Counteracting the barriers to adoption of mass customization practices in Indian SMEs: A case of furniture industry

In the course of becoming more responsive to the turbulent market and highly diversified demands of customers and also to achieve competitive advantage, adoption of mass customization (MC) practices are inevitable. The paper explores the barriers to MC implementation in small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in furniture manufacturing business and proposes panacea for these barriers. For the above purpose, a qualitative study comprising semi-structured interviews and plant visits of SMEs are performed. The qualitative data obtained from the interviews are analyzed and a portfolio of barriers and their causes are identified, and solutions of these barriers are suggested through rigorous brainstorming. The study advocates the use of web based product configurator along with the development of network among the SMEs.