Metrics for Assessing Product Variety Utilization

In mass customization, offering the right variety is critical and it is therefore proposed to develop an assessment system for the capabilities critical for mass customization success. This paper proposes different metrics and methods for assessing the utilization of a company's product variety. Two different methods are selected for further testing which is done on historical data for three different product families from three different companies. It is concluded that different metrics and methods may be relevant for different products, reflecting variety and complexity. However, in general, monitoring utilization of variety has potential to improve business for mass customization companies.