Organizing modularization for the development of individualized products

Purpose and goal

The overall goal of the project has been to develop knowledge about the organizing of the production - product development interface, in order to allow for the utilization of modularization as a strategy for effectively developing customized/individualized products. The project has fulfilled this overall goal through the undertaking of a literature study and a case study. Based on the empirical case study, the organizing of the interface has been analyzed and relevant integration- and coordination mechanisms have been identified.

Results and expected effects

Based on the study a number of mechanisms that can be used to handle the production - product development interface have been identified. Among other things it was found suitable to let a cross-functional support team coordinate interface issues and a need for roles that can act across functional boundaries and from these pursue modularization-related improvement work was observed. Some of the identified organizing means will hopefully be implemented on a broader scale by the case study company and also by other interested companies.

Approach and implementation

This project consisted of a literature study and a case study at Tetra Pak, a company chosen as it for several years has had an explicit modularization strategy and has its production located to externbal suppliers world-wide. In the study, interviews were performed with a number of respondents at Tetra Pak in Lund and Modena, and also with suppliers and market companies. Based on the empirical observations a structured analysis has been performed, which has led to the identification of a number of critical issues regarding the handling of the production - product development interface.