Why to design modular products?

Abstract

This paper is based on the development project of productivity by applying principles of product modularity and design reuse. The focus is on companies operating in manufacturing industry and specializing in large investment project deliveries. Analyzing the business impact of modularity is one method and tool used in modularization projects. The analysis is made to ensure that the investment in the development of modular products and the supporting way to operate is justified and supports the company's strategic business objectives. Preliminary business impact analyzes are usually carried out before the actual technical modularization project starts to justify starting the project. Analyzes are made also during the modularization project at different stages, for example to compare alternative concepts or module partitioning types. To support the business impact analysis of modularization, several possible benefits and value creation mechanisms have been identified in previous publications. These mechanisms can be linked to many stages of the product life cycle. This paper first reviews the main mechanisms of modularization through a literature review. In addition to this, based on an ongoing modularization project in a case study with investment product deliveries, we present as new information the latest findings on different potential benefits of modularization to reinforce the previous literature.