Customizing products through application of group technology: A case study of furniture manufacturing

Satisfying customer needs becomes increasingly complex when a product customization element is included. This paper presents a case of transforming a manufacturing system, as a part of implementing mass customization strategy in the panel furniture manufacturing company. The need for an effective implementation of customization strategy shows that shop-floor reconfiguration is necessary in order to produce what customer wants at a low cost and on time. One way of achieving this is to implement group technology approach, by creating product and machine groups and simplifying material flows. The aim of the presented study is to show an application of production flow analysis in the process of converting the mass production company to a mass customization system. The paper presents benefits of synergy created by using group technology and production flow analysis in enabling mass customized production.