Controlling Product Variance in a Factory Through the Evaluation of the Factory Life Cycle

Abstract

The intensification of competition in the global environment means that companies have to respond more actively to the individual wishes of their customers. The introduction of additional product variants in the course of the factory life cycle increases customer perception and enhances product attractiveness on the market. Decisions on the introduction of product variants are made in sales and development. However, the fields of production and logistics often suffering from product diversity only have limited influence. Once a new product variant has been introduced and the associated investments have been made, a cost remanence results when complexity is reduced. After all, an additional product variant may require an increase in capacity if the current production and logistics concept reaches its limits. The resulting follow-up costs have an impact over the entire factory life cycle. Currently, it is not possible to distinguish between value-creating and value-destroying variant-induced complexity. Therefore, this paper presents an approach for determining the necessity of factory planning measures in case a new product variant is introduced to the factory. It supports the development of different factory configurations for the evaluation of the factory life cycle, so that the total costs and environmental impacts resulting from a new product variant in a factory are known prior to its introduction. Ultimately, the different configuration variants serve as a calculation basis for sales for a more transparent decision on the introduction of a new product variant.