The Corporate Platform - a model to create a product program

Product platform and modular design methods have been used to efficiently create product variants. Modular methods have primarily been use to ease product variant configuration. Platform methods have been successfully used reusing assets among a predefined family of products. Design methods for non-configurable products that can not be defined in a predefined family have not been focused. This article presents a model framework of how companies can manage and structure their core assets needed to efficiently customize new successive non-configurable variants. Because variants are customized in a successive manner the company is continuously adding new competence that will be used designing new variants. This modelling frame is called Corporate Platform. The model includes alignment of four main aspects; Market, Product Platform, Manufacturing and Product Development into the specific product variants. By having a broader view and structured approach to product and product platform development increased reuse can be achieved. Keywords: Product platform, Product variation, Design for manufacturing