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True Modularization for Efficiency

Modularization involves dividing a product, service, or process into components to improve flexibility and efficiency. When done correctly, modularization allows an organization to satisfy varied customer demand while reducing costs and resources. However, many organizations that attempt modularization fail to achieve both flexibility and efficiency, instead trading one for the other. True modularization structures variety in a way that both the commercial and industrial parts of an organization can work together to address customer demand efficiently. By designing products or processes modularly using standardized interfaces between components, organizations can create many combinations from a limited set of parts to meet an almost infinite variety of customer needs efficiently.

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86 views3 pages

True Modularization for Efficiency

Modularization involves dividing a product, service, or process into components to improve flexibility and efficiency. When done correctly, modularization allows an organization to satisfy varied customer demand while reducing costs and resources. However, many organizations that attempt modularization fail to achieve both flexibility and efficiency, instead trading one for the other. True modularization structures variety in a way that both the commercial and industrial parts of an organization can work together to address customer demand efficiently. By designing products or processes modularly using standardized interfaces between components, organizations can create many combinations from a limited set of parts to meet an almost infinite variety of customer needs efficiently.

Uploaded by

Anders Johansson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Home What We Do Work With Us About Contact

MODULARIZATION

Going for flexibility


Organizations face the problem to handle a varied and changing demand with a stable and efficient process. One known
best practice is to use modularization. Done in the true way, modularization will improve both the flexibility and ability of an
organization to satisfy a varied customer demand and limit the use of resources, time and cost to do so. As such it is
considered to be a major competitive advantage by those who use and understand it. On the other hand a lot of
organizations that try to use modularity fail to get the wanted results. The flexibility of the organization is traded for the
efficiency instead of achieving both.
When struggling to cope with the constant variation in the demand from the
customers the easy way out is to limit what is offered. The risk is that part
of the customers are neglected. It could be a small part of the need from a
big customer or needs from innovative customers with low volume that drive
future technology. There are customers that seem to have low volume needs “Variety, multiplicity are the
but would be large if other customer knew about the availability. two most powerful vehicles
Organizations that are requested to improve efficiency will try to avoid such of lust.”
variation. The variation in customer demand is perceived as ruining the
possibility to become efficient. To master the situation the organization is – Marquis de Sade
often divided into a commercial and industrial part, where the industrial part
is set to handle the efficiency and the commercial part is set to handle the
demand.

Modularization efforts are often handled by the industrial part of the


organization and therefore focus more on the efficiency than the
effectiveness of satisfying the actual customer demand. The consequence is
a reduced offer to the customer with lost sales, reduced margin and
profitability as a consequence. After a period of time complexity reoccurs
because the variation has to be recreated to be able to meet customer
demand.
Those that really manage to do True Modularization on the other hand, find
themselves with a more flexible and adaptable organization that is more
efficient than without modularization. Modularization gives the ability to
structure the varied and changing world in such a way that the commercial
and industrial part of an organization find ways together to solve the
equation for “variation and efficiency”, True Modularization will create a
common langue.

In modularization the product, service or process is divided into components. By a clever selection of components the
different parts can be managed separately. The work to design, manufacture and sell the product can be done in parallel.
Just in Time and Time to Market will improve tremendously. The organization can now try to understand the need
component by component. How does the customer use the product? What user factors are important for the component?
Only when the user factors shows a need of variation for a component, another performance step of the component is
supplied. This will ensure the efficiency by creating as few performance steps as possible to fulfil the customer demand. To
achieve flexibility, the components can be combined in many different end products if the interfaces are standardized
between the component series. The total flexibility of the system enables customer to choose from an almost infinite output
with a very limited input. To enable the right choice, user factors are used to recommend customers how to choose the right
components.
This way of working and the understanding of why to modularize will ensure the right outcome and the success of the
organization. Modularization could help a lot of different organizations to become better. The structure that creates
efficiency and the flexibility that creates effective customer satisfaction is beneficial for any organization or process.
Modularization is a way to avoid sub-optimization in a big and complex organization. When used the benefits are seen
throughout the whole organization.

CONTACT US WHAT WE DO

UNITER AB
Kronobergsgatan 49, 1 tr 
112 33 Stockholm
Sweden
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