Target compliant configuration of conceptual structural features of modular product platforms

Abstract

Due to globalization as well as increasing competition and cost pressure business strategies extensively focus on individual products tailored to customer's needs. In order to meet this challenge, numerous companies structure their products and technologic solutions according to the design principles of modular product platforms. Therefore, the modular product platform approach of the automotive industry is often directly transferred on other industries, e.g. machinery and plant engineering. However, the attempt of simply transferring the automotive approach leads to missing targets and full potentials of a modular product platform. This circumstance is due to the overall situation of the applying company in terms of boundary conditions and an individual target system for the modular product platform. The lack of target achievement consequently results from the missing alignment of the modular product platform to these circumstances. To resolve this situation by increasing the level of target achievement, this paper introduces a methodology for a target compliant configuration of Conceptual Structural Features in the early development phase of modular product platforms. By taking company-specific influencing factors as well as the individually pursued target system into account, the approach helps aligning a modular platform project to the company's individual overall situation.