Businesses moving away from customization?
October 17, 2022 7:17 PM Subscribe
I'd love some help brainstorming businesses that started out developing fully custom, designed to spec products, that pivoted to more of a semi-custom or off-the-shelf model. Looking specifically for big ticket examples like cars or airplanes. Bonus points for B2B examples. Thx!
I used to repair hydraulic systems for sailing yachts. Most, but not all, were/are made by a company called Navtec, which, I gathered, began by outfitting very high-end (almost universally custom) racing sailboats with hydraulic controls. By the time I was repairing these systems, we were working on both legacy custom systems and "off the shelf" units, both repairing, retrofitting, or installation to existing rigging. I am long out of this industry, but it appears from their website that they still produce custom, semi-custom, and standardized hydraulic cylinders. I regularly would talk to some engineer in Connecticut who would say "oh yeah, hmm, it appears on that boat we used an xyz ram but shrunk the cylinder o.d. to abc.d mm to fit between the steering gear quadrant and the dinghy davit sockets" and I'd say "what size o-rings on the top cap" and he would say "whatever fits" and I would say "can you send me that in an email in case we get sued?" Ah, good times (we had indeed been sued in the past). If you look at that spec page linked, the "standard" and "long" cylinders are basically standardized units that correspond to rigging size, but for custom installations. Further down, you'll see "integral backstay adjusters" which are very standardized, off the shelf units, that are stand-alone and do not hook up to a centralized hydraulic system on the boat. These were basically a wonder product when first introduced as they eliminated the need for a reservoir, piping, pumps, manifolds, and other accoutrements because it was self contained. They became a defacto standard and we installed a lot of these on all kinds of boats. I also repaired a lot of these ("please release the backstay tension and hose down with fresh water after use"), and the repair parts were all the same, thankfully, and I could stock twenty or so rebuild kits at a time.
I hope this is relevant to your brainstorm; I certainly enjoyed writing it out.
posted by niicholas at 7:51 PM on October 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
I hope this is relevant to your brainstorm; I certainly enjoyed writing it out.
posted by niicholas at 7:51 PM on October 17, 2022 [9 favorites]
Looking specifically for big ticket examples like cars or airplanes.
A lot of British canal boat builders started out as small operations doing custom built craft, and then over time settled into offering a few standard designs built to order, either off-the-shelf or customized. Piper Boats and Collingwood Boats are examples of those which have scaled up like this.
They also somewhat do the B2B angle, as they'll sometimes build either an empty hull, or a "sailaway" with engine & controls fitted but nothing else, and then sell that on to DIYers or other businesses, who do the rest of the fit out.
posted by automatronic at 9:19 PM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
A lot of British canal boat builders started out as small operations doing custom built craft, and then over time settled into offering a few standard designs built to order, either off-the-shelf or customized. Piper Boats and Collingwood Boats are examples of those which have scaled up like this.
They also somewhat do the B2B angle, as they'll sometimes build either an empty hull, or a "sailaway" with engine & controls fitted but nothing else, and then sell that on to DIYers or other businesses, who do the rest of the fit out.
posted by automatronic at 9:19 PM on October 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
Crumpler started out making specific messenger bags for a specific bike messenger business, but have grown to be a bag company.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 10:09 PM on October 17, 2022
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 10:09 PM on October 17, 2022
The expansion of the pre fab homes industry as a whole might apply. Instead of having to meet with an architect to design a new home, consumers have more options than ever to buy an "off the shelf" home.
posted by oceano at 12:13 AM on October 18, 2022
posted by oceano at 12:13 AM on October 18, 2022
This may be an obvious and visible example, but IBM computing has been an object lesson in this. Before the mid-60s, the mainframe era, all IBM computers sold were custom. The sales process involved determining the company's requirements and the salesperson would take the order back to the office and program all of the software the company required themselves. This is where COBOL came from. Now, basically all business computing was about databases and reporting so the programming itself was more akin to setting up an Access database nowadays, but that was the state of the art. There was no such thing as "installing" software.
After that, they developed the System 360, which introduced backwards (and third-party, as it turned out) hardware compatibility, an operating system, and eventually multiuser capability. This evolved through the 70s while IBM also worked on smaller computers, eventually resulting in the IBM-PC, the PC-compatible industry, and software packages. Even VisiCalc could be considered in the old style "custom" sensibility, as it was largely used with spreadsheet files that were specific to the business.
This and the mainframe/minicomputer industries progressed through the 80s and beyond, introducing the concept of common off-the-shelf software, or COTS, less customization and more software setup and light customization. Moving along with the Internet in the 90s we start getting online applications (a throwback rhyme to late 60s multiuser and timesharing). IBM released then killed their own Windows-alike called OS/2 (to many people the Betamax of 90s PC OSes), so on and so forth. This is a hard comment to end!
There's lots of lore and documentation of this history if you're interested to learn more, and certainly this is a dumbed-down (if not plain dumb) overview, but suffice it to say that "IBM since the 1950s" is one answer to your question. :)
posted by rhizome at 2:38 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
After that, they developed the System 360, which introduced backwards (and third-party, as it turned out) hardware compatibility, an operating system, and eventually multiuser capability. This evolved through the 70s while IBM also worked on smaller computers, eventually resulting in the IBM-PC, the PC-compatible industry, and software packages. Even VisiCalc could be considered in the old style "custom" sensibility, as it was largely used with spreadsheet files that were specific to the business.
This and the mainframe/minicomputer industries progressed through the 80s and beyond, introducing the concept of common off-the-shelf software, or COTS, less customization and more software setup and light customization. Moving along with the Internet in the 90s we start getting online applications (a throwback rhyme to late 60s multiuser and timesharing). IBM released then killed their own Windows-alike called OS/2 (to many people the Betamax of 90s PC OSes), so on and so forth. This is a hard comment to end!
There's lots of lore and documentation of this history if you're interested to learn more, and certainly this is a dumbed-down (if not plain dumb) overview, but suffice it to say that "IBM since the 1950s" is one answer to your question. :)
posted by rhizome at 2:38 AM on October 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
Mini Cooper. I'm only speaking from the past 10 years, so I can't tell you what it was like beforehand. From what I've heard, it was the same.
You used to be able to fully customize the cars, kind of like a salad bar. No two cars were the same. From exterior colors (you could do the main color and roof colors separately) to the interiors - *everything* could be chosen separately. You could sit in front of the computer with the salesperson, create the car to spec, have it built in England, then watch online as it was given a manufacture date and VIN. You could then track the freighter in real time to the different port stops and then across the ocean to the US. You could even see if the car sat at whatever port before it was brought to your dealer. It was the coolest thing - I did it with my 2016 Countryman All-4.
Then Mini changed. Some options were packaged together and you didn't have a choice, If you wanted one thing like, say, heated seats, you had to get the "winter convenience package" that came with five other things and pay additional money. Annoying, yes, but they made it so it was cheaper to get a package and it was usually stuff you kind of wanted, anyway.
Now, since BMW makes the Minis, they only come in four trims (body type and mechanical differences) and three styles (options). Classic, Signature, or Iconic. Classic is the basic, kind of bare-bones option. Decent if you don't know what you're missing. Iconic is a lot better if you've never driven one with Signature. But then you get to the Signature and you think to yourself, 'God DAMN. Why isn't this stuff in my car??'
The standard options have gotten a LOT better in the past two years, especially since some of them are mandated by law (rear view cameras, etc.). I have a 2020 4-door hardtop S that has a Signature trim. I originally got it thinking I'd have it for my kids to drive. Nice car, fun to drive - it's orange! Then I was able to score a 2020 2-door hardtop S in the Iconic trim that was a manager's demo. That car is completely tricked out - the touch screen and heads-up display are the biggest differences. It also has folding mirrors that dim along with the rearview mirror, leather seats, a better sound system, and Sirius. They both get comparable gas mileage and have the same zip. I take the orange one if I have the kids and their friends with me, or I need to go big grocery shopping, etc. I have to say that the little one is my first choice all the time, even though the seats are better for my back with the 4-door.
This is probably *way* more detail than you wanted, but the Mini community is pretty bummed. It's not the same as it was. The cars are bigger (MUCH bigger), and they've discontinued models to appeal to the masses. The consensus is that the options were too confusing to The Average Joe, so they dumbed everything down. Generally speaking, most Mini Cooper people are, uh, car enthusiasts. It's one of the few cars that come with a manual transmission (although even THAT was an issue this past year). More and more people are walking away from the brand or they're hanging on and buying older models. It's kind of sad.
posted by dancinglamb at 2:50 AM on October 18, 2022
You used to be able to fully customize the cars, kind of like a salad bar. No two cars were the same. From exterior colors (you could do the main color and roof colors separately) to the interiors - *everything* could be chosen separately. You could sit in front of the computer with the salesperson, create the car to spec, have it built in England, then watch online as it was given a manufacture date and VIN. You could then track the freighter in real time to the different port stops and then across the ocean to the US. You could even see if the car sat at whatever port before it was brought to your dealer. It was the coolest thing - I did it with my 2016 Countryman All-4.
Then Mini changed. Some options were packaged together and you didn't have a choice, If you wanted one thing like, say, heated seats, you had to get the "winter convenience package" that came with five other things and pay additional money. Annoying, yes, but they made it so it was cheaper to get a package and it was usually stuff you kind of wanted, anyway.
Now, since BMW makes the Minis, they only come in four trims (body type and mechanical differences) and three styles (options). Classic, Signature, or Iconic. Classic is the basic, kind of bare-bones option. Decent if you don't know what you're missing. Iconic is a lot better if you've never driven one with Signature. But then you get to the Signature and you think to yourself, 'God DAMN. Why isn't this stuff in my car??'
The standard options have gotten a LOT better in the past two years, especially since some of them are mandated by law (rear view cameras, etc.). I have a 2020 4-door hardtop S that has a Signature trim. I originally got it thinking I'd have it for my kids to drive. Nice car, fun to drive - it's orange! Then I was able to score a 2020 2-door hardtop S in the Iconic trim that was a manager's demo. That car is completely tricked out - the touch screen and heads-up display are the biggest differences. It also has folding mirrors that dim along with the rearview mirror, leather seats, a better sound system, and Sirius. They both get comparable gas mileage and have the same zip. I take the orange one if I have the kids and their friends with me, or I need to go big grocery shopping, etc. I have to say that the little one is my first choice all the time, even though the seats are better for my back with the 4-door.
This is probably *way* more detail than you wanted, but the Mini community is pretty bummed. It's not the same as it was. The cars are bigger (MUCH bigger), and they've discontinued models to appeal to the masses. The consensus is that the options were too confusing to The Average Joe, so they dumbed everything down. Generally speaking, most Mini Cooper people are, uh, car enthusiasts. It's one of the few cars that come with a manual transmission (although even THAT was an issue this past year). More and more people are walking away from the brand or they're hanging on and buying older models. It's kind of sad.
posted by dancinglamb at 2:50 AM on October 18, 2022
I don't think you're going to find a great answer within the aviation industry since the onus of certification is so high. However, one way businesses evolve within this space is the shift from homebuilts to certificated aircraft. Homebuilt/experimentals require far less certification than a properly type certificated aircraft, so many companies have begun by designing and offering kit planes - either just the plans, kits full of parts, or even premade subassemblies. As long as the delivered product meets the "51% rule" (the owner/operator is ultimately responsible for 51% of the construction effort for it to count as a homebuilt), then the company can provide what they like.
Cirrus is a good example of this evolution. The company began 30-ish years ago selling homebuilt kits using then-novel technology (fiberglass/carbon fiber construction); today, they're one of the bigger general aviation manufacturers of type certificated aircraft. The reason I say this isn't a great fit for your question, though, is that the customization doesn't really happen at the factory level here - the kit is the kit. The customer will ultimately tailor the kit to their needs, usually in the selection of things like powerplants, avionics, and trim. It would be exceedingly rare to really start messing with the airframe design.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:27 AM on October 18, 2022
Cirrus is a good example of this evolution. The company began 30-ish years ago selling homebuilt kits using then-novel technology (fiberglass/carbon fiber construction); today, they're one of the bigger general aviation manufacturers of type certificated aircraft. The reason I say this isn't a great fit for your question, though, is that the customization doesn't really happen at the factory level here - the kit is the kit. The customer will ultimately tailor the kit to their needs, usually in the selection of things like powerplants, avionics, and trim. It would be exceedingly rare to really start messing with the airframe design.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:27 AM on October 18, 2022
I guess I can think of one other example, which is a company I used to work at. We built glass panel displays for general aviation. One part of the business was building the flight deck for a Very Light Jet company that ultimately went out of business, but we did custom hardware and software for that project. The company has since pivoted to the aftermarket business, selling off-the-shelf multifunction displays to owner/operators.
It may not quite fit your need, though, since part the company had always been working on aftermarket sensing products (traffic and weather systems mostly), so it was really this one big project that sprung up and then died.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:33 AM on October 18, 2022
It may not quite fit your need, though, since part the company had always been working on aftermarket sensing products (traffic and weather systems mostly), so it was really this one big project that sprung up and then died.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:33 AM on October 18, 2022
The company I work for (in the telecom industry) is making a lot of noise about using off the shelf software with minimal customization. Of course, we are an industry giant, so 'semi-custom' still means the big names design software specifically for our installations.
But currently, almost all our software is either written by us, or off the shelf that is heavily customized. We also work closely with vendors, and since the industry is large but the number of developers is small(er), we have several instances of people going to a different telecom company and finding code they wrote being used by them, basically stolen by vendors.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on October 18, 2022
But currently, almost all our software is either written by us, or off the shelf that is heavily customized. We also work closely with vendors, and since the industry is large but the number of developers is small(er), we have several instances of people going to a different telecom company and finding code they wrote being used by them, basically stolen by vendors.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on October 18, 2022
dell computers. back in the day you could combine ram and storage and cd/dvd/floppy and video cards etc in whatever combo you wanted. now, you get what you get, no customizing.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:19 AM on October 18, 2022
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:19 AM on October 18, 2022
There was a period in bookselling where it was a standard option to buy just the printed signatures for a new book you wanted and then have them custom bound to match your gentleman's library, and even the standard bindings had to be carefully assembled by hand. Now of course it's all done by machine for the majority of the print runs, although there are still a few fine presses that will do special editions or rebind things.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 3:48 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 3:48 PM on October 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Men's tailoring has largely given way to off-the-rack or lightly customized clothing.
Those are more industries ("cars or airplanes") than specific businesses, though, if that's what you're looking for.
posted by jedicus at 7:34 PM on October 17, 2022