Product Design Importance, Standardisation and Mass Customisation

Posted on Feb 12, 2026 in Business Administration and Management (BAM)

Importance of Product Design

Product design is crucial because it determines how well a product meets customer needs, performs its function, and succeeds in the market. The importance of product design can be explained through the following points:

1. Customer satisfaction: Good product design ensures the product is easy to use, safe, reliable, and attractive, which increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

2. Functional performance: Design defines how effectively a product performs its intended function. A well-designed product works efficiently with minimal failures.

3. Cost reduction: Proper design reduces material wastage, manufacturing time, and production cost. It also lowers maintenance and warranty costs.

4. Quality improvement: Product design directly affects durability, strength, accuracy, and overall quality of the product.

5. Manufacturability: Good design simplifies manufacturing and assembly processes, improving productivity and reducing defects.

6. Competitive advantage: Innovative and attractive designs help a product stand out in the market and compete effectively with similar products.

7. Safety and reliability: Design ensures compliance with safety standards and reduces risks to users and operators.

8. Standardisation and interchangeability: Proper design allows use of standard parts and ensures interchangeability, making repair and maintenance easier.

9. Market success and profitability: A well-designed product meets market demand, increases sales, and improves company reputation and profit.

10. Environmental considerations: Modern product design focuses on eco-friendly materials, recyclability, and reduced environmental impact.

Product Standardisation

Product standardisation is the process of establishing and using uniform specifications, dimensions, materials, design, and quality standards for products so that they can be produced, used, and replaced consistently and interchangeably.

Benefits of Product Standardisation

1. Reduced production cost: Mass production of standard parts lowers material, labor, and manufacturing costs.

2. Interchangeability of parts: Standard parts can be easily replaced, repaired, or assembled.

3. Improved quality and reliability: Repeated production of the same design improves consistency and quality control.

4. Simplified design and manufacturing: Reduces design effort, tooling complexity, and production planning.

5. Ease of maintenance and repair: Spare parts are easily available, reducing downtime.

6. Economies of scale: Large-scale production reduces per-unit cost.

7. Faster production and delivery: Standard products require less setup time and shorter lead times.

8. Better inventory control: Fewer varieties of components simplify storage and inventory management.

9. Customer confidence: Standardised products meet recognized standards, increasing trust.

10. Global market acceptance: Compliance with national/international standards helps in exports.

Challenges of Product Standardisation

1. Lack of product variety: Cannot easily meet specific or customized customer needs.

2. Reduced innovation: Strict standards may limit creativity and new design development.

3. Market rigidity: Difficult to adapt quickly to changing customer preferences.

4. Not suitable for niche markets: Special-purpose or customized products may not benefit from standardisation.

5. Initial standard development cost: Time and cost are required to develop and implement standards.

6. Obsolescence risk: Standards may become outdated due to technological advancement.

7. Resistance to change: Employees or manufacturers may resist adopting new standards.

8. Over-standardisation: Excessive standardisation can reduce product differentiation.

Mass Customisation

Mass customisation is a production strategy that combines the low cost of mass production with the flexibility of customised products, allowing customers to choose features according to their needs.

Types of Mass Customisation

1. Collaborative customisation
   Manufacturer works directly with customers to define product features.
   Example: Custom-built PCs, tailor-made furniture.

2. Adaptive customisation
   A standard product is designed so users can adjust it themselves.
   Example: Adjustable office chairs, modular shelves.

3. Cosmetic customisation
   Same product, different appearance or packaging for different customers.
   Example: Different colours of mobile phones, packaging variations.

4. Transparent customisation
   Customisation is done based on customer data without explicit interaction.
   Example: Online recommendations, personalized software settings.

Advantages of Mass Customisation

1. Higher customer satisfaction: Products match individual customer needs.

2. Competitive advantage: Differentiates products from mass-produced competitors.

3. Reduced inventory: Make-to-order reduces finished goods stock.

4. Better market responsiveness: Quickly adapts to changing customer preferences.

5. Increased sales and loyalty: Customers prefer personalized products.

6. Efficient use of technology: Uses CAD/CAM, CNC, flexible manufacturing systems.

Disadvantages of Mass Customisation

1. Complex production planning: Managing many product variants is difficult.

2. Higher initial investment: Requires advanced technology and flexible systems.

3. Longer lead time: Customisation may increase delivery time.

4. Supply chain complexity: Requires reliable suppliers for varied components.

5. Quality control issues: Maintaining consistent quality across variants is challenging.

6. Not suitable for all products: Low-demand or simple products may not justify customisation.

How 3D Printing Enables Mass Customisation

1. Tool-less manufacturing: No moulds, dies, or special tools are required. Each customised design can be printed directly from a digital file.

2. Digital design flexibility: Customer requirements are easily modified in CAD software and converted into printable files (STL).

3. Complex geometry at no extra cost: Highly complex and customised shapes can be produced without increasing manufacturing cost.

4. On-demand production: Products are printed only when ordered, reducing inventory and storage costs.

5. Rapid prototyping to production: The same 3D printer can be used for prototypes and finished customised products.

Advantages of 3D Printing for Mass Customisation

• Enables low-cost customisation
• Reduces lead time
• Eliminates tooling cost
• Supports design innovation
• Minimises material wastage

Working of 3D Printing in Mass Customisation

1. Customer selects or customises product features online.

2. Design is modified digitally using CAD software and file is converted into STL and sliced into layers.

3. 3D printer builds the product layer by layer.

4. Minimal post-processing and delivery.

Product Life Cycle (PLC)

Product Life Cycle is the concept that describes the stages a product passes through from its introduction in the market to its withdrawal. It helps management understand sales behavior, profit pattern, and marketing strategy over time.

Stages of Product Life Cycle:

1. Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline

Characteristics of Product Life Cycle

1. Definite stages: Every product passes through four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

2. Sales pattern changes:

   • Low sales in introduction
   • Rapidly increasing sales in growth
   • Stable or maximum sales in maturity
   • Decreasing sales in decline

3. Profit variation:

   • No or low profit in the introduction stage
   • High profit in the growth stage
   • Maximum or stable profit in the maturity stage
   • Falling or negative profit in the decline stage

4. Marketing strategy changes: Promotion, pricing, and distribution strategies change at each stage.

5. Competition level:

   Very low in introduction; increasing in growth; high in maturity; decreasing in decline.

6. Cost behavior: High cost per unit initially, which reduces due to economies of scale in later stages.

7. Customer awareness: Awareness is low in the introduction stage and very high in the maturity stage.

8. Technological changes: New technologies can shorten or end the life cycle of a product.

9. Product modifications: Improvements and variations are introduced mainly during growth and maturity stages.

10. Not fixed in duration: Length of each stage varies depending on product type, market, and competition.

Factor of Safety (FOS)

Factor of Safety is the ratio of the maximum strength of a material to the allowable (working) stress used in design. It provides a margin of safety to ensure that a component does not fail under actual working conditions.

Importance of Factor of Safety

1. Accounts for uncertainty in material properties
2. Considers variation in loading conditions
3. Allows for manufacturing defects
4. Ensures safe and reliable design
5. Protects against unexpected failure

Definition (Exam-oriented)

Sustainable development in product design is the approach of integrating environmental, economic, and social considerations into product design, manufacturing, use, and disposal.

Key Aspects of Sustainable Development in Product Design

1. Environmental sustainability

• Use of eco-friendly and recyclable materials
• Reduction in energy consumption
• Minimization of waste and pollution

2. Economic sustainability

• Cost-effective design and manufacturing
• Long product life and low maintenance cost
• Efficient use of resources

3. Social sustainability

• User safety and health
• Ethical manufacturing practices
• Improved quality of life for users

Principles of Sustainable Product Design

1. Life cycle thinking
   Considers environmental impact from raw material extraction to disposal.

2. Reduce, reuse, recycle (3R)
   Minimizes material usage and waste generation.

3. Energy-efficient design
   Reduces energy consumption during manufacturing and usage.

4. Use of renewable materials
   Preference for biodegradable and renewable resources.

5. Design for disassembly
   Products are easy to repair, upgrade, and recycle.

Examples in Product Design

• Electric vehicles
• Energy-efficient appliances (LED bulbs, inverter ACs)
• Recyclable packaging
• Modular electronic products