Generating economies of scale is one of the most desirable goals when developing modular product systems. Since complex products are commonly developed in collaboration between an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and its suppliers, pursuing this goal inherently establishes interdependencies between the development process, supplier integration and supply chain design. To fully reap the benefits of modular product systems requires a comprehensive approach that encompasses these fields and addresses the inter-dependencies between them via a coherent collaboration between development and purchasing. This is the main focus of this work. In this paper, we first describe how the product development process has to be restructured for the concerted development of modules and overall products within the scope of a modular product system. Secondly, we propose a new collaboration model between the OEM and its suppliers, since OEMs need to collaborate directly with suppliers of lower levels of the value chain in order to facilitate the standardisation of components and modules across different products. Finally, we delineate an awarding process for both development services and production volumes for series supply that resolves the conflicting priorities of economies of scale and avoiding over-dependence on single suppliers. The process models described in this paper have been conceived based on systems engineering principles and have been successfully tested and further refined throughout several industrial projects carried out with two automotive manufacturers. The resulting approach will be demonstrated using a generic example taken from the automotive industry.
Value creation is increasingly driven by digital or semi-digital business models. Platforms offer the necessary backbone for such highly profitable business models. Our research centers on the questions how platforms are created, which drivers are behind this development and how platforms are successfully implemented. We analyzed various business ecosystems and their underlying platforms to understand the various roles companies can take in platform-based business ecosystems. Based on our results we propose a framework to describe business ecosystems as well as a canvas to analyze their underlying platforms, the acting companies' roles, and the applied business models. One case study illustrates this tool. Our results will (1) help to understand why companies bet on platforms to establish business ecosystems, (2) analyze the processes and methods behind successful business ecosystems, and (3) reflect about the dominant and still growing importance of platform-based business ecosystems.
Combining agility and convergence in the development of physical products is a major challenge. Rooted in a design thinking approach, Stanford's ME310 process model attempts to resolve the conflicting priorities of these two design principles. To investigate how successful Stanford's hybrid process model is in doing so, we have used a qualitative case study approach. Our paper begins by outlining this process model's fundamental principles in terms of engineering design methodology. Subsequently, we present the results of our empirical analysis, which tracks the coevolution of problem and solution space by meticulously examining all prototype paths in ten of Stanford's ME310 student projects. We have discovered that convergence during solution finding does not correspond to the process model's theoretical specifications. Even in the phase of the final prototype, both the technical concept and the underlying problem formulation changed frequently. Further research should focus on combining the prototype-based ME310 approach with methods from systems engineering which allow for a more comprehensive theoretical exploration of the solution space. This could lead to improved convergence during solution development.
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