Configurators can be a mystery because of the different levels of manufacturers' requirements. A careful need analysis followed by an assessment of the various tools in the market is required. Configurators, unlike other application software, can use very different techniques depending on the complexity of the configuration requirement. This article will consider some key capabilities, market trends and actual implementation examples that should be considered when attempting to find a solution for your configurator problem.
One of many problems with homemade configurators is that they are independent systems not integrated with a complete manufacturing software system. They therefore tend to draw the focus away from manufacturing and engineering, and thus the responsibility for the upkeep and input of crucial engineering, production and purchasing information.
There are some excellent configurators integrated from the ground up in some of today's "complete" packages. However, the more innovative software designs are coming out of the PC world.
Without going through all the details of the two types of systems, it is safe to say that they both work well in certain environments. When feature-option logic gets complex, however, the "bottom up" approach tends to be more applicable. Again, this is a discussion for consultants and/or key people in a manufacturing organization who are very familiar with the environment they are helping improve.
One company where a simple "top down" approach works well is at a manufacturer of truck bodies. Truck body sizes, refrigeration units and insulation requirements are some of the feature groups for which there are several options. Options selected out of one feature group can make a requirement for or exclude options out of a different group. The key benefits in this company are the reduction in engineering time required to "bless" the configuration and the increases in accuracy and quality attained.
A company that makes more complex large vehicles in a similar industry could benefit from a "bottom up" approach. In this company a configurator could help determine the body frame hole drilling requirements, dimensional window design, and window placement on the vehicle. The laminated window and metals bonding companies referred to above are also good candidates for a "bottom up" solution.
Mobile computing with configurators is in its infancy. Many companies are considering configurators that can, in turn, integrate with powerful, mobile, "front end," three-dimensional graphics packages that create a "smart" part and additional text for "specials." This smart part and text can then be used to automatically create the predefined product attributes for configuration of bills of material, routings, pricing, and many other decisions, depending on the configurator's boolean-type rules maintained by the user.
A good example of this is in the power cylinder industry that produces motion control devices for many applications, including robotic arms and earth-moving machinery. A change in the length of one component can affect many other components in these products; they typically have 10-20 feature groups and 5-10 options per group, with many dependencies across the feature groups. Several leaders in this industry, including John Crossno, CEO of AIR-DRO Cylinders, and Jeff Cole, product manager of Vickers-Cylinder, are implementing the graphical smart part front-end with a "bottom up," host-attached configurator this year.
This graphical CAD-like front-end product is typically customized by the software vendor for a client, and the resulting software is made available for a nominal fee to the distributors of the manufacturer's product. This allows mobile computing beyond the company sales force while linking the supply chain together with the same software functionality.
It is very easy to lose focus and concentrate only on configurators. Get the right "base" package, or you may simply be replicating the problems inherent in the "homemade" packages already mentioned.
There is no "ideal" configurator that can cover all situations. However, make sure you consider that more innovative configurators are on PCs, "bottom up" approaches "think" like you engineer your products, and mobile computing can make a difference in field sales and in response time to your distributors and customers. Finally, don't forget that your configurator issue is only one of many that require solutions in your manufacturing environment.