An optimized LTO process, coupled with Lean Manufacturing facilities and nimble suppliers, is an essential element for executing an effective configurability strategy to realize reduced costs and to gain a competitive advantage.

Capitalizing on the product model, customers can configure unique products – quickly and accurately during the LTO process – the continuous cycle that begins with recognizing a prospect and identifying needs, continues through configuring a unique product, pricing, quoting, booking an order, and ending with automatic generation of bills of material and routings for manufacturing execution. (1)

Throughout the LTO process, users interact with the prompts on computer screens to develop product configurations that satisfy each customer’s unique needs. The prompts are usually a combination of feature-option selection and performance-oriented dialogues, as described above. In addition, the Definition Logic guides users with explanatory messages, for example:

Constraint – “you have a range of choices . . .”

Resource – “you have consumed this much of the allowed . . .”

Inclusion – “this selection also requires . . .”

A key output of the LTO process, automatically generated from the sales configuration, is the unique manufacturing BOMs and routings needed to produce and deliver the customer’s special order.

A Lean Manufacturing environment is mandatory to complement the LTO process, providing flexibility to respond quickly to changes in product configurations and volumes, manufacturing processes and short lead times.