Outsourcing for Achieving Mass Customization in Service Operations: Lessons from the "Smaller Kitchen" Strategy in Chinese Catering Services

The paper aimed to reveal key issues of outsourcing in service mass customization based on a case study in Chinese catering service industry. It firstly justified that outsourcing served as a an important facilitator in delivering mass customized services by increasing efficiency and reducing costs due to the expertise developed along the supply chain. It then pointed out the functions/business to be outsourced in mass customization which should be non-cored and helpful to utilize expertise and avoid risks. Moreover the impacts of the service feature of simultaneity on outsourcing were also discussed. Suggestions for future researches were finally presented.