A Look At The Future: Business strategist B. Joseph Pine II sees a tectonic shift under way for businesses of all sizes. The ground rules are changing just as they did when the nation’s economic focus switched from agriculture to mass production. This time, the shift is from mass production to what he calls "mass customization" -- adapting goods or services to match the unique desires of each customer while delivering them quickly, and at a competitive price. It’s what Dell Computer does when it manufactures the PC only after the customer orders it, configuring it to his exact specifications. It’s what LensCrafters does when it makes the eyeglasses a customer needs, on site, in 1 hour. When you mass customize a service, you turn it into an experience. Pine predicts, about 50% of all businesses will eventually be mass customized, though most of the early leaders will fail. (BW Online 12/14/00)
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