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Build-to-Order and Mass Customization Consulting. All consulting is personally performed by Dr. David M. Anderson, P.E., CMC, the world’s foremost authority on the mass customization of manufactured products, having written the most recent book on mass customization. Dr. Anderson recently created methodologies called Spontaneous Build-to-Order and has taught them to leading clients and through the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). These two related topics will be presented together in his 2004 book, "Build-to-Order & Mass Customization, The Ultimate Supply Chain Management and Lean Manufacturing Strategy for Low Cost On-Demand Production without Forecasts or Inventory."
One of the keys to useful consulting on new paradigms is a thorough understanding of the basic underlying principles. There are simply not enough companies doing these to base implementation on benchmarking. Since Dr. Anderson has invented many of these general principles, he is therefore capable to develop specific implementations for any product line.
Another key to useful consulting is experience. As Manager of Flexible Manufacturing at Intel’s Systems Group, Dr. Anderson created a very effective standardization procedure in the mid 1980's, which appeared first in print in his 1990 book, which has evolved into the 2004 edition: "Design for Manufacturability & Concurrent Engineering. He taught Lean Production for APICS. Since 1989, he has facilitated the Suzaki/SME video program, Techniques for Continuous Improvement, on eliminating waste, reducing lead times, implementing flow, improving productivity, and reducing setup, batch size, and inventory. For the last 15 years, he has been teaching how to design for flexible environments in his Design for Manufacturability (DFM) classes. He has trained several companies in these new paradigms including Emerson Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Northern Telecom, John Deere, Bausch & Lomb, Korea’s LG Electronics, and build-to-order leader, Hoffman Engineering.
A wide range of consulting activities is offered. Consulting usually takes place on-site, usually following some training. The consulting can be informal with the in-house "champion" or in the form of formal workshops with a diverse team of implementers. Smaller engagements can be done over the phone, teleconferencing or by e-mail, which can greatly benefit strategy and implementation efforts with very little cost.
Many build-to-order/mass-customization scenarios has been worked out for several industries and will be published in Dr. Anderson’s forthcoming book "The Build-to-Order and Mass Customization Casebook." These specific methodologies are available now for consulting and seminars clients.
In initial consulting engagements, Dr. Anderson will quickly:
C Ascertain the potential based on the current and potential product lines.
C Convey the vision for build-to-order and mass customization for specific product lines, using 3-D perspective drawings of the entire flow of parts and information like the ones shown in the mass customization article. These are the first step in seeing the vision and serve as a focal point for discussions.
C Outline the most likely implementation approach.
C Identify early steps and prerequisites like standardization and product line rationalization (see section below and article).
C Help build the "business case" to serve as a basis for decision making.
In subsequent consulting, Dr. Anderson will:
C Propose the optimal training plan and subsequent implementation activities
C Teach Engineering departments how to develop products for BTO and mass customization.
C Show Manufacturing how to implement lean production for batch-size-of-one processing.
C Suggest various marketing emphases
C Help clients tie everything together into a viable business plan
For more information call or e-mail:
Dr. David M. Anderson, P.E., fASME, CMC
www.HalfCostProducts.com
phone: 1-805-924-0100
fax: 1-805-924-0200e-mail: anderson@build-to-order-consulting.com
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