Levi Strauss Case Study Conceptually, four types of customization -- collaborative, adaptive, cosmetic and transparent -- are possible (Geekie, Section 4). Both Levi Strauss and Dell Computers' mass customization offerings are based on the collaborative model of customization, where customers and manufacturers collaborate on product specifications prior to production. However, Dell's delivery lead times are much shorter owing to the fact that Dell restricts its computers to several key modules, within which it allows a wide choice of customer specifications. Thus, Dell is able to put together a PC in 4 minutes, with an additional 90 minutes needed to load the software, which is where most of the customization comes in (The Economist, 2001, para 11). Levi's, on the other hand, has a longer lead time owing to its offer of customization on several hundreds of patterns and combinations thereof. In addition, ordering a pair of customized jeans still requires the customer to get their measurements taken at a Levi store, whereas a Dell customer can specify his or her requirements over the phone or Internet. Finally, and perhaps most...

6). As against this, Levi Strauss has been compelled to recently suspend its "Original Spin" operations since it has been unable to compete with lower priced brands manufactured offshore and has yet to develop a model where it can offer customization successfully through an offshore contractor (Bacheldor & Whiting, 2004, para 6). It can be inferred from this that Levi Strauss, unlike Dell, was unable to successfully develop a cost effective, customized manufacturing and supply chain.
2. Electronic business (e-business) is any process that a business organization conducts over a computer-mediated network. These processes include production, customer, and internal or management focused business processes (Mesenbourg, Section 2). It is evident from this definition that Levi Strauss's manufacturing and customer focused business processes are conducted electronically. For instance, the company's…