Latest Articles
MODULAR5 Insights: Navigating the Shift from ETO to CTO
Stay ahead with actionable insights on modular product architecture and process optimization. Our articles explore the intersection of strategic “thinking” (consultancy) and practical “doing” (engineering), guiding manufacturers from Engineering-to-Order (ETO) chaos toward Configure-to-Order (CTO) scalability.
Discover trends, best practices, and innovative strategies for Smart Customization to increase efficiency and maximize your margins. Read our latest articles below.
The Hidden Power of Sales in Modularization.
If you believe your modularization approach will be successful because your engineering team is world-class and fully committed, think again. The truth is that modularization's success is determined by sales rather than engineering. In most businesses, the sales team...
Modular Design: The Hidden Trap That May Limit Your Product’s Potential
Modularization is often seen as the ultimate tool for manufacturers to streamline operations, cut costs, and customize products at scale. Yet, for businesses in low-volume, high-mix markets, modularization can create challenges when not implemented correctly.
Standardization vs. Modularization: What Every Industrial OEM Needs to Know
Many companies choose to standardize the parts and components used in their products in an effort to reduce costs. Standardization has the clear advantage of decreasing the cash locked-in stock materials and warehousing expenses. The ‘low-hanging fruit’ is to start...
How modular product design changes after-sales
Think about this: You are the CEO of a successful OEM that makes complicated systems combining structural elements with moving parts, electrical, pneumatic, and maybe even hydraulic systems, and sensors and control systems – a mechatronic system. Even though your...
Why modular design is important for a green future
Companies in low-volume/high-mix markets must find a better balance between innovation, cost-efficiency, and sustainability as the business world changes quickly. Focussing on sustainability can feel like a luxury you can't afford if your business isn't set up...
Achieving Operational Excellence with MODULAR5®
In a recent article, MODULAR5® shared how Operational Excellence helps cover the cost of implementing a modular design. Our clients benefit from decreasing product costs by starting continuous improvement initiatives. These gains are subsequently repurposed to design...
Scaling Modular Product Design: How to Grow Beyond a Successful Pilot
Many businesses face challenges transitioning from a successful pilot to full-scale modular product design across the enterprise. After experiencing the benefits of modularization with one product, firms frequently wonder, "How do we replicate this success across the...
How the MODULAR5® framework is self-funding
What if the change your company makes could pay for itself? The MODULAR5® framework enables it. We use the best parts of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, the theory of constraints, and other operational excellence systems to make your operations run more smoothly. The...
How Modularization Improves Department Efficiency and Saves Time.
Industrial companies that make a lot of different, complicated products must find ways to stay competitive in today's fast-paced world. If you're in this situation, dealing with unending paperwork, making a design for each order, or customer documentation that takes...
Ready to remove engineering from your critical path?
MODULAR5 helps ambitious organizations transform complex products into configurable modular solutions. Less chaos in engineering, faster lead times and higher margins, without losing the customization your customers value.