DX and the return to cell production methods

Looking at consumer needs after the convergence of COVID-19 from the neutral point of view of trend forecasting, it is thought that small-scale societies and organisations will be on the rise for some time. Therefore, I think the themes created from this world situation cannot be met, at least not by the products that come from mass production formed in mass society.

 To satisfy this factor, it is necessary to prioritise consumer needs and build a production line with flexibility that responds to changes in demand, such as “low-volume production & high-mix” and “Variable & Variant”.To achieve this, although it is a classic method, we could think of cases to regress partly to cell production methods. It is well known that “the work cell production method” is also called the stall method and is a production method in which assembly is performed by one person or a small number of people. However, with conventional cell production methods, I think that product supply may not be in time to meet the diversified and diversified consumer needs. Therefore, I wonder if a cell production system that can handle different products, i.e. a DXified cell production system, could be a solution.

In this case, the number of units produced will be in the range of a few thousand, and it will be challenging to pursue cost reductions as in mass production. Also, it may not apply to the current sales methods at mass merchandisers. However, suppose you have a neutral view of world affairs, based on forecasting trends and anticipating consumer needs; then, you should be able to produce a product at the right price without being drawn into a cost-cutting competition.

New product development after COVID-19 convergence

Given this, a partial shift from mass to small-scale production could be the catalyst for at least a fundamental change in the way products are developed, marketed and advertised. For the last 20 years, Japanese product development has been pursuing QCD, but in fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Q and C have been sacrificed to protect D. In addition, we can say that the development site is forced to undergo harsh development and is physically and mentally exhausted.

In this context, it is essential to motivate development engineers to create robust products. This motivation would be interlocking to developing themes and product development, and then it shall stimulate conversion to small-scale production.