This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Issues in Automotive Product Platform Strategies
Technical Paper
2004-01-0483
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Product platform strategies have advantages and disadvantages. Key automotive platform issues include economies of scale and potential loss of brand differentiation. Platform strategies can be defined for components/systems, manufacturing, product development teams, and company capability/knowledge. Concepts and tools that support platform definition and commonality include function structures, modularity matrices, product architecting and decomposition, and optimization methods. Managerial concerns include organizational dynamics, strategy, technology and cost, and support systems. These issues are reviewed and discussed. The paper concludes with a summary, observations, and some questions about platform strategies.
Recommended Content
Authors
Citation
Hodges, P., "Issues in Automotive Product Platform Strategies," SAE Technical Paper 2004-01-0483, 2004, https://doi.org/10.4271/2004-01-0483.Also In
References
- Feb 2002 “Custom platforms for niche vehicles,” Interview: Didier Coffy,” Vehicle News 97 100
- Balbontin, A. Yazdani, B. Cooper, R. Souder, W. E. 1999 New Product Development Success Factors in American and British Firms International Journal of Technology Management 17 3 259 280
- Bartlett, C. A. Ghoshal, S. 2002 Building Competitive Advantage Through People Sloan Management Review Winter 2002 34 41
- Blackenfelt, M. Stake, R. B. 1998 Modularity in the context of product structuring - a survey The Second NordDesign seminar KTH Stockholm Aug 26-28 1998
- Bremner, R. Sep 1999 Cutting edge platforms Financial Times Automotive World 30 38
- Bremner, R. June 2000 Big, bigger, biggest Automotive World 36 43
- Cagan, J. Shimada, K. Yin, S. 2002 Computer-Aided Design 34 8 597 611
- Calabrese, G. 1997 FARE Auto Angeli F.
- Chapman, G. May 1999 Common touch is common sense Financial Times Automotive World 31
- Cunningham, T.W. Whitney, D. E. Quinn, M. J. Schwemmin, R. 1998 Chain Representations of Dimensional Control: A Producibility Input for Concurrent Concept Design SAE paper 981846
- Dahmus, J. B. Gonzalez-Zugasti, J. P. Otto, K. N. 2001 Modular Product Architecture Design Studies 22 409 424
- Diem, W. Kimberley, W. May 2001 The same or only different Automotive Engineer 44 52
- Dobrescu, G. Reich, Y. August 2003 Progressive sharing of modules among product variants Computer-Aided Design 35 9 791 806
- Du, X. Jiao, J. Tseng, M. M. 2002 Product family modeling and design support: An approach based on graph rewriting systems AIEDAM 16 103 120
- Eppinger, S. D. Jan 2001 Innovation at the Speed of Information Harvard Business Review 3 11
- Eppinger, S. D. Salminem, V. K. 2001 Patterns of Product Development Interactions Int'l Conf on Engineering Design, ICED 01 Glasgow 288 283 290 Aug 21-23 2001
- Erens, F. Verhulst, K. 1997 Architectures for product families Computers in Industry 33 165 178
- Fellini, R. Kim, H. M. Kokkolaras, M. Michelena, N. Papalambros, P. 2001 Target Cascading for Design of Product Families Proceedings of the Fourth World Congress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization Dalian, China June 4-8 2001
- Fisher, M. Ramdas, K. Ulrich, K. March 1999 Component Sharing in the Management of Product Variety: A Study of Automotive Braking Systems Management Science 45 3 297 315
- Freyssenet, M. Mair, A. Shimizu, K. Volpato, G. 1998 One Best Way? - Trajectories and Industrial Models of the World's Automobile Producers Oxford Press
- Fujita, K. Ishii, K. 1997 Task structuring toward computational approaches to product variety ASME Design Automation Conference Sep 14-17
- Fujita, K. Sakaguchi, H. Akagi, S. 1999 Product Variety Deployment and Its Optimization Under Modular Architecture and Module Commonization Proc. 1999 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences Sep 12-15
- Fujita, K. Yoshida, H. 2001 Product Variety Optimization: Simultaneous Optimization of Module Combination and Module Attributes Proc. 2001 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences Sep 9-12
- Gonzalez-Zugasti, J. P. Otto, K.N. Baker, J. N. 2001 Assessing value in platformed product family design Res Eng Design 13 30 41
- Hutton, R. Jan 1999 VW's Horn of Plenty: A single car platform spawns 7 new vehicles Car and Driver 44 7) 102
- Ishii, K. Juengel, C. Eubanks, F. 1995 Design for product variety: key to product line structuring ASME Design Theory and Methodology Conference 83 499 506
- Jensen, Christopher June 1999 Audi TT: How VW Did It Automotive Industries
- Kim, H.M. Michelena, N.F. Papalambros, P.Y. Jiang, T. “Target Cascading in Optimal System Design,” Proceedings of the 2000 ASME Design Automation Conference, Paper DETC2000/DAC-14265 Baltimore, Maryland, USA September 10-13 2000
- Kirschman, C. F. Fadel G. M. Jara-Almonte C. C. Aug 1996 Classifying Functions for Mechanical Design ASME Design Theory and Methodology Conference Irvine, CA
- Koopman, Philip J., Jr. Sep 1995 A Taxonomy of Decomposition Strategies Based on Structures, Behaviors, and Goals ASME Design Theory and Methodology Conference http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/∼koopman/decomp/index.html
- Kota, S. Sethuraman, K. Miller, R. Dec 2000 A Metric for Evaluating Design Commonality in Product Families ASME J. of Mechanical Design 122 4 403 410
- Krishnan, V. Gupta, S. Jan 2001 Appropriateness and impact of platform-based product development Management Science 47 1 52 68
- Lung, Y. Chanaron, J-J. Fujimoto, T. Raff, D. 1999 Coping with Variety: Flexible Productive Systems for Product Variety in the Auto Industry Ashgate
- MacDuffie, J.P. Sethuraman, K. Fisher, M. 1996 Product variety and manufacturing performance: evidence from the International Automotive Assembly Plant study Management Science 42 3 350 369
- Martin, M.V. Ishii, K. 1996 Design For Variety: A Methodology for Understanding the Costs of Product Proliferation ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences Aug 18-22
- Martin, M.V. Ishii, K. 2000 Design for Variety: A Methodology for Developing Product Platform Architectures Proc. DETC2000, ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences Sep 10-13 2000
- McGrath, M.E. 1995 Product Strategy for High-Technology Companies Irwin, NY
- Meyer, M.H. Lehnerd, A.P. 1997 The power of product platforms: building value and cost leadership The Free Press
- Meyer, M. H. Mugge, P. C. Jan Feb 2001 Make platform innovation drive enterprise growth Research Technology Management 44 1 25 40
- Meyer, M. H. Utterback, J. M. 1993 The Product Family and the Dynamics of Core Capability Sloan Mangement Review Spring 1993 29 47
- Michelena, N. Kim, H.M. Papalambros, P. 1999 A System Partitioning and Optimization Approach to Target Cascading Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Engineering Design Munich, Germany August 24-26 2 1109 1112
- Michelena, N. Papalambros, P. Park, H. Kulkarni, D. 1999 Hierarchical Overlapping Coordination for Large-Scale Optimization by Decomposition AIAA Journal 37 7 890 896
- Michelena, N. Scheffer, C. Fellini, R. Papalambros, P. 1999 A CORBA-Based Object-Oriented Framework for Distributed System Design Mechanics of Structures and Machines 27 4 365 392
- Michelena, N. Papalambros, P. Sep 1997 A Hypergraph Framework for Optimal Model-Based Decomposition of Design Problems Computational Optimization and Applications 8 2 173 196
- Mikkola, J. H. May 2000 Modularization assessment of product architecture DRUID Working Paper No. 00-4 Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics, Dept. of Industrial Economics and Strategy, Copenhagen Business School Denmark
- Montenegro, A. 1999 BMW Group to Keep Separate Platforms El Mundo Aug 3 1999
- Moore, W. L. Louviere, J.J. Verma, R. 1999 Using Conjoint Analysis to Help Design Product Platforms J. Prod Innov Manag 16 27 39
- Muffatto, M. 1999 Introducing a platform strategy in product development Int. J. Production Economics 60-61 145 153
- Muffatto, M. Roveda, M. Nov 2000 Developing product platforms: Analysis of the development process Technovation 20 11 617 630
- Nelson, S.A. Parkinson, M.B. Papalambros, P.Y. June 2001 Multicriteria Optimization in Product Platform Design J. Mechanical Design 123 199 204
- Nobelius, D. Sundgren, N. 2002 Managerial issues in parts sharing among product development projects: a case study J. Eng. Technol. Manage 19 59 73
- Pahl, G. Beitz, W. 1996 Engineering Design: A Systematic Approach Springer-Verlag
- Phelan, M. Nov 2001 The Meaning of Epsilon Automotive Business International
- Ramdas, K. March 2002 Managing Product Variety: An Integrative Review and Research Directions Production and Operations Management http://emertech.wharton.upenn.edu/WhartonMiniConfPapers/Variety%20Review_Ramdas%203%2013%2002.pdf
- Rendell, J. Sep 2001 VW top, but others are catching up fast Automotive World 26 34
- Reimpell, J. Stoll, H. Betzler, J.W. 2001 The Automotive Chassis Butterworth-Heinemann
- Robertson, D. Ulrich, K. Mar 1998 Platform Product Development Sloan Management Review
- Rosen, D. Siddique, Z. 2001 On combinatorial design spaces for the configuration design of product families AIEDAM 15 91 108
- Sanchez, R. 2000 Modular architectures, knowledge assets and organizational learning: new management processes for product creation Int. J. Technology Management 19 6 610 629
- Schindel, W. D. Smith, V. R. 2002 Results of Applying a Families-of-Systems Approach to Systems Engineering of Product Line Families SAE paper 2002-01-3086
- Siddique, Z. Rosen, D. W. Wang, N. 1998 On the Applicability of Product Variety Design Concepts to Automotive Platform Commonality Proc DETC98: 1998 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences Sep 13-16
- Simpson, T. W. Maier, J. R. A. Mistree, F. 1999 A Product Platform Concept Exploration Method for Product Family Design Proc DETC99: 1999 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences Sep 12-15 1999 Las Vegas, NV
- Simpson, T. W. Maier, J. R. A. Mistree, F. 2001 Product platform design: method and application Res Eng Design 13 2 22
- Smith, R. P. Eppinger, S.D. Mar 1997 Identifying Controlling Features of Engineering Design Iterations Management Science 43 3 276 293
- Sosa, M. E. Eppinger, S. D. Rowles, C. M. 2000. Designing Modular and Integrative Systems Proc DETC '00: ASME 2000 Int'l Design Engineering Technical Conferences Baltimore Sep 10-13 2000
- Stake, R. B. 2000 A framework for evaluating commonality Proc 5 th WDK Workshop on Product Structuring Feb 7-8 2000 Tampere University of Technology Tampere, Finland
- Stone, R.B. Wood, K.L. Crawford, R.H. 2000. A heuristic method for identifying modules for product architectures Design Studies 21 5 31
- Sudjianto, A. 2001 Platform Development to Support Multiple Brands MIT
- Sudjianto, A. Otto, K. Sep 2001 Modularization to Support Multiple Brand Platforms ASME DETC paper DETC2001/DTM-21695
- Suh, N. P. 1990 The Principles of Design Oxford 1990
- Sundgren, N. 1998 Product Platform Development Managerial Issues in Manufacturing Firms Chalmers Institute of Technology Sweden
- Sundgren, Niklas Jan 1999 Introducing interface management in new product family development J. Product Innovation Management 16 1 40 51
- Tatikonda, M. V. 1999 “An Empirical Study of Platform and Derivative Product Development Projects,” J. Prod. Innovation Management 16 3 26
- Thonemann, U.W. Bradley, J.R. Dec 2002 The Effect of Product Variety on Supply-Chain Performance European Journal of Operational Research 143 3 548 569
- Thonemann, U.W. Brandeau, M. L. Jan-Feb 2000 Optimal Commonality in Component Design Operations Research 48 1 1 19
- Ulrich, K. 1995 The role of product architecture in the manufacturing firm Research Policy 24 3 419 440
- Ulrich, K. Eppinger, S. 2000 Product Design and Development McGraw-Hill
- Upham, S. D. Jun 2001 Beneath the brand Automotive Manufacturing and Production 113 6 38 40
- Wagner, T.C. 1993 A General Decomposition Methodology for Optimal System Design Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
- Wagner, T.C. Papalambros, P. Y. 1993 A General Framework for Decomposition Analysis in Optimal Design Advances in Design Automation-1993 ASME New York 1993
- Wagner, T.C. P.Y. Papalambros, P.Y. 1993 Implementation of Decomposition Analysis in Optimal Design,” Advances in Design Automation-1993 ASME New York
- Weernink, Wim Oude 2001 VW drops platforms, changes to modules Automotive News Europe Jan 29 2001
- Wells, P. 2001 Platforms: engineering panacea, marketing disaster? Journal of Materials Processing Technology 115 2001 166 170
- Wilhelm, B. 1997 Platform and modular concepts at Volkswagen - their effects on the assembly process Shimokawa, K. Jurgens, U. Fujimoto, T. Transforming Auto Assembly Springer-Verlag 146 156
- Winter, D. Zoia, D.E. Mar 2001 Rethinking Platform Engineering Ward's Auto World 46 50
- Yu, J.S. Gonzalez-Zugasti, J.P. Otto, K.N. Sep 1999 Product architecture definition based upon customer demands Journal of Mechanical Design 121 3 329 335
- Zamirowski, E. Otto, K. 1999 Identifying Product Portfolio Architecture Modularity Using Function and Variety Heuristics Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology ASME Las Vegas, NV