Development and implementation strategy for the of product configuration systems in engineer-to-order companies

Abstract

This paper will address how to develop a strategy when developing and implementing product configuration systems (PCSs) in engineer-to-order (ETO) companies. PCSs are often gradually implemented especially where there are complex products and processes in order to break down the overall project and reduce risk. This highlights the importance of having an overall strategy to guide the long-term development and implementation of PCSs In this paper, guideline for making the strategy are provided and supplemented with examples based on a case study. The guideline includes the main objectives for the development and implementation process, PCSs to be used to support the sales and /or the engineering processes, more uniform IT support for making product configurations, combining output from different PCSs and finally integrations that includes both internal and external IT systems. Based on this an overview of how PCSs can support the overall configuration process can be generated.