Networked manufacturing and mass customization in the ecommerce era: the Chinese perspective

Networked manufacturing is a new manufacturing pattern that can help enterprises in China improve their business management and enhance their competitiveness in the market. Mass customization (MC) is a production pattern integrating enterprises, customers, and suppliers. It enables the efficient delivery of customized products or services with the advantages of low cost, high quality, and high efficiency. Networked manufacturing can provide many kinds of business activities such as product design, manufacturing, sale, stock, management by applying network, manufacturing, and other related technologies, integrate information and decision making among data flow. The key technologies commonly involved in the implementation of networked manufacturing systems and mass customization can be categorized as overall technologies, fundamental technologies, enabling technologies, and application technology.