Standardized Work Framework Applied to ETO Context

Customer satisfaction is one of the main factor leading to customer loyalty and therefore continuous business relationship [1]. Customer satisfaction is correlated to the perceived quality of service, that is meant both as freedom from deficiencies and as ability to meet customer needs [2]. This dualism indicates that customers choose their business partners not only for their ability to standardize the provided products and services guaranteeing stable quality standards, but also for their awareness and flexibility in implementing customized solutions. The aim of this paper is to investigate how standardization, accomplished with Standardized Work (SW), is applicable to low-volume-high-mix context as Engineering-to-Order (ETO) ones and which benefits, if any, could be achieved. The study is developed by defining an application framework from literature first to high-volume-low-mix context, and further developed and refined with empirical research to fit ETO context. Empirical research has been supported and applied to FPZ Group.