Towards Case-based Product and Network Configuration for Complex Construction Machinery

Product configuration software tools are commonly available as stand-alone products or as part of standard enterprise software. The application of product configurators generally addresses three goals: Product configuration tools support sales activities, they support different tasks of process planning, e.g. automated generation of Bills Of Material and they preserve engineering knowledge by storing configuration rules or cases systematically. The customer-driven product configuration of complex machinery usually affects several suppliers who consequently have to adjust their respective modules. The subsequently necessary coordination process between OEM and suppliers is both costly and time-consuming, accounting for a big fraction of the total time of delivery. Hence depending on the dimension of adjustments parts of the production network have to be incorporated into the configuration scope. This paper presents a new and wider configuration approach by integrating the network design as well as a time and cost evaluation of a customer specific variant into a product configuration tool. It points out the methods applicable and critical success factors thus contributing to the design and implementation of product configuration systems and the customization of the logistic processes.