Solution space development in engineer-to-order environment : a knowledge and information reuse perspective

The scope of the thesis is to address the problem of Solution Space (SS) Development within the Engineer-to-Order (ETO) environment. For an ETO manufacturer, the capability to efficiently deliver non-standard specifications in a variety-increasing context mainly relies on its ability to employ past information and knowledge. The Solution Space, the statement of all the possible combinations of design parameters that are offered to the customer, is a core capability due to its relationship with internal processes, direct impact on the operative result of the company, and its role of knowledge repository. At each stage (Definition, Operational Handling and Maintenance) of analysis of the Solution Space, after an extant literature review, models and frameworks have been theorized and formalized. The models have been discussed and empirically validated with eight global ETO manufacturers, through two rounds of semi-structured interviews. The investigation was carried on with a deductive approach. A new definition of the SS for ETO companies has been provided, with a differentiation between Standard and Non Standard solutions and the direct link to the Value Chain. In the Operational Handling, different customization processes have been identified basing on the type of product complexity inducted by customer’s requests. The model allows to classify the ETO manufacturers on the basis of their customization-process knowledge requirements. In the last phase, the evolution of the Solution Space has been linked to the capability of the company to efficiently perform the design of Non Standard Solution, identifying Organizational and IT Success Practices. The topic of Solution Space Deployment is analyzed along its lifecycle for the first time within the ETO context. The literature gap concerning this topic has been filled in with three conceptual frameworks. A wider perspective is offered to practitioners that can use an empirically validated framework to shape the dimensions of their ETO firm’s SS and the implied internal processes.