Customer-specific starting solutions and product architecture adaption in the B2B configuration process

客户对个性化的要求导致公司内产品变体的增加和复杂性的增加。从事项目业务的公司，特别是按订单设计（ETO）的公司，其特点是高度个性化。然而，在这些公司中，所期望的产品变体的减少是难以实现的，因为现有的产品变体不能以简单的方式消除。产品变量的消除需要在理论解空间内进行。这给企业带来了两个挑战。一方面，必须最小化变体引起的复杂性成本。另一方面，变量的多样性可能导致决策过程中的客户决策复杂性。基于DFG资助的一个已完成的研究项目，它必须回答如何客户特定的需求可以转化为产品体系结构，既有效地和降低的复杂性。确定性和可用性方面的客户需求的多样性，往往是通过产品配置器，这增加了决策的复杂性显着感知的客户。这个问题的一个解决方案是实现预定义的配置解决方案，即所谓的启动解决方案。因此，本研究项目的目的是考虑在B2B配置过程中使用客户特定的起始解决方案对产品架构进行系统的和客户集成的适应。这项研究的重点是ETO公司。亚琛工业大学市场学教授主要研究顾客偏好的形成和控制，亚琛工业大学机床与生产工程实验室（WZL）则阐述了针对特定顾客群体的系统化产品结构适应性。在第一步中，将推导出面向客户的初始解决方案的集成要求。在下文中，将开发用于定义、分配和选择客户特定起始解决方案的描述、分配和评估模型。调整产品架构的过程将被视为伴随过程。在最后一步，将开发一个实际使用研究结果的示范工具，并促进研究结果的转让。计划中的研究命题将通过定义初始解决方案来提高B2B配置过程的效率和有效性。此外，客户特定的偏好映射和内部复杂性的影响将被考虑。这一主张还使产品架构适应性，并在配置过程中尽早实现产品与客户偏好之间的更高一致性，同时避免内部复杂性影响。

The customer requirements for the individualization leads to an increase of product variants and increased complexity effects within the company. Companies in project business, especially the engineer-to-order (ETO) processing, are characterized by a high level of individualization. However, in these companies the desired reduction of product variants is difficult to achieve because existing product variants cannot be eliminated in a simple way. The elimination of product variants needs to be conducted within the theoretical solution space. This creates two challenges for companies. On the one hand, the variant-induced complexity costs have to be minimized. On the other hand, the diversity of variants can lead to customer decision complexity within the decision making process. Based on a completed DFG-funded research project, it must be answered how customer-specific requirements can be translated into product architectures both efficiently and with reduced complexity.The ascertainability and usability with regard to the diversity of customer requirements is often realized by means of product configurators, which increases the decision complexity significantly perceived by the customer. One solution to this problem is the implementation of predefined configuration solutions, so-called starting solutions. Therefore, the aim of this research project is the consideration of a systematic and customer-integrated adaption of the product architecture using customer-specific starting solutions in the B2B configuration process. This research is focused on ETO companies. The Chair of Marketing of RWTH Aachen University mainly investigates the formation and control of customer preferences, the Laboratory of Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University elaborates the systematic product architecture adaptation for defined customer groups.The research project can be structured in four partial models. In the first step, the derivation of requirements for the integration of customer-oriented starting solutions will be derived. In the following, a description, assignment, and evaluation model for the definition, allocation and selection of customer-specific starting solutions will be developed. The process of adapting the product architecture will be considered accompanying. In the last step, a demonstration tool for the practical use of the research findings will be developed and the transfer of the research findings will be facilitated. The planned research proposition will result in an improvement of efficiency and effectiveness of the B2B configuration process by defining starting solutions. In addition, customer-specific preference mapping and internal complexity effects will be considered. This proposition also enables product architecture adaptations and achieves a higher consistency between the product and the customer preferences as early as possible in the configuration process, while avoiding internal complexity effects.