Author: keving301s12

Mass Customization-Good or Bad?

Posted on by keving301s12

Custom made goods are becoming more popular every day. People find a lot of joy and meaning when they are able to make their good unique and stand out from everyone else.  When it comes to customization many things can go wrong. It is very important to keep attention to detail and what the customer wants.

Mass Customization focuses on:

Imaginative and fast product design
Rapid process design
Tightly controlled inventory management
Tight Schedules
Responsive supply chain partners

While looking at the NFL website. I decided to see what their process of custom made NFL Jerseys is.
There are a ton of different choices. First, you start off with the NFL team that your jersey will represent. Pretty basic step of the customization process, however, the next steps become more complicated.
 

At this point of the process, the customer starts paying more attention to detail such as:
Color
Size
Design
Unique Name
# of the Jersey
Make of the Jersey

At this point the customer is responsible for the spelling and other details. One key thing to keep in mind when it comes to customization, if something is misspelled or done incorrectly, the products value will drop dramatically. No one else will want someone’s personal Jersey. It has no sentimental value to them.

NFL shop offers Jersey to everyone, kids, adults, men and women. Their customization process and facility must be operating and functional to perfection. NFL Jerseys do not come cheap. A basic Jersey with no customization can start at $100 and after full customization you might end up with a shopping cart of $400.

There isn’t much of repetition in this process. The letters and numbers are the most changing variable here.

My number one question was pertaining their return policy. At first  it was very basic just like any online clothing store, however, they had a exception link to click on to review their entire return policy. It read the following:

“All sales are final for customized products and autographed collectibles. These items cannot be returned. If an error occurred in your order process or packaging, please contact a Customer Service Specialist at 1.877.NFL.SHOP (1-877-635-7467).” NFL.com
With any product custom made and built, you will see the same return policy. This is the only downfall of the entire customization process. If you do not like what you have personalized, well too bad, you are paying for it anyway.

Do you think Mass customizations is better for the consumers or the firms?  Do you think mass customization is worth the extra money?

Microsoft and Apple

Posted on by keving301s12

Forum Added for the Microsoft Surface

You may or may not have heard about the Apple iPad.  Most likely you have heard about this great device, but did you hear about the tablet Microsoft is proposing?  Microsoft is entering the tablet world with its new product called Surface.  Surface is being introduced not only with consumer’s in mind but with businesses in mind.  With Surface, Microsoft is trying to make a tablet that can compete in the iPad market.

Many of the computers used today in the business world are PCs.  In case you didn’t know, Microsoft is predominately a software company who does much of its hardware by outsourcing.  When Microsoft made this tablet, they decided to build not only the software, but also the hardware.  When a company chooses to not outsource on a project like this, they are basically saying, “We want it done right so we are going to do it”.  The software installed into the product is the new Windows 8 software, which along with Surface doesn’t come out until the fall.  When making the hardware, Microsoft wanted it to be kept completely secret.  They told only a select  group of people and wanted suppliers to keep quiet about the parts getting put into the tablet.  Do you think this secrecy will make the consumers want to buy the product?  I think by giving a little information about the product will build up suspense for consumers and drive up demand.

Apples iPad is extremely convenient and is why Apple has sold so many products.  Microsoft is also trying to join the convenience market, but not just for consumer.  One key object of Surface is the USB port.  Microsoft decided to put this in with the business world in mind.  Business men or women will no longer have to carry around the bulky laptops and can easily upload documents into the USB port.  Another convenient aspect of this product is the cover is also a keyboard.  Unlike Apple, Microsoft is including this keyboard in the price.  Every Source tablet also includes a kickstand so the screen stands up like a regular PC.  The iPad and the Source are both similar in size and image quality.

When forecasting sales for this product, I think Microsoft should look towards selling as many as Apple did when they came out with their product.  Apple is well known for the quality of their product and Microsoft is trying to keep up with them.

The main concern is Microsoft going to be able to compete in this market? So, do you think the market will want Surface compared to the iPad? Also, how do you think the quality will compare to the Apple brand?

 

 

http://www.xda-developers.com/announcements/forum-added-for-the-microsoft-surface/

http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/20/technology/microsoft-surface-hardware/