Product modularity: how do I create modular products?

At the basis of working with Elfsquad CPQ software and thereby improving the critical processes in the pre-production phase, lies product modularity. By building up your products in a modular way, you get control over your process. It is a lot easier to sell and build known, well-defined modules. Product modularity thus provides the necessary frameworks for your customer and sales staff, but still leaves room for customization. In this article we explain how to create modular products. Because with product modularity you benefit from lower costs through standardization, while you better meet your customers needs and increase sales.

Modularity in practice: a simple example

One place where product modularity is already being applied extensively is the automotive industry. Chances are you’ve already played with a configurator choosing an engine, color, rims and upholstery. There is plenty to choose from, but all within the framework set by the manufacturer. So you do choose your own configuration, which can then move through production in a standard fashion. This allows you to organize your pre-production and production process much more efficiently and largely automated, especially if you record all the necessary knowledge and logic from engineering and production in the pre-production process. This allows you to ask your customer targeted questions and makes your sales process predictable. In this way you open the door to scalability and efficiency and you do much more with the same people!

Getting started with product modularity

If you want to make your product line modular, you should always start with 1 product: preferably your best seller. Because with a product you sell often, you can test and fine-tune the process more often, which ensures that the teething problems and errors are fixed as soon as possible. Creating a better process for a product that you sell often also saves you the most time. Moreover, you will earn back the investment involved in the step towards product modularity more quickly. At the same time, you ensure that your customer’s wishes are optimally aligned with your solution, thereby meeting their needs much better.

What is extremely important is that you involve people from sales, engineering and production. On the one hand it has to be clear how sales is done, but on the other hand everyone has to know how this translates into what has to be produced.

Defining the building blocks

If you have sales, engineering, and production at the table, you start by defining the modules. What do they all think a module is? What questions does a salesperson ask customers and how does that get to production? By finding answers to these questions and logging them directly and correctly, you take the first step towards the configure to order method. Read all about the advantages of Configure-to-order.

How? Start with a demo

You can’t find and log these answers in a Word or Excel document, that is destined to fail. Elfsquad CPQ is specialized software that facilitates and supports the conversation between sales, engineers and production. Moreover, you record all the necessary information in one place from where it can be reused in many different ways. We actually wrote a blog about how you can put your product structures in Elfsquad CPQ. Furthermore, we show you how to capture product modularity in Elfsquad through videos and support material.