formoso & Marcia Elisa Echeveste, 2020. "A Customer Integration Framework for the Development of Mass Customised Housing Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-26, October.
    6. Jafarian, Ahmad & Rabiee, Meysam & Tavana, Madjid, 2020. "A novel multi-objective co-evolutionary approach for supply chain gap analysis with consideration of uncertainties," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    7. Cannas, Violetta G. & Gosling, Jonathan & Pero, Margherita & Rossi, Tommaso, 2020. "Determinants for order-fulfilment strategies in engineer-to-order companies: Insights from the machinery industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    8. Cannas, Violetta Giada & Gosling, Jonathan, 2021. "A decade of engineering-to-order (2010–2020): Progress and emerging themes," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).

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