In 1980, the typical credit card contract was about 400 words long. Today, many are 20,000 words. In a typical day, we encounter dozens of moments when we are delayed, frustrated or confused by complexity, writes The Wall Street Journal (March 30-31, 2013). Our lives are filled with gadgets we can’t use (GPS devices, fancy blenders), instructions we can’t follow (labels on medicine bottles, directions for assembling toys) and forms we can’t decipher (tax returns, gym membership contracts, wireless phone bills).
Every facet of our lives, even entertainment and recreation, is complicated by an ever-widening array of choices delivered at a frantic pace. Consider:
• More than 800,000 apps in the Apple App Store
• 240-plus selections on the Cheesecake Factory menu, not including lunch or brunch specials
• 135 mascaras, 437 lotions and 1,992 fragrances at Sephora.com
. 45 Medicare Part D prescription plans to choose from
The supermarket chain Trader Joe’s, reports the Journal, tries to simplify rational choice. The company’s long-standing goal is to reduce the grocery-shopping experience to a few manageable decisions. It believes that giving people everything overwhelms customers, clutters stores and undermines the shopping experience. And, says Trader Joe’s, it is inefficient for handling inventory. So the 350 store chain offers many fewer products than other supermarkets (about 4,000 items instead of 40,000). But it sells $1,750 in merchandise per sq. ft., more than double the sales generated per sq. ft. by Whole Foods.
This WSJ article makes for a nice discussion when you are covering mass customizations benefits and downsides in Chapter 7. (Table 7.1 lists 10 other items for which choices have exploded in the past few decades.)
Discussion questions:
1. Why has mass customization become a part of our culture?
2. What are the issues operations managers face in making mass customization successful?