Collaborative configuration of virtual organizations for mass customization

This work deals with Virtual Organizations management for mass customization applied to the footwear sector, where collaboration among partners influences the VO configuration which is not the result of a top-down hierarchical approach, but of a partnership where companies have similar contractual power. The mass customization paradigm requires that companies are ready to produce small batches to satisfy customer needs and this work analyses how to deal with the creation of very flexible networks where preliminary partnerships among companies create trust and where answers to market requests have to be very quick and based on customized products. First ideas for VO configuration and for partner selection methodology to be implemented in SMEs of the footwear sector are then proposed.