The Next Chapter in Manufacturing: Customization and Mass Personalization?
Earlier in the year, Diageo brand Johnnie Walker invited visitors to its Edinburgh, Scotland location to help create their own bottle label using generative AI. While this speaks to the opportunity to design a unique experience for customers, it also reflects a growing demand for personalization. Even further, it speaks to the rising role of AI in enhancing that personalization. This trend goes well beyond the consumer-facing level. We also see it unfolding in the manufacturing sector, particularly as we look to Industry 5.0.
Industry 5.0
Whereas Industry 4.0 has been about the integration of emerging technologies like AI and IoT, Industry 5.0 concentrates on enhanced collaboration between such technologies and the people working with them. What this is meant to do is bring us past the adoption phase into the creativity phase, exploring more of what’s possible with the new norm in operations. A key characteristic of this chapter in manufacturing will be a shift from “mass production to mass customization, allowing for the production of products tailored to individual customer specifications without sacrificing efficiency,” according to an article by Nicholas Jones for Embedded Computing.
Mass Customization and Personalization
While the move toward mass customization is sure to further unfold in industries such as automotives and electronics, it’s likely to find its way to other manufacturing settings as well. AI and robotics together improve design-to-manufacturing platforms. In turn, manufacturers tailor products with more ease. This paves the way for “hyper-personalization,” which “means using AI, advanced analytics, and a smattering of other technologies to instantly offer content on products, services, and relevant information of interest to everyone,” as Pam Baker reports for Information Week.
Sources:
● “Diageo’s Johnnie Walker Taps Generative AI for Mass Customization of Labels” - Matt Reynolds, Packaging World
● “IoT Advancements in Industry 5.0: Bridging the Gap Between Humans and Machines” - Nicholas Jones, Embedded Computing
● “The Interplay Between Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing” - Louis Columbus, Robotics Tomorrow
● “Is This the End of Mass Production in Everything From Education To Manufacturing?” - Pam Baker, Information Week