Building vehicles to order: Logistical obstacles continue to limit true build-to-order, but manufacturers pursue alternatives

摘要

A decade ago Dell Corp. was turning the computer industry upside down by selling computers directly to customers. Dell trimmed extraneous costs by building only computers that customers ordered, exactly as they wanted them, giving it a price and profit advantage over competitors. Skeptics dismissed Dell's approach as a fad, or as a niche service that appealed to only a limited portion of computer customers. After all, PCs were a costly purchase, and customers wanted the emotional reward of taking one home right away, rather than waiting, went the thinking. And they would want to test-drive the latest models before choosing one, which was impossible when phoning in an order. Both are the same arguments made against the potential success of the model in the automotive industry. Today, Dell is the world's largest PC company.