Frank PILLER FutureShoe International Forum - Bologna 2011

1. Mass Customization: Profiting from
the fact that customers are different
Frank T. Piller
mass-customization.de | open-innovation.com
2
About us
RWTH-TIM's new (shared) building in Kackertstraße 15, Aachen

2. 3
RWTH Aachen University: Facts and Figures
 RWTH = Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule" (Institute of Technology of
the North-Rhine Westphalia, i.e. a State of Germany)
 Established in 1870 as a "Technische Hochschule" in Germany. Quickly became leading
place for mining technology, electrical and mechanical engineering, and later also medicine.
 Today, RWTH Aachen University is one of Europe’s leading institutions for science and
research. Ranked frequently as Top German University by HR Managers
(Wirtschaftswoche Ranking 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011).
 One out of every five board members in a German corporation is an RWTH Aachen
alumni, and about one out of two engineering managers in the German automotive
industry.
 Annual Budget of €750 million, 50% funded by grants and industry
 31,400 students are enrolled in over 100 academic programs, 20% of them
international students from 120 different countries.
 About 2.800 graduates per year (of which about 800 receive a doctoral degree)
 Co-Founder of IDEA League network of the leading universities of technology in Europe
4
RWTH-TIM Group: Facts and Figures
 Established in 1990 as one of the first dedicated chairs in technology & innovation
management in Europe
 Part of RWTH's School of Business & Economics, with strong links to the RWTH
Engineering Schools, but also the Humanities
 Dedicated to research, but excellent in participant-centered learning on graduate
student and executive education level.
 Core student body of industrial engineering students ("Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen")
 Ranked in top3 in school's ranking w/r to research output (publications), and #2 w/r to
external funding. Awarded "RWTH Price for Teaching Excellence 2009/2010".
 Interdisciplinary team of about 18 full time positions for researchers plus about 25
support positions and student researchers (strong growth since 2007)
 70% of annual research budget funded by competitive, peer-reviewed research
contracts and grants ("forschungsorient. Drittmittel") from DFG, EU, BMBF, BMWI, AIF
 Strong industry partnerships, yet focus on scholarly research, not consulting or
contract research for singular companies (but network of affiliated consultancies for this
purpose).
 "RWTH TIM Expertenkreis": Sponsorship circle of 12 companies, including 3M,
Cognis, Ford, Henkel, Lindt, Telekom, Melitta, Johnson Controls, and others

3. 5
Prof. Frank Piller
 Since 2007: Head of the RWTH Technology & Innovation Management Group, and full
(tenured) professor of management at RWTH Aachen University, Germany
 Since 2007: Co-Founder and Co-Director of the MIT Smart Customization Group, MIT,
Cambridge, MA, USA
 Research Professorship at the MIT Sloan School of Management (2004-2007), Innovation
Management Group, Cambridge, MA, USA
 Assistant / Associate Professor in Management and Habilitation on Customer Co-Creation
and User Innovation (1999-2004) at TUM Business School, Munich, Germany
 Ph.D. in Operations Management with focus on Mass Customization (1995-1999),
University of Wuerzburg, Germany
 Co-Founder, Investor, or Member of Board of Directors of several companies, including
MVM.com (personalization and virtual models), ThinkConsult (consultancy and concept
testing in the TelCo industries), Hyve AG (customer co-creation), Dialego AG (innovative
online market research and innovation panels), Corpus-e AG (low-cost high-quality body
scanning devices)
 More information and recent research: tim.rwth-aachen.de/piller
6
scg.mit.edu

4. HOW ARE MARKETS CHANGING?
100
10
+86% % INCREASE OF
0
PRODUCT
CAR MODELS
+200%
VARIETIES
+300% OFFERED ON US
ITEMS IN MAC DONALD’S MENU MARKET
TV SCREEN SIZES +3000%
+5700%
CABLE TV CHANNELS
LATE 90S
SPORT SHOE STYLES
EARLY 70S
9
Heterogeneity of needs
is not a threat
but an extraordinary
profit opportunity

5. 23
Mass Customization
Profiting from exploiting heterogeneities
across customers' needs.
"Producing goods and services to meet
individual customer's needs with near mass
production efficiency." (Tseng/Jiao 2001)
24

6. 25
The market opportunity is large!
• 35% of online customers are already
interested in customization/purchasing
build to order products {Forrester
Research}
• Adobe System survey: 75% respondents
said the ability to customize a product
would influence them to make an online
purchase
• Brand Keys, a research firm, found that
today, customization is 30% of what draws
a customer to a brand
• Land’s End found that customization
customers had a 34% higher retention rate
• Many companies currently are taking
advantage of this trend: "Personalization"
is one of the key mega trends in fashion
and branding today
Customization provides great opportunities
but there also has been some huge failures!

7. Aufgabenumfang eines Konfigurators
Lists of mass customization companies
www.configurator-database.com www.milkorsugar.com
blogs.oneofakindpublishing.com www.egoo.de

8. >> category n %
t-shirt 60 12
shirt / jacket / suit / underwear 60 12
photo / print / puzzle / cards 55 11
food 39 8
bag / belt / hat / scarf 19 4
shoe / boot / sneaker 17 3
computer / pc / notebook 15 3
furniture / table / chair / shelf 15 3
jewlery / watch / ring 15 3
bottle label 14 3
books 14 3
blankets / covers / skins 12 2
golf- / foot- / bowling-ball 10 2
figure /doll 8 2
gift 7 1
bicycle 6 1
skate- / kite- / surf- / snowboard 5 1
cosmetics / skin care 3 1
others 127 25
>> sum 501 100
Some established
traditional niche players

9. (c ) C opyright tim.rwth-aachen.de
Some very professional
new players

10. (c ) C opyright tim.rwth-aachen.de
Some oddity products
(niching the niche)

11. (c ) C opyright tim.rwth-aachen.de
Which capabilities are needed to create
value through mass customization?

12. In a paper, we developed the following framework to
understand what makes mass customization great
Give me your business card for a copy via PDF!
41
ROBUST PROCESS
DESIGN
CHOICE
NAVIGATION
CAPABILITIES
(based on research SOLUTIONS SPACE
with Fabrizio DEFINITION
Salvador)

13. How does mass customization work?
Portfolio of customers Portfolio of capabilities/resources
Customer-specific
solution
Individual customer Customer-specific value chain
ROBUST PROCESS DESIGN
Flexible Process Adaptive human
automation Modularity resources

14. Robust processes mean flexible machinery …
… but much more …
ROBUST PROCESS DESIGN
process segments based on each
customers’ needs
Flexible Process Adaptive human
automation Modularity resources

15. CAPABILITY #1:
ROBUST PROCESS DESIGN
Capacity of the organization to reuse and/or
recombine its resources to address variability in
customers’ requirements,
 ensuring resource efficiency
 ensuring delivery reliability
as in a mass production system
Flexible Process Adaptive human
automation Modularity resources
SOLUTION SPACE DEFINITION
Portfolio of customers Portfolio of capabilities/resources
?
Customer-specific
Individual customer solution Customer-specific value chain

16. (c ) C opyright tim.rwth-aachen.de 53
54
Setting the
solution space
is not easy

17. 55
Mass Customization at adidas
SOLUTION SPACE DEFINITION

18. Customized Training Programs
57
CAPABILITY #2:
SOLUTION SPACE DEFINITION
Ability of the organization to identify the
idiosyncratic and unexploited needs and
preferences of each individual customer,
 so as to satisfy each single customer’s needs
Innovation Analysis of user- Analysis of past
toolkits generated data configurations

19. CHOICE NAVIGATION
Portfolio of customers Portfolio of capabilities/resources
Individual customer
?
Customer-specific
solution Customer-specific value chain
CHOICE NAVIGATION
Car for the
1957
Masses
Single
Model
MSRP 500,000ITL
3,893,294
sold (1957-75)
Car for the
2007 Masses, but
Stresses
individuality
575,000 possible
configurations
MSRP > 11,500€
2007 production
sold in 3 weeks
Over 200,000/yr

20. CHOICE NAVIGATION
Behavioral Embedded
Elicitation
choice models configuration
66
66

21. 77
We are in a (desperate) need
for more support –
very clever choice navigation

22. ?
Choose
your
way
…
Behavioral Elicitation
choice models (parameter based
(need based config.) configuration)
http://www.pro-m.com/pro-m-
configuratore/www/config2.html
CHOICE NAVIGATION
>500.000.000 radio station
>4.000.000.000 interactions
>1.000.000.000 thumb feedback
Behavioral Embedded
Elicitation
choice models configuration

23. CAPABILITY #3:
CHOICE NAVIGATION
Capacity of the organization to create models of
how customers construct their preferences and/or
evaluate the offerings of the supplier against their
preferences
 choice complexity minimized
 enjoyment of the search process is maximized
Behavioral Embedded
Elicitation
Choice Models configuration
The other dimension of choice
navigation: Turn "burden of
choice" into customer experience

24. 87
88
An experiment on the benefit of customization for consumers
(expressed in their willingness to pay (WTP)) (joint research with
Nik Franke)
The basic toolkit allows 648,000,000 design variants …
30 hour / minutes hands 150 faces 60 cases
30 straps 30 seconds-hands
… and our calculations show that customers use this huge solution
space extensively.

25. 90
Mass Customization yields an impressing value increment to users
92.0 €
Mean willing-
ness to pay + 90%
48.5 €
21.5 € + 126%
n = 165
Bestselling Self-designed “ideal”
standards watch (toolkit) watch (perfect toolkit)
91
Mass Customization practice confirms this observation that
consumers are willing to pay a large premium for a custom good

26. 92
Mass Customization yields an impressing value increment to users
92.0 €
Why this increase in
Recent research WTP ?
explains 50% of additional
Mean willing-
ness to pay Product satisfaction
+ 90%
willingness-to-pay in
48.5 €
BtoC mass customization - fit
by process satisfaction - uniqueness
and hedonistic benefits Process satisfaction
21.5 € + 126%
- “flow”
- pride of authorship
- peer recognition= 165
n
Bestselling Self-designed - emotional factors
“ideal”
standards watch (toolkit) watch (perfect toolkit)
93
Picture: Frank Piller

27. 94
100
Relating the capabilities to each other
Solution Space Development
Robust Process Design
Choice Navigation

28. 101
The point is not whether you want to
mass customize. See mass
customization as an "ideal point".
A small step towards
mass customization can be
a large step for your business.
Mass customization is not about "build to
order": it is about exploiting customer
heterogeneities to make money.
102
The Future of
Mass Customization

29. From "markets of one"
to "markets for peers"
(often "disposable markets")
103
104
The long tail of products also is a long tail of markets
Products Markets
104

30. The Creativity Marketplace for Sharing, Connecting and Selling
• “Generate exposure and enthusiasm for charities and causes
• Unite teams, schools and businesses for various events
• Create galleries and sell products to generate exposure and earn
royalties
• Commemorate events such as birthdays, graduations and family
reunions
• Build communities for your special interests such as maps, sci-fi,
photography, politics and more”
Ride the long tail, enable super niche products
Technology: Zazzle Product Engine with Zazzle Create-a-Product API, the
first-ever API that allows third party websites to offer their users an easy
“one click’ way to turn digital content into custom products.
The Creativity Marketplace for Sharing, Connecting and Selling
• “Generate exposure and enthusiasm for charities and causes
• Unite teams, schools and businesses for various events
EACH DAY AT ZAZZLE,
• Create galleries and sell products to generate exposure and earn
royalties
• Commemorate events such as birthdays, graduations and family
reunions
• Build communities for your special interests such as maps, sci-fi,
more than 120,000 new
photography, politics and more”
Ride the long tail, enable super niche products created
products are being
and placed on the market!
Technology: Zazzle Product Engine with Zazzle Create-a-Product API, the
first-ever API that allows third party websites to offer their users an easy
“one click’ way to turn digital content into custom products.

32. Platforms for mass customization
• "Explosion" of new start-ups following Zazzle,
Cafepress, Spreadshirt, Bivolino ...
• SERVIVE, Remplanet and Open Garment projects
-> €15 Mio+ EU research money on MC platforms
• Bringing the MC capabilities to incumbents,
shortening the learning curve (also in the field of
"batch-customized" products)
• Creating millions of markets for peers –
complementing the "long tail" idea and offering
orientation and a solution to the "complexity of
choice" problem
109
Zazzle and Spreadshirt's "Mirco Merchandising" approach
allows users to create their own niche markets – and to
serve them efficiently
 Combination of mass customization and ebay mini shops
 Provides access to sticky need information by allowing
micro-segments to create their own products and markets
 Captures creativity of the crowd, overcoming the local search
bias of new product development
 Overcomes problems of traditional mass customization
systems – and still gives each niche what they want

33. From traditional
mass customization to
co-created manufacturing
A look in the furniture
industry …

36. Easy-to-access
networked flexible
manufacturing
infrastructure

38. Intuitive design tools

40. Open data
(repositories of design)

43. And with these tools and
approaches, we also may
overcome one of the weakest
spots of mass customization
…
134
Mass customization
and the location of
manufacturing

44. With existing technology made-to-measure orders from Asia SANDERS
can be filled within 8 to 14 calendar days for mass customization
of textile products
Logistics-chain for made-to-measure orders from Asia
TOTAL 8 - 14
Delivery to consumer by UPS, FedEx etc.
Re-packing Close to airport
Air-freight On pallets
Transport to the airport By truck
Sewing, ironing, packing In small flexible groups
Cutting (incl. preparation) Preparation on CAD, single-ply-cutter
Ordering New software
Daily
order
transmission 5 10 15 Calendar-days
Source: Sanders-analysis
Copyright © 1999 - 2001 SANDERS GmbH (www.sanders.ch). All rights reserved. 136
More than three quarters of all consumers still accept a SANDERS
delivery-time of 14 days for mass customization
of textile products
Consumer’s acceptance of different delivery-times for made-to-measure apparel in Germany, in 1998
Acceptance
100%
76%
50%
20%
8 days 14 days 21 days 28 days Delivery-time
Source: Zitex, McKinsey-
Quarterly
Copyright © 1999 - 2001 SANDERS GmbH (www.sanders.ch). All rights reserved. 137

45. 139
Freight cost are almost
triple the purchasing cost
of the custom-made
shoes (incl. the profit from
the supplier!)
140
And we better don't talk
about the CO2 footprint
of your custom shoes
(counterbalancing all
positive effects due to
reduction of waste)

46.  Selve: Founded in 2001 by
Claudia Kieserling
 Fashionable women's shoe
that fit
 New last design, new
modular product design
 Stores in Munich, London,
and New York
 Manufacturing in Italy in an
industrial scale
 Customers love the product!
 Selve: Founded in 2001 by
Claudia Kieserling
 Fashionable women's shoe
that fit
 Customers love the product!
 Stores in Munich, London,
New York
 New last design, new
modular product design
 Manufacturing in Italy in an
industrial scale

47. 150
And the vision for
manufacturing:
Revitalizing the European
footwear industry in an
INDUSTRIAL scale
The largest project ever funded in the 5th EU FP

48. The Euroshoe RESULTS (2000-2004)
Many papers and conferences
New software
Advancements in last making
A much better understanding of the domain
Three nice spin-offs in related fields (including corpus.e)
An even larger follow up project (CEC-made shoes)
…
And a full scale working demo factory in Vigevano (the
capital of Italian footwear manufacturing) ….

49. 157
Deep troubles for Selve:
A market with no
manufacturing
158
The solution

50. 160
 After five years of un-
successful trial and error in
Italy, relocation of
manufacturing to China
 Partnership with Canadian
custom footwear company
 Works perfectly
 1 week delivery time
possible
 Finally: Scalability of
system, new retail
partnerships, many new
models …
161
It is not just about
flexibility of the software
and the production
technology ….

51. 162
… but much more about
the flexibility in the
management's head!
163
There are exemptions

52. 164
Simple products
Heavy products
165
Digital products
Fast products

53. 166
National pride products
167

54. An optimistic outlook

55. There is a market, the
technology is ready, most
potential competitors are not
able to change, VCs are
getting interested …
So why wait?

56. Conclusions
176
Where is your company
in this picture?
Solution Space Development
Robust Process Design
Choice Navigation

57. Open for Interaction
Frank T. Piller
TIM-Group at RWTH Aachen University
Kackertstraße 15-17, 52072 Aachen,
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)241-809-3577
piller@tim.rwth-aachen.de
Twitter | Skype: @masscustom
www.open-innovation.com
mass-customization.blogs.com
tim.rwth-aachen.de
scg.mit.edu
(c ) C opyright tim.rwth-aachen.de

58.
Garwood Center for MIT Smart Technology & Innovation Advanced
Corporate Innovation Customization Group Management Group Manufacturing Institute
About the MCPC 2011: Conference Briefing
The 2011 World Conference on Mass Customization,
Personalization, and Co‐Creation (MCPC 2011)
Bridging Mass Customization &
Open Innovation
Business Seminar, November 16‐17, 2011
Innovation & Research Conference, November 17‐19, 2011
Conference Venue: San Francisco Airport Marriot Hotel & Conference Center
Conference Host: Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, University of California, Berkeley
mcpc2011.com | twitter: #mcpc2011
About the MCPC conference series
The MCPC conference series started out as a bi‐annual conference devoted to Mass Customization &
Personalization. The content has broadened in recent years, including also customer co‐creation, user
innovation and other strategies of customer‐driven value creation (hence, MCPC = Mass Customization,
Personalization, and Co‐Creation"). The event frequently brings together hundreds of the world's most
remarkable people in the field. In 2011, the conference will link MCPC with a topic that has driven and
inspired the field for several years: open innovation.
The previous conferences have been hosted by …
2001: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
2003: University of Technology Munich, Germany (mcpc2003.com)
2005: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong (mcpc2005.com)
2007: M.I.T., Cambridge, MA (mass‐customization.de/mcpc07)
2009: Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland (mcpc2009.com)
Upcoming conference 2011: UC Berkeley, San Francisco, USA (mcpc2011.com)
1

59.
Participation Statistics (average for 2005‐2009 conferences)
Between 450‐650 participants
About 150 presentations over the entire program
45% Managers from companies engaged in MCPC activities or planning to do so (of those about
40:60 split between Directors / VP Product Mgmt of Fortune1000 and CEOS of SMEs / startups)
45% Academics (from Engineering, Management & Marketing, Computer Science / Information
Systems, but also many other disciplines (architecture, psychology …)
10% Consultants and Technology Providers (Flex Manufacturing, SCM, Configurators, CAD)
The MCPC conference style & layout
The MCPC is a multi‐track conference featuring a combination of high profile keynotes with expert talks,
panel discussions, paper sessions, workshops, receptions, and much more. While it is devoted to sharing
and discussing the latest research in the field, the MCPC has a strong focus on real life applications.
Since its beginning, there is an equal share of participants, practitioners and academics/researchers.
This makes the MCPC truly unique among many conferences. It really strives to connect MCPC thought
leaders, entrepreneurs, technology developers, and researchers with people applying these strategies in
practice.
The conference consists of three major elements:
• The Research and Innovation Conference is an academic‐style but application‐focused conference,
with a broad call for papers. All contributions are peer reviewed by at least two reviewers. An
international program committee and many ad‐hoc reviewers support the program chairs with this
process. Presentations are organized in parallel tracks, with sufficient time for discussions and
feedback. The conference policy is: "all participants, including presenters, must pay the registration
fee" that is characteristic for academic conferences.
• The Business Seminar provides an innovative platform for managers doing mass customization and
open innovation as the core of their business. The seminar's foremost idea is to connect managers in
peer‐to‐peer interaction to foster an intense discussion, facilitated by presentations from industry
leaders and the seminar faculty. In 2011, the Business Seminar will kick‐off the conference event.
• Networking Events & Exhibition: A sponsor's marketplace and exhibition, social events like
networking lunches, conference dinners, and cocktail receptions, as well as site visits to local
companies provide unique opportunities to connect and exchange ideas among participants. The
event has a long track‐record of successful business relationships and even a number of start‐up
companies have been launched thanks to new connections between participants of the conference.
2

60.
The MCPC 2011 Conference
The MCPC 2011 Conference will take place on November 15‐19, 2011, at the San Francisco Airport
Marriott Hotel & Conference Center located in Burlingame, California, just minutes from the San
Francisco International Airport between downtown San Francisco and Silicon
Valley. The hotel offers a perfect waterfront location with great views of the
San Francisco Bay, and provides an inviting and inspiring setting for a
conference.
Conference Layout & Program Overview (Draft)
Nov. 16 MCPC 2011 Business Seminar (I)
9‐10 Registration & Continental Breakfast
10‐11.15 Plenary and Opening Presentations
11.15‐12 Panel Session
12‐1 Lunch & Exhibition
1‐2.15 Plenary Presentations
2.15‐3.15 Panel Session & Group Discussions
3.15‐3:45 Networking Break & Exhibitions
3:45‐5 Plenary Presentations
5‐7 Cocktail Reception
Nov. 17 MCPC 2011 Business Seminar (II)
7:30‐8:30 Registration & Breakfast
8:30‐9.45 Plenary Presentations
9.45‐10.15 Panel Session & Group Discussions
10.15‐10:45 Networking Break & Exhibitions
10.45‐12 Plenary Session
12‐1 Lunch & Exhibition
1‐2.15 Plenary Presentations
2.15‐3.00 Panel Session & Group Discussions
3.3:30 Networking Break & Exhibitions
MCPC 2011 Keynote Session
Nov. 17 4‐6
Joint session between business seminar & research conference
6‐8 Networking Receptions
continued on next page
3

61.
Nov. 18 MCPC 2011 "Research and Innovation" Conference (I)
8‐9 Registration
9‐10.15 Plenary Presentations
10.15‐10:45 Networking Break & Exhibitions
10.45‐12.00 Parallel Sessions
12‐1 Lunch & Exhibition
1‐2.15 Parallel Sessions
2.30‐3.45 Parallel Sessions
3.45‐4:15 Networking Break & Exhibitions
4:15‐5.30 Parallel Sessions
6.30‐9.30 Conference Dinner
Nov 19 MCPC 2011 "Research and Innovation" Conference (II)
7.30‐8.30 Registration
8:45‐10.15 Plenary Presentations
10.15‐10:45 Networking Break & Exhibitions
10.45‐12.00 Parallel Sessions
12‐1 Lunch & Exhibition
1‐2.15 Parallel Sessions
2.30‐3.45 Parallel Sessions
3.45‐4:15 Networking Break & Exhibitions
4:15‐6.00 Plenary Presentations and Closing Keynotes
7.30 ‐12.00 Dinner and Drinks with old and new friends (offsite)
Expected Conference Fees (updated!)
• MCPC Main Conference ("Innovation and Research Conference") (Nov 17‐19 ):
$540 before Sept 30, $790 after Sept 30, 2011
• MCPC Business Seminar (Nov 16‐17): $980 before Sept 30, $1230 after Sept 30, 2011 – Registration for the
MCPC Business Seminar also includes full participation at the Main Conference (Nov. 17‐19)
4

62. Selected Feedback on the Previous MCPC Conferences & Business Seminars
"I found the business seminar incredibly beneficial, and "We attended the MCPC 2009 conference and are now
I am honored to have been able to co‐teach with you." really stimulated to develop mass customisation
Alison Page, Director Mass Customization, Adidas AG further at our company! Thank you!" Jay Jolly, Program
Manager, Nokia
"It was a GREAT seminar. My head is still spinning! (In a
good way!). As a colleague, David Liddle, former "I was really amazed by the quality of the content, the
founder, CEO of Metaphor once said, "I know a seminar seniority of the attendees, and the possibilities &
is good if it changes the pattern of the neurons in my opportunities explored during these days." Kamel
brain!" This seminar definitely met that criterion for Ouadi, Worldwide Digital Media Director, Louis Vuitton,
me!" Patricia Seybold, CEO, Seybold Group; Author of Paris, France
"Customers.com" and "Innovation inside‐out"
" It's been a long time that I haven't been so excited
"Thank you again for accommodating me at the last about a conference. I consider myself as a lucky person
minute and giving me the opportunity to observe the to become a member of the community. Thanks again
larger picture. It has been a turning point for me. To be for this fascinating event." Vivienne Chen, Assistant
honest I was only slightly aware of the whole "mass Professor of Marketing, Oakland University
customization movement" till a few weeks before the
seminar. It's been an awakening for me." Russell "It was a great event, and to me personally it provided
Benfanti, Founder and CEO, xoddo.com a lot of inspiration, valuable information and contacts."
JanWillem Hoftijzer, University of Twente, Enschede,
"I thoroughly enjoyed the conference this week ! Thank The Netherlands
you, and looking forward to hearing more on upcoming
conferences." Joanne Pendergast, Director E‐ "Thanks again for a great conference – so much food
commerce, Converse for thought!" Maria Alm. DSN Productization Markets,
Nokia
"It was a pleasure to actively participate and exchange
ideas and experiences amid such a diverse room of "I really enjoyed the conference in Helsinki. This is the
innovators!" Patrick Abouchalache, Managing Director, second time I attend the MCPC conference. I really
Roberts Mitani Advisors, LLC appreciate your efforts in organizing and providing this
conference, which gave me inspiration for my research,
“Participating was a great step in building a Mass as well as some new directions." Sage Endo,
Customization company with the best and brightest in Department of Marketing, The University of Mississippi
the industry.” Carmen Magar, CEO chocri USA
"I would like to thank you and everyone in the team
“What I liked most: Meeting likeminded professionals that were involved in the preparation of the MCPC
from around the globe who are eager to push a 2009 event. It was very well organized with versatile
worthwhile idea forward.” Hubertus Bessau, Co‐ and interesting discussions that have a great impact on
Founder, mymuesli all participating parties." Ran Machtinger, CEO, OptiTex
Ltd., Israel
“This event was the world's leading collection of mass
customizers.” Ted Acworth, Artaic
"The conference was a lot of fun with many very For reports and reviews of the past events, check
interesting presentations and possibilities for http://tinyurl.com/2wxpzqv (MCPC 2007 at MIT)
interactions! Thanks for making all this possible."
and http://tinyurl.com/ 35xe8zm (MCPC 2009 in
Benedict G.C. Dellaert, Professor of Marketing, Erasmus
Helsinki).
University Rotterdam
5

63. People and organizations behind the MCPC conference series
Initiators and Program Co‐Chairs: The conferences have been initiated by Mitchell Tseng, HKUST,
and Frank Piller, MIT/RWTH Aachen, who also serve the program as co‐chairs. Frank and Mitch
provide strong support to the conference with their institutes and research groups.
Host of MCPC 2011 Conference: Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, Program in Open
Innovation (openinnovation.haas.berkeley.edu): The mission of the Garwood Center is to conduct
research, publish articles, and develop teaching materials around open innovation, a more
distributed model of industry innovation. It is part of the Haas School of Business at the University of
California, Berkeley.
Local Conference Chairs: Since 2007, the conferences are co‐created by a local host and conference
chair. In 2011, this position will be taken by Prof. Henry Chesbrough, UC Berkeley (2007: Prof.
William Mitchell, MIT Media Lab; 2009: Prof. Jarmo Suominen, Aalto University Helsinki).
MIT Smart Customization Group (scg.mit.edu): The MIT SCG Group is a research group at the MIT
Media Lab devoted to research on mass customization and personalization of complex systems. It is
the academic host of the business seminar of the conference.
IIMCP.org: The “International Institute on Mass Customization and Personalization” (IIMPC) is a
society that provides a platform for interaction between researchers and practitioners on mass
customization, personalization and related issues. It is the academic body organizing the MCPC
conference series.
2011 Conference Co‐Chairs:
Henry Chesbrough, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, University of California, Berkeley
Solomon Darwin, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, University of California, Berkeley
Frank Piller, RWTH Aachen University & Smart Customization Group, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Mitchell Tseng, Advanced Manufacturing Institute, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Contacts
Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities Program Planning & Speakers
Solomon Darwin, Associate Director Frank T. Piller, Professor of Management
Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, RWTH Aachen & MIT Smart Customization Group
Haas School of Business, University of California, (+1) 617 326 3748 (US office)
Berkeley (+49 )241 809 3577 (German office)
(+1) 510‐643‐4133 piller@iimcp.org
darwin@haas.berkeley.edu
General Inquiries and Organization
Anita Stephens, Program Manager
Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
(+1) 510‐642‐4233
mcpc2011@haas.berkeley.edu
6

64. The 2011 World Conference on Mass Customization, Personalization, and Co-Creation will take place
November 15 – 19, 2011, and will engage academics, business leaders, and consultants in a set of plenary
presentations, discussion panels, and paper presentations intended to bridge the topics of Mass
Customization & Open Innovation:
Mass customization, personalization, and co-creation (MCPC) strategies aim to profit from the fact that
people are different. Their objective is to turn customer heterogeneities into profit opportunities, hence
addressing the current trend of long-tail business models. Mass customization is a means to provide goods
and services that best serve individual customers’ personal needs with near mass production efficiency.
Open innovation is the idea that companies should make greater use of external ideas and technologies in
their own business, and allow unused internal ideas to flow out to others for use in their business. It is the
antithesis of a closed innovation process which relies on internal R&D and deep vertical integration.
MCPC 2011 Conference Layout
Afternoon Conference Kick-Off & Public Event: Pre-conference program with workshops,
Nov 15
company tours, and a big networking / press event (offsite)
Business Seminar (I): Plenary & Opening Presentations; Panel Sessions & Group Discussions;
Nov 16
Exhibitions; and Cocktail Reception
Business Seminar (II): Plenary Presentations; Panel Sessions & Group Discussions;
Nov 17 Networking & Exhibitions; Keynote Session (joint session between business
seminar & research conference); Network Reception
“Research and Innovation” Conference (I): Plenary Presentations; Parallel Sessions;
Nov 18
Networking & Exhibitions; Conference Dinner
“Research and Innovation” Conference (II): Plenary Presentations; Networking & Exhibitions;
Nov 19
Parallel Sessions; Closing Keynotes; Dinner and Drinks with old and new friends (offsite)
Participate and present your MCPC research and experiences. For more information visit: www.mcpc2011.com.
Expected Conference Fees:
“Innovation and Bundle price for the
MCPC Business Seminar ENTIRE conference experience
(Nov 16-17) Research Conference”
$1890 (Nov 17-19 ) (Nov 16-19)
$2400 for on-site registration $540 before Sept 1 $2200
$790 after Sept 1, 2011 $2700 for on-site registration
Sponsored by:

65. About the MCPC 2011 Conference:
The MCPC conference series started out as a bi-annual conference devoted to Mass Customization &
Personalization. The content has broadened in recent years, including also customer co-creation, user
innovation and other strategies of customer-driven value creation (hence, MCPC = Mass Customization,
Personalization, and Co-Creation”). The event frequently brings together hundreds of the world’s most
remarkable people in the field. In 2011, the conference will link MCPC with a topic that has driven and inspired
the field for several years: open innovation.
The conference consists of four major elements:
The Research and Innovation Conference is an academic-style but application-focused conference, with
a broad call for papers. All contributions are peer reviewed by at least two reviewers. An international
program committee and many ad-hoc reviewers support the program chairs with this process. Presentations
are organized in parallel tracks, with plenty of time for discussions and feedback. The conference policy
is “all participants, including presenters, must pay the registration fee” that is characteristic for academic
conferences.
The Business Seminar provides an innovative platform for managers DOING mass customization and open
innovation as the core of their business. The seminar’s foremost idea is to connect managers in peer-to-peer
interaction to foster an intense discussion, facilitated by presentations from industry leaders and the seminar
faculty. In 2011, the Business Seminar will kick-off the entire conference event.
Networking Events: A sponsor’s marketplace & exhibition, social events like networking lunches, conference
dinners, and cocktail receptions, as well as site visits to local companies provide unique opportunities to
connect and exchange ideas among participants. The event has a long track-record of successful business
relationships and even a number of start-up companies that have been launched thanks to new connections
between participants of the conference.
Pre-Conference Event and Exhibition: On the day before the conference kicks off, we plan a showcase
exhibition and press event to demonstrate the scale and scope of mass customization, co-creation and open
innovation to a wider public. This event will be co-organized and hosted by local companies from the Bay
area active in this domain.
2011 Conference Co-Chairs:
• Henry Chesbrough, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, University of California, Berkeley
• Solomon Darwin, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, University of California, Berkeley
• Frank Piller, RWTH Aachen Univ. & Smart Customization Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Mitchell Tseng, Advanced Manufacturing Institute, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Conference Venue: Conference Host:
San Francisco Airport Marriott Garwood Center for Corporate
Hotel & Conference Center Innovation, University of
California, Berkeley