Top performers are:
- Over 3 times as likely to use rules-based design approaches.
- About twice as likely to develop a single, global product.
- 50% more likely to leverage platform design techniques.
- 38% more likely to use modular design approaches.
Translating Modular Design into Profit
"The classic problem for an industrial equipment manufacturer is bidding on a new business," explained Ed Martin, senior marketing manager of 3D design, engineering and entertainment software provider, Autodesk.
"The second worst thing you can do if you are bidding on a piece of business is overbid and lose the business," he said. "The worst thing you can do is underbid, win it, and then potentially take a loss on the job."
The difference between top and average performing companies, he added, comes down to the ability to put together quotes more accurately and more quickly than their competitors.
For companies not employing modular design, he explained, "every new opportunity requires redesigning parts to accommodate needs. They have to do more design work than companies that have a more modular design strategy. That translates into a lot of CAD time. It isn't necessarily adding value to them, but it is translating to a lot of engineering hours."
"Rather than creating everything from scratch, they really step back, take this modular approach and they take configuration-based design approaches that they can then incorporate into the design automation tools that has tremendous payoff down the line," he said.
"When they go to bid a piece of business, they know what is going to cost them, they know what is going to be profitable business and they know how to execute on it," he explained. "They have a lot more certainty on their business."
