Guest editorial: Mass customization manufacturing systems

The paper aims to introduce the special issue on mass customization manufacturing systems. At first, it discusses the benefits and challenges, which face mass customization manufacturing. On the one hand, it is argued that the advantages of a mass customization system are due to the inherent benefits of the production-to-order concept, which eliminates end product inventories and enables manufacturers to gain valuable information about the customer. The main challenge of mass customization can be traced back to the variety-cost tradeoff. Variety triggers high complexity from the manufacturer's and customer's perspectives. The performance of mass customization manufacturing systems at least depends on four critical areas, which are product design, product configuration, production processes, and supply chain operations. The requirements on each of these areas are briefly discussed. Finally, an overview of the contribution of the papers published within this special issue is provided.