Exploring the archetypes of engineer-to-order: an empirical analysis

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize archetypes of engineer-to-order (ETO) to support companies in determining the appropriate degree of design standardization and automation, and as a result achieve superior performance. Products of ETO manufacturers are classified in a 2×2 matrix using annual units sold and engineering complexity as dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – This research adopted a theory refining approach based on multiple case studies. Seven ETO manufacturers from different industry sectors participated in the study. Data collection was primarily based on a series of in-depth interviews supported by observations and archival sources. Findings – The paper proposes four distinct archetypes of ETO (complex, basic, repeatable, and non-competitive) and empirically validates three of them. The organizational structures and processes most suitable for the different archetypes are described, and standardization and automation strategies are linked to the quadrants of the matrix. The matrix can support practitioners in making strategic choices and provides a framework for benchmarking their ETO products and processes. Originality/value – Existing conceptualizations of ETO consider the company as the primary object of investigation, rather than the product or product family. However, companies often have different product families demanding different strategies. Also, there is little or no focus on the engineering perspective. The authors move the engineering perspective to the center of investigation and identify a set of standardization and automation strategies for different types of ETO products.

Establishing a maturity model for design automation in sales-delivery processes of ETO products

“…In line with Willner et al [22], we argue that it depends on the product type which degree of design automation is most appropriate. Figure 4 presents the maturity model that we derived from within-case analysis combined with cross-case comparisons.…”

“…In 2014, the division sold 2,000 elevators, each requiring eleven hours of order-specific engineering on average. In merely requiring eleven hours of order-specific engineering on average, elevators are not the most extreme type of ETO (see Willner et al [22] for an analysis of different ETO types).…”

“…A number of ETO archetypes may also be identified, based on volume and the amount of order specific engineering work to be performed [22]. Customers in this challenging sector often wish for lead times to be short and are not willing to pay high price premiums [23][24][25].…”

Categorizing Engineer-to-Order Companies Through Their Project Execution Strategy

“…Willner et al, [8] present a relevant literature review on categorization of ETO companies and according to their findings each classification contains a different ETO perspective like: type of modularization, point of customer involvement, engineer dimension referring to the number of standardized versus customized parts, etc. The same authors propose a categorization based on the complexity of the ETO product where they considered the following two factors: 1) the number of units sold annually and 2) the number of engineering hours used for producing the artifact.…”

Fatores organizacionais internos que facilitam ou dificultam a inovação de produtos: estudo de caso em uma empresa que utiliza a tipologia eto

“…Apesar de ainda não ter uma fronteira bem definida -pois é fato que ainda não existe um consenso geral na literatura quanto a correta definição de ETO (WILLNER et al, 2016) -a ETO (engineering to order ou engenharia sob encomenda) é conceituada por grande parte dos autores como o sistema de produção que possui o seu ponto de desacoplamento da cadeia de suprimentos na fase de concepção (GOSLING;NAIM, 2009). Dentre as inúmeras características típicas da ETO estão a flexibilidade, o alto lead time, a mistura de componentes customizados com componentes padrões, as mudanças frequentes, os riscos de prazo e as incertezas quanto à data de entrega.…”