Utility driven design of product architectures for technical products in the B2B segment

这项研究提案的目标是为技术产品的早期设计阶段开发一种方法，使公司能够推出与所需的市场变化相匹配的产品架构。基于对B2B部门购买过程的广泛分析，确定了关键产品功能的数量和规格。特别是，考虑了各种变种的积极和消极方面。将此分析的结果与技术可能性进行迭代比较。这样做是为了确保在规划过程中使用在利用规模经济(例如，模块化平台)的同时提供更大灵活性的新产品架构。通过这种方式，公司将能够开发产品和产品计划，以解决所需的规模经济和所需的产品定制之间的困境。因此，本研究提案旨在展示企业如何在满足相关客户需求的同时降低复杂性成本。

The goal of this research proposal is to develop a methodology for the early design stages of technical products that allows firms to launch product architectures that match the required market variety. Based on an extensive analysis of the buying process in the B2B sector, the number and specifications of critical product features are identified. In particular, the positive and negative aspects of a wide range of variants are considered. The results of this analysis are compared iteratively with the technical possibilities. This is done to ensure that new product architectures that offer greater flexibility while utilizing economies of scale (e.g., modular platforms) are used in the planning process. In this manner, firms will be able to develop products and product programs that resolve the dilemma between required economies of scale and required product customization. Hence, this research proposal aims to show how firms can reduce complexity costs while still fulfilling relevant customer needs.