Integrated Product and Production Platforms: Towards a Research Agenda

Abstract

Product platforms have been used as a strategy for manufacturing companies to stay competitive and have provided a means that fulfils the need of agile and demand driven product realisation. However, a link to the production system development is often missing. Knowledge is required concerning how a platform approach can be applied in the production domain and integrated with the product platform. The purpose of this paper is to outline a research agenda for integrated product and production platforms. Based on a literature review and empirical material from more than 50 interviews in five manufacturing companies, state-of-the art and state-of-practice is presented, together with a preliminary research agenda. A flexible, although systematic and structured, approach is needed where the product platform and the production platform are well integrated to support agile, and demand driven product realisation. A product realisation process supported by integrated product and production platforms is expected to support the competitiveness of manufacturing companies facing a market characterized by high diversity and rapid change.