Mongo e a customização dos carros

"Gone are the days when Ford’s factories would turn out cookie-cutter copies of a particular model, truck after truck after truck. The River Rouge Complex here can produce 600,000 variations of the F-150, giving a distinct, made-to-order touch to many of the 1,300 vehicles that roll off its assembly lines daily.
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That kind of variety helps keep demand high for the F-150 — the best-selling truck in the United States for four decades — and that sort of innovation, some think, could help revive American manufacturing.
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Even as automation has bolstered productivity, it has taken a toll on American autoworkers, whose wages flat-lined as their employers shed jobs. Since 2000, U.S. carmakers have trimmed by 30 percent the number of employees in parts and manufacturing, according to federal data.[Moi ici: Quem estará mais avançado, a Ford ou a Mercedes? A Ford ou a Toyota?]
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The flexibility made possible by smarter manufacturing also improves the buying experience for customers, analysts say. Mass customization is the future,
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With that level of specificity, customers have more control over the details in products they buy.
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“A vehicle is really becoming a part of an individual,” Dearborn plant manager Brad Huff said. “So we’ve seen it go from, in this particular vehicle line, being just a tool for work to being a family vehicle. I see that going even further: people putting their own stamp on it.”[Moi ici: Quanto mais investimento pessoal, mais tribos, mais oportunidades para projectos alternativos para micro produções]
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And if carmakers can do it, other manufacturers can, too. Think about custom textiles or electronics, manufacturing analysts say. Companies in scalable industries — those that can generally step up production without sacrificing performance — probably can afford, and benefit from, investment in technology to optimize mass customization."

Trechos retirados de "Is that a robot in the driver’s seat at Ford’s F-150 plant?"