Variants
Combine outstanding customer orientation with efficient value creation
Variant diversity: striking a balance between customer orientation and economic efficiency
The multitude of products and customer solutions is causing substantial problems for companies. These primarily involve higher costs in development, procurement and production due to smaller economies of scale and increasing risks due to individualized solutions that are less well established. What measures can companies take to nevertheless raise their profile by means of systematic customer orientation and attractive solutions?
Benefits
- Combine the advantages of configure to order and engineer to order with the CTO+ process pattern
- Manage variability consistently and efficiently throughout the entire product lifecycle
- Ensure a clear overview and reliable decision-making, even in complex variant spaces
- Automatically supply ERP, CRM, digital shops and IoT with appropriate data
Combine the advantages of configure to order and engineer to order
Offering the best of both worlds is the order of the day when it comes to our combination of ETO and CTO – we call it CTO+. This process pattern makes it possible for you to strategically align your portfolios using modular product systems and reduce the time and effort required for variant configuration by up to 80 percent. Emphasis is placed on the comprehensive digital organization of data and processes, for example in order to generate product documentation largely automatically.
Offering the best of both worlds is the order of the day when it comes to our combination of ETO and CTO – we call it CTO+. This process pattern makes it possible for you to strategically align your portfolios using modular product systems and reduce the time and effort required for variant configuration by up to 80 percent. Emphasis is placed on the comprehensive digital organization of data and processes, for example in order to generate product documentation largely automatically.
Manage variants throughout the product lifecycle
Build feature- and rule-based variability models for your platforms and modular systems. This rigorously model-driven approach ensures procedural reliability and automation potential for downstream processes. For example, generate CAD models of the variants automatically, transfer the variant parameters to the ERP system and supply the digital twin with the configuration data for every variant delivered.
Build feature- and rule-based variability models for your platforms and modular systems. This rigorously model-driven approach ensures procedural reliability and automation potential for downstream processes. For example, generate CAD models of the variants automatically, transfer the variant parameters to the ERP system and supply the digital twin with the configuration data for every variant delivered.
Outstanding user experience even for complex variant spaces
With its dashboards and direct access to all the necessary context information, such as the 3D preview, Variants offers outstanding transparency and a clear overview. Focus in this context is place on the 150% BOM and the rules for determining variants and configuring them as articles. The basis for this is provided by the CONTACT Elements platform and its InSync Design System.
Outstanding user experience even for complex variant spaces
With its dashboards and direct access to all the necessary context information, such as the 3D preview, Variants offers outstanding transparency and a clear overview. Focus in this context is place on the 150% BOM and the rules for determining variants and configuring them as articles. The basis for this is provided by the CONTACT Elements platform and its InSync Design System.
With its dashboards and direct access to all the necessary context information, such as the 3D preview, Variants offers outstanding transparency and a clear overview. Focus in this context is place on the 150% BOM and the rules for determining variants and configuring them as articles. The basis for this is provided by the CONTACT Elements platform and its InSync Design System.
Automatically supply downstream processes such as ERP and product catalogs with appropriate data
Make it possible for BOMs, classification data and image information like illustrated parts lists and digital mock-ups to be prepared automatically once you complete the detailed configuration of a variant and release it. For example, supply your PIM system or your online catalogs for spare parts and accessories with the latest data error free and thus reduce the amount of manual routine work involved to a minimum.
Automatically supply downstream processes such as ERP and product catalogs with appropriate data
Make it possible for BOMs, classification data and image information like illustrated parts lists and digital mock-ups to be prepared automatically once you complete the detailed configuration of a variant and release it. For example, supply your PIM system or your online catalogs for spare parts and accessories with the latest data error free and thus reduce the amount of manual routine work involved to a minimum.
Make it possible for BOMs, classification data and image information like illustrated parts lists and digital mock-ups to be prepared automatically once you complete the detailed configuration of a variant and release it. For example, supply your PIM system or your online catalogs for spare parts and accessories with the latest data error free and thus reduce the amount of manual routine work involved to a minimum.
"With CONTACT Variants, companies can organize their portfolio even more efficiently to offer product variants faster while also reducing costs and complexity due to the increasing number of variants. This capability is critical for companies pursuing configure-to-order (CTO) and engineer-to-order (ETO) strategies. CONTACT believes this solution will help companies go beyond CTO to what they call “CTO+” which includes elements of ETO. Many companies are striving to meet the Industry 4.0 vision and the need to profitably serve markets of one through CTO and ETO strategies. CIMdata believes this essential capability will help CONTACT better serve its demanding customers worldwide."
Stan Przybylinski, Vice President, CIMdata, Inc.
Related Elements
The easier way from requirements to product
Implement requirements in a comprehensible and function-oriented way
Make use of requirements directly within the project and product context
Link requirements and present a clear overview of interrelationships
Monitor the degree of fulfillment and take corrective action
Greater clarity when controlling product and project portfolios
Achieve systematic frontloading with the right ideas and initiatives
Structure your portfolios to achieve greater clarity
Inspect projects at the touch of a button throughout the entire lifecycle
Seamlessly integrate design and operations of smart products
Analyze and evaluate field data for targeted product enhancements
Involve your customer communities in the ongoing optimization of your products
Use tried-and-tested procedures such as ticket systems and engineering change management for integration in your development processes
Use DMU models to validate products early, fast and cost-effectively
High-end DMU functions at every workstation
Validate technical changes with automated geometry comparisons
Collision calculations for optimal decisions on variant-specific geometry
High-quality image data for documentation or marketing directly from CAD models
Further information
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