Market segmentation is growing as customers become more and more demanding for individual products and exclusive services. Companies are introducing new applications and products across many industries , that can be tailored easily to specific customers and markets. To be successful, the organisations have to offer a high level of customisation and customer-centric processes. However, traditional companies in financial, telecommunication and insurance industry struggle with the technological challenges associated with becoming customer focused enterprises. The aim of this thesis is to define the products catalogue framework, that will provide products bundling and customisation capabilities with user-friendly GUI. Therefore, the most of the work can be designed by business users without additional intensive development efforts. Moreover, the viability of the framework was evaluated on the solution based on IBM technologies. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This thesis concentrates on different production planning solutions for mass customised fashion with regard to machine setups. The purpose of this research is to reveal the significant aspects and challenges for SMEs that have to be considered when production steps need to be aligned to the mass customisation principle. Therefore a theoretical framework will approach the subject of production planning, as well as mass customisation. In addition, a case study will assure scientific support by developing and examining production planning solutions. The different levels of production set-ups induce the technological facilities that are indispensable for an integration of mass customisation. Finally it will be analysed and discussed whether it is feasible for an SME to invest in such a business strategy. Especially in a SME the boundaries between pure tailor- made customisation and pure mass customisation are often blurred, wherefore the findings should contribute to a clarification. Since mass customisation is a future- oriented concept, this paper is of definite interest to small companies, which intend to successfully achieve mass customisation. / Program: Master programme in Applied Textile Management

The purpose of this DBA is to develop a Customisation Blueprint so that consultancies can provide a more tailored, responsive service to clients. This study seeks to find out what matters to clients when purchasing consultancy, how clients substantiate this and how it affects their decision-making. This study also seeks to establish if the factors influencing buyer’s evaluation of the consultant can be favourably influenced by the consultants. By fulfilling client requirements more precisely and effectively, consultants are able to better serve their clients. In this way they are also able to enhance both ongoing relationship and reputation. The history of consultancy is examined to establish the unfurling and growth of the industry and to understand the forces which have shaped its evolution. Relational and Operations literature is examined to establish what previous research is able to contribute to this quest for understanding what consultants need to do to better serve their clients. Financial Services and Utilities are the two largest private-sector buyers of consultancy. Managers involved in the purchase of consulting services from a selection of these companies were interviewed to capture how consultants are engaged and what selection criteria are the most important. A combination of guidance from the literature and an understanding of what matters to clients is used to develop a systematic approach for consultants to more clearly identify and articulate client needs and thereby serve them better. The outcome is the development of a Customisation Blueprint, a framework to personalise responsiveness and thus enhance customer satisfaction.

La customisation de masse (MC) qui consiste à produire un produit personnalisé mais à un prix proche de celui de la production de masse (MP), est devenue une réalité et une stratégie importante pour survivre dans l'économie actuelle. Néanmoins il existe plusieurs façons d'offrir des produits customisés, comme la combinaison des différents modules, et la co-conception du produit. Depuis 1993, plusieurs travaux ont aidé les entreprises sur plusieurs domaines spécifiques, mais une question demeure encore en suspend : comment décider de passer de la MP à la MC ? Comment évaluer cette opportunité afin d'améliorer la performance de l'entreprise ? Comment décider du type de MC à mettre en place ? Quels sont les facteurs les plus importants à piloter ? Et surtout comment évaluer la performance d'un système de MC ? Afin de répondre à ces problématiques nous proposons un système d'aide à la décision pour passer de la MP à la MC. Notre approche qui vise à évaluer la performance de l'entreprise, se base sur la modélisation et la simulation d'un réseau de valeur. Nous utilisons le langage SimulValor auquel nous apportons des améliorations, et un système de simulation à évènements discrets dans lequel nous avons créé notre propre librairie de réseau de valeur. L'indicateur principal de performance est la valeur générée pour laquelle nous proposons un modèle qui est combiné avec le modèle conceptuel du réseau de valeur. Le tout est simulé et évalué afin d'aider à décider le passage de la MP à la MC en considérant le profit, les délais, les coûts, et la satisfaction des clients. La proposition scientifique est validée par un cas d'étude issu de l'industrie des chaussures.

The purpose of this DBA is to develop a Customisation Blueprint so that consultancies can provide a more tailored, responsive service to clients. This study seeks to find out what matters to clients when purchasing consultancy, how clients substantiate this and how it affects their decision-making. This study also seeks to establish if the factors influencing buyer¿s evaluation of the consultant can be favourably influenced by the consultants. By fulfilling client requirements more precisely and effectively, consultants are able to better serve their clients. In this way they are also able to enhance both ongoing relationship and reputation. The history of consultancy is examined to establish the unfurling and growth of the industry and to understand the forces which have shaped its evolution. Relational and Operations literature is examined to establish what previous research is able to contribute to this quest for understanding what consultants need to do to better serve their clients. Financial Services and Utilities are the two largest private-sector buyers of consultancy. Managers involved in the purchase of consulting services from a selection of these companies were interviewed to capture how consultants are engaged and what selection criteria are the most important. A combination of guidance from the literature and an understanding of what matters to clients is used to develop a systematic approach for consultants to more clearly identify and articulate client needs and thereby serve them better. The outcome is the development of a Customisation Blueprint, a framework to personalise responsiveness and thus enhance customer satisfaction.

The music press and music journalism are rarely subjected to substantial academic investigation. Analysis of journalism often focuses on the production of news across various platforms to understand the nature of politics and public debate in the contemporary era. But it is not possible, nor is it necessary, to analyse all emerging forms of journalism in the same way for they usually serve quite different purposes. Music journalism, for example, offers consumer guidance based on the creation and maintenance of a relationship between reader and writer. By focusing on the changing aspects of this relationship, an analysis of music journalism gives us an understanding of the changing nature of media production, media texts and media readerships. Music journalism is dialogue. It is a dialogue produced within particular critical frameworks that speak to different readers of the music press in different ways. These frameworks are continually evolving and reflect the broader social trajectory in which music journalism operates. Importantly, the evolving nature of music journalism reveals much about the changing consumption of popular music. Different types of consumers respond to different types of guidance that employ a variety of critical approaches. This thesis, therefore, argues that the production of music journalism is one that is influenced by the practices of consumption.

Hajj is very important to all Muslims across the globe. Because of its religious significance, the Hajj pilgrimage experiences a massive number of visitors each year, most of whom are foreign and require consumer goods during the six-day pilgrimage. The large number of pilgrims often results in a sharp increase in demand for consumer goods. Suppliers must ensure that they have adequate amounts of these products so that they can meet the needs of the pilgrims as well as their different tastes for these goods. It is however usually difficult to determine exactly how much is required. This complexity creates demand uncertainty that the firms in the industry must be able to cope with for them to succeed. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (commonly referred to as SMEs) play an important role in the food chain throughout the Hajj season in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). However, SMEs are recognised to experience severe obstacles that have the potential to threaten their continuity, and the industry succumbs to the crisis of demand uncertainty throughout the short period of the peak season of Hajj each year. This problem is complex due to the constant increase in the number of pilgrims and the continuous changes in their needs and preferences. Demand uncertainty can ultimately result in an increase in production costs, long lead times, substandard service levels, and quality problems, especially in terms of food obsolescence. There is a gap in the literature regarding aligning sources of uncertainty with supply chain strategies in an effort to improve supply chain performance. More specifically, the impact of supply chain integration strategies (SCI) on manufacturing strategies, such as postponement practice (PP) and mass customisation capability (MCC) to mitigate demand uncertainty (DUM), has not been fully explored. This study investigates three fundamental issues: 1 - how effective supply chain integration (internal integration and external integration) can be applied in Saudi’s SMEs food industry, and how the interaction between them mutually manipulates the improvement of postponement practice and mass customisation capability in food productions in Hajj; 2 - how the volume of cooperation leads to the mitigation of demand uncertainty in maintaining the survival of small and medium enterprises that operate in food production in Hajj; and 3 - how the environmental condition (i.e. competitive intensity) moderates the influence of supply chain integration (SCI) on this interaction in Saudi’s food SMEs that operate in Hajj. iii Based on the extended resource-based view (ERBV) of the firm, the strategic resources and knowledge come not only from within the organisation’s boundaries, but also from outside. Thus, a firm’s overall strategic capability may be embedded in a wider network of inter-firm exchange relationship. Contingency theory furthermore argues that an organisation should align their practices, processes and strategies with their business environment. In consideration to the extant literature, a number of hypotheses were defined, demonstrating the correlation between supply chain integration, postponement practice, mass customisation capability and demand uncertainty mitigation. Subsequently, a conceptual framework was developed with the objective to verify the relationship amongst the constructs. Mixed methodologies were employed; qualitatively, with 12 CEOs working in different SMEs in the food industry across KSA were initially interviewed to validate the conceptual framework. Content and face validity was accomplished with a group of academics and experts. A pilot study was carried out on a sample of 50 subcontractors, Hajj campaigns, pilgrimage institutions and food suppliers. Consequently, an online survey was conducted amongst SMEs to test the hypotheses. As a result, 239 responses were received from the SMEs in the food sector in the KSA. Partial Least Square (PLS) was used for the analysis. The interviewees were identified through snowball sampling (Detailed in the next sections). Quantitative data were collected using the convenience sampling technique, given the non-availability of the sampling frame. Based upon the extended resource-based view (ERBV) of the firm, alongside contingency theory, the initial and final results of the pilot test and survey were seen to be steady with these theories, where supply chain integration was viewed not only as having a significant direct and indirect effect on the postponement practice and mass customisation capability by SMEs of food during Hajj, but also as playing a critical role throughout the employment of postponement practice as an important strategy, empowering mass customisation capability to mitigate demand uncertainty. Likewise, both results were seen to be consistent with contingency theory; that is, a firm should coordinate their supply chain integration activities, postponement practice and mass customisation capability to their business environment, particularly with high competitive intensity to enhance demand uncertainty mitigation. In order to achieve competitive intensity, organisations are mainly focused on emerging markets and expanding their product lines. In the event that organisations begin targeting similar set opportunities, they risk bringing upcompetitive intensity for themselves, which increases the cost of growth. The cost of business will be noticeable when considering marketing speed, media inflation, the rate of innovation and trade spend in marketing, all of which are indicators of completion intensity. Improvements in supply chain efficiency, optimising strategies in marketing and extracting the best of return on investments from promotions by organisations also indicates competition intensity. Costs, competition and the ability to differentiate are some of the main determining factors of competition. Importantly, these are all tied up within uncertainty mitigation. However, despite the fact that internal integration has a positive direct and indirect effect on the postponement practice, mass customisation capability is created by SMEs of food industry, in addition to its direct effect upon both supplier integration and customer integration. Customer integration has also been found to improve postponement practice as well as mass customisation capability in a direct fashion. Supplier integration has a significant impact on postponement practice; however, it seems not significantly associated positively with mass customisation capability. Moreover, postponement practice also has an effect in mitigating demand uncertainty, both directly and indirectly, through mass customisation capability. Finally, mass customisation capability similarly has been found to enhance demand uncertainty mitigation. Research indicates that the direct and indirect effects of all constructs increase when there is intense competition in Hajj.

The standardised approach of producing fashion products in conjunction with the fast fashion trend has triggered a throwaway culture where premature disposal of well- functioning fashion products is a major problem. However, a shift has been revealed with the emerging demand for personalised fashion, as opposed to standardised garments. Generation Z is known for its urge to showcase personal identity, which makes this consumer group a driver in the growing trend of customisation. The relevance of customisation in fashion is further fuelled by its capability to enhance consumers’ emotional attachment towards the customised product, which often results in the product being kept longer. The perceived consumer value of customisation is acquired from the final product as well as the co-design process. The purpose of this study is to investigate Generation Z’s perceived value of customised fashion products and the co-design process. The underlying objective is to explore if the concept of customisation has the potential of becoming more established in the future fashion industry. The study follows an abductive reasoning and adopts a mixed method research with the explanatory sequential design. This mixed method design is a two-phase approach starting with the collection and analysis of quantitative data, followed by the compiling and analysis of qualitative data. For the first phase, a self-administered online questionnaire was conducted. The second phase entailed semi-structured interviews, which were designed to make up for obscure results in the survey. The Consumer Perceived Value Tool (CPVT) served as a theoretical lens for analysis and guided the construction of the data collection tools. By means of the CPVT the study found that Generation Z particularly perceive value in the utilitarian and creative-achievement benefits of customised fashion. Moreover, the perceived self-expressiveness and hedonic value were deemed significant to the generation. Generation Z showed little evidence of perceiving value in the uniqueness benefit of customised fashion. Lastly, an additional perceived value of customisation was proposed and is related to environmental sustainability, which is acquired from the benefit of acting more responsibly.

No / Risks exist in all aspects of our lives. Using data in both Scopus and ISI Web of Science, this review paper identifies pioneer work and pioneer scholars in enterprise risk management (ERM). Being ranked the first based on the review data, Desheng Wu has been active in this area by serving as a good academic network manager on the global research network, His global efforts with diverse networking have enabled him to publish outstanding papers in the field of ERM. Therefore, this paper also conducts a literature review of his papers and critical analysis of the work of Wu and Olson, from the perspective of the ERM, to glean implications and suggestions for the optimization and customization of the ERM. / NFSC grant (Grant # 71471055), the 100-Talents plan Program at Chinese Academy of Sciences and 1000-Talents plan Program for the Young Scientists.

Upper extremity splinting is a popular treatment method for a range of conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. The intent of this treatment approach is multifaceted, but fundamentally, the provision of tools to enable and encourage patients to carry out everyday activities and to improve their quality of life is paramount. However, the aesthetic and functional limitations of wrist immobilisation splints demonstrate various weaknesses in terms of wear duration and frequency. Patient compliance is often compromised due to a number of factors, including the perceived stigma associated with assistive devices. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has proved its worth in a number of applications relating to the design of assistive devices; builds of complex, bespoke fitting geometries make AM an ideal fabrication method for upper extremity splints. However, recent advances in system technology to enable multi-material builds have been limited in this field, and a distinct need for a specialised three-dimensional (3D) Computer Aided Design (CAD) software approach is required to allow therapists to design splints for AM. Furthermore, the intent to keep practising therapists at the forefront of splint prescription is of utmost importance. This research proposes a digitised splinting approach, specifically through development of a 3D CAD software strategy to allow therapists to capture their design intent without compromising creativity. Furthermore, the approach proposes the exploration of AM build capabilities by allowing the integration of more creative features, such as aesthetically pleasing lattice structures for increased skin ventilation. The approach also proposes the integration of multiple materials to replicate and improve upon current splint design and fabrication practises. The approach therefore explores an exciting new paradigm for upper extremity splinting, the driving characteristics of which have not been proposed before as a collective medium. This research describes the feasibility of capturing therapists design intent in a 3D CAD virtual environment, whilst capturing therapists opinions of the approach with suggestions for future research and development. Results concluded that therapists were excited by the proposed transition in AM splinting, but that significant development is required elsewhere to establish a supporting infrastructure in order to make the approach a viable option in future upper extremity splinting.