Page 5

David Krevor, principal engineer at aviation electronics manufacturer Rockwell Collins, turned to the GE Plastics Web site to help him with the most demanding contract he had ever faced. Last year, Rockwell redesigned a visor for the helmet of fighter pilots. The military wanted the visor to contain the targeting system that used to be located on an aircraft's windshield. The product had to be light, but sturdy enough to withstand the stresses of atmospheric pressure. If the environmental stress skewed the visor readings, a pilot could send a missile in the wrong direction.

In the old days, Krevor would have started by thumbing through phone-book-thick plastics catalogs and consulting with GE techies. This time, he found the plastics he needed in an hour, rather than weeks. And he used GE's virtual lab to check how the plastic flowed before he built an expensive mold that might not have worked. "It came much closer to the initial design, because we had the time to look for the best material available," Krevor says.

The upshot: Rockwell Collins cut its development time in half. GE Plastics avoids much of the back-and-forth between its technical team and customers, allowing it to reduce payroll or shift engineers to other work. It also can reach more customers faster. The company says it expects a third of the 5,000 new customer leads it picked up from the Web site this year to become steady clients.

In industry and retail sales alike, victory in the mass market of one demands flexibility--and knowing when to turn away from the Web. Nike's Nikeid.com, which lets shoppers design their own athletic shoes, has concluded that consumers want to try on sneakers similar to the ones they are ordering. So early next year, Nike will roll out Web kiosks in Niketown stores and encourage shoppers to become designers. "Size needs to be exact," says Jay Wilkins, general manager for Nikeid.com. "Not being able to try it on is a challenge for Web retailers."

Both cosmetics maker Reflect and Nike have had to overhaul production lines to spit out custom goods. Three-year-old Reflect created its own patented production process. It includes modular vats that can be swapped for different lotion or shampoo recipes. Nike's eight factories that make customized shoes have each gone through about a six-month rehaul.

The payoff, though, can stretch beyond sales. Masterfoods USA has picked up marketing ideas and is now testing NFL team colors in some retail markets. "It's an important part of the business," says Masterfoods' Simmons. For Christmas, along with the famous "M" on its candies, it will print messages such as "HO HO HO." Want to see your name on a batch of aqua-green M&M's? It could happen.