Mass customization allows businesses to produce standardized goods while also incorporating what?

Mass customization is a strategy that combines elements of mass production with the personalization options traditionally associated with custom-made goods. The key aspect of this approach is that it enables businesses to offer products that are essentially standardized yet still allow for some degree of customization.

This customization may include choices related to design, features, colors, or additional functionalities that cater to individual customer preferences. For example, in the automotive industry, manufacturers may produce a base model of a car that customers can modify with options like different colors, interior materials, or technology packages. This flexibility leads to enhanced customer satisfaction because consumers can tailor products to their needs while benefiting from the cost efficiencies of mass production.

In contrast, a general price increase does not relate to customization but rather to pricing strategies. Customer standardization implies minimizing variation in customer preferences, which contradicts the essence of customization, and a limited variety of products restricts options that are integral to mass customization. Hence, the option that accurately captures the essence of what mass customization allows is the inclusion of some degree of customization in an otherwise standardized production process.