Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect
Available ScienceDirect
online
Availableatonline
www.sciencedirect.com
at www.sciencedirect.com
Procedia CIRP 00 (2021) 000–000

ScienceDirect
Procedia CIRP 00 (2021) 000–000
ScienceDirect
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Procedia CIRP 00 (2017)

Procedia 000–000
CIRP 109 (2022) 25–30
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

32nd CIRP Design Conference

32nd CIRP Design Conference
Productization as a link to combining product portfolio management and
Productization as28th a CIRP
link to combining
Design
product Conference, product May 2018, portfolio
family development Nantes, Francemanagement and
product family development
A newJanne Mämmelä *, Ernoanalyze
methodologya, to Mustonenathe functional
, Janne Härkönena,and Jarkkophysical
Pakkanenarchitecture
b
, Tero Juutib of
existing productsa,*,for
Janne Mämmelä anMustonen
Erno assembly
University
a
oriented
, Janne katu, Oulu product
Härkönen
of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran
a
FI-90014, Finlandfamily identification
a
, Jarkko Pakkanenb, Tero Juutib
b
Tampere University,
University
a Kalevantie
of Oulu, Pentti 4, katu,
Kaiteran Tampere
OuluFI-33014,
FI-90014,Finland
Finland
Paul Stief *, Jean-Yves Dantan, Alain Etienne, Ali Siadat
b
Tampere University, Kalevantie 4,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +358509104457. E-mail address: janne.mammela@oulu.fiTampere FI-33014, Finland

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +358509104457. E-mail address: janne.mammela@oulu.fi

École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, LCFC EA 4495, 4 Rue Augustin Fresnel, Metz 57078, France

*Abstract
Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 3 87 37 54 30; E-mail address: paul.stief@ensam.eu
Abstract
In R&D many disciplines focus on different aspects of managing the product life cycle. Generally, the focus can be divided into
technical
In R&D many aspects and business
disciplines focus on aspects.
different Combining
aspects ofthese two views,
managing and research
the product areas
life cycle. can be the
Generally, beneficial
focus can in be
thedivided
contextintoof
Abstract
productization.
technical Productization
aspects and businesslinks to the
aspects. concept ofthese
Combining product
two structure
views, and and research
relates toareas
modelling
can beofbeneficial
the offering according
in the contexttoofa
consistent product
productization. structure, commercially
Productization links to the and technically.
concept The goal
of product of this
structure research
and relatesistotomodelling
identify how a business-specific
of the offering according product
to a
Inconsistent
today’s business
structure can be environment,
formed and the
shouldtrend be towards
managed more toproduct
maximizevariety
theand customization
value of the is unbroken.
offering. This Due
study to
product structure, commercially and technically. The goal of this research is to identify how a business-specific product this
uses development,
a literature the needfor
review of
agile and reconfigurable
defining
structure the
cancurrent
be formed production
state of product
and systems
should be emerged
portfolio
managed totocope
management with(PPM)
maximize various
theand products
product
value andfamily
of the product families.
development
offering. To (PFD)
This study design and
uses concepts optimize
a literaturewith production
linkages
review for
systems asthe
wellcurrent
as toAs
to productization.
defining choose oftheproduct
a result,
state optimal
this study product matches,
presents
portfolio product
similarities
management analysis
andmethods
productare
and differences
(PPM) needed.
between
family PPMIndeed,
and most
development PFD ofthrough
(PFD) theconcepts
known
the methods aim to
productization
with linkages
analyze
lens. a product or
A suggestionAs one product
of acombiningfamily on the physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and
to productization. result, thisthe studybestpresents
practicessimilarities
of both approaches is demonstrated
and differences between PPM through an illustrative
and PFD through the case study. Also,
productization
nature of
proposalscomponents. This fact
for futureofresearch impedes
are the an
presented. efficient comparison
The main and choice
contribution of appropriate
involves product
indicating throughfamily
that effective
combinations
PPM requires for the production
a business-
lens. A suggestion combining best practices of both approaches is demonstrated an illustrative case study. Also,
system.
specificA physical
new methodology
product isstructure
proposed and to analyze existinglogic.
partitioning productsThein benefits
view of their functional
of PPM and physical
can only architecture. The aim isapplicable
to cluster
proposals for future research are presented. The main contribution involves indicating thatbeeffective
truly captured through
PPM requires a business-
these products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization of existing assembly lines and the creation of future reconfigurable
product structure.
specific Therefore,
physical product PFD isand
structure recommended
partitioning to be used
logic. The in designing
benefits product
of PPM can portfolio related
only be truly technical
captured aspects.
through PPM is
applicable
assembly systems. Based on Datum Flow Chain, the physical structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and
applied
product for management
structure. purposes
Therefore, PFD with
is the support oftoa defined
recommended be used product
in structure.
designing product portfolio related technical aspects. PPMthe is
a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts
applied for management purposes with the support of a defined product structure.
similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative
© 2022 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.
example
© 2022 ofThea Authors.
nail-clipper is used by
Published to explain
ElseviertheB.V.proposed methodology. An industrial case study on two product families of steering columns of
This
© is
is an
2022 open
The access
Authors. article
Publishedunder the
the CC
bycarried
ELSEVIER BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
This an
thyssenkruppopen access
Presta article
France under
is then CCout toB.V.
BY-NC-ND license
give a first industrial evaluation of the proposed approach.
Peer-review
This is an
Peer-review under
open responsibility
access
under article ofthe
under
responsibility of thescientific
scientific
CC committee
BY-NC-ND
committee of
license
of thethe 32nd CIRP Design Conference
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
32nd CIRP Design Conference
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 32nd CIRP Design
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 28th CIRP Design Conference Conference2018.
Keywords: productization; product portfolio management; product family development; product structure; partitioning logic
productization;
Keywords:Assembly;
Keywords: Designproduct portfolio
method; Familymanagement;
identificationproduct family development; product structure; partitioning logic

1. Introduction products [4,5]. Productization can be applied to offerings of

1.1.Introduction
Introduction different
products
of nature
the product [2], [6].
[4,5]. range
Productization can be applied
and characteristics to offerings
manufactured and/orof
Successful productization [1] is one of the key processes for Traditionally
different nature technical
[2], [6]. aspects are developed
assembled in this system. In this context, the main challenge in in product
achieving
Due to the
Successful the economic
productization sustainability
[1] is one ofintheof
fast development keymanufacturing
the processes
domain for of family development
Traditionally
modelling (PFD)
technical
and analysis and not
commercial
aspects
is now are analysis
onlydeveloped
to cope in done
with productby
single
companies.
achieving theProductization
economic includes
sustainability both
communication and an ongoing trend of digitization and of technical
manufacturingand product
family portfolio
development management
(PFD) and (PPM).
commercial PFD refers
analysis
products, a limited product range or existing product families, to
done the
by
commercial aspects
companies.
digitalization, of the offering.
Productization
manufacturing includesIt relates
enterprises both to defining
technical
are facing the
and
important development
product of
portfolioproduct
managementplatforms including
(PPM). PFD re-usable
but also to be able to analyze and to compare products to definerefers assets
to the
offering
commercial to a product-like
aspects of the form
offering. that
It is
relates
challenges in today’s market environments: a continuing manageable
to defining [2].
the for fulfilling certain
development of productneeds by providing
platforms product
including variants
re-usable [7].
assets
new product families. It can be observed that classical existing
Productization
offering to a links to the concept that
product-like of product structure and Defining which products to develop, sell, deliver, maintain, and
tendency towards reduction of form is manageable
product development [2].
times and for fulfilling certain needs by providing product
product families are regrouped in function of clients or features.variants [7].
relates to modelling
Productization links of
to the
the offering
concept according
of product tostructure
a consistent
and remove
Defining according
which to thetocompany´s
products develop, strategic
sell, targets
deliver, are and
maintain, the
shortened product lifecycles. In addition, there is an increasing However, assembly oriented product families are hardly to find.
producttostructure,
relates commercially and technically. toA aproductized main function of PPM [8].company´s
The interlinkages and cooperation
demand of modelling
customization,of thebeing
offering according
at the same time inconsistent
a global remove according to the strategic
On the product family level, products differ mainly in twotargets are the
offering structure,
product is well-defined, articulated,
commercially and and documented
technically. A with
productized of PFD
main and PPM
function of approaches
PPM [8]. have
The been deficiently
interlinkages and covered by
cooperation
competition with competitors all over the world. This trend, main characteristics: (i) the number of components and (ii) the
relevant features
offering is and descriptions
well-defined, [3].and
articulated, It isdocumented
specificallywiththe the
of PFD reviewed
and PPMliterature.
approaches The
haverelated
been understanding
deficiently coveredand by
which is inducing the development from macro to micro type of components (e.g. mechanical, electrical, electronical).
gained consistency
relevant features thatdescriptions
and can be beneficial
[3]. Itfor
is dealing with the
specifically discussion
theClassical in theliterature.
reviewed industry areThe also related
lacking. understanding and
markets, results in diminished lot sizes due to augmenting methodologies considering mainly single products
gained consistency
product that can betobeneficial
varieties (high-volume low-volume for dealing with[1].
production) the discussion
or solitary,inalready
the industry are also
existing lacking.
product families analyze the
To cope with
2212-8271 this
© 2022 Theaugmenting variety
Authors. Published as well asB.V.
by ELSEVIER to be able to product structure on a physical level (components level) which
This is an open
identify access
possibleThearticle under
optimization the CCpotentials
BY-NC-ND license
the(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
in B.V. existing
2212-8271 © 2022 Authors. Published by ELSEVIER causes difficulties regarding an efficient definition and
Peer-review
This under
is an open responsibility
access article of the
under the CC
scientific committee of the 32nd CIRP Design Conference
production system, it is important toBY-NC-ND license
have a precise (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
knowledge comparison of different product families. Addressing this
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 32nd CIRP Design Conference
2212-8271 © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an©open
2212-8271 2017access article Published
The Authors. under theby CC BY-NC-ND
Elsevier B.V. license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-reviewunder
Peer-review under responsibility
responsibility of the
of the scientific
scientific committee
committee of theof28th
the CIRP
32nd CIRP
DesignDesign Conference
Conference 2018.
10.1016/j.procir.2022.05.209
26 Janne Mämmelä et al. / Procedia CIRP 109 (2022) 25–30
2 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

Both, PPM and PFD, approaches are aiming to maximize the current literature, not to present a comprehensive literature
the benefits of the offering with the help of productization by review.
various means. Generally, PPM uses a management
perspective to productization and highlight the product 2.1. Productization
management models and concepts in achieving the benefits.
PFD instead relies on the idea that proper product structure is The concept of productization is mostly referred to as a
the root of success. The benefits of an excellent product process of transforming customer needs or ideas into a sellable
structure can be ruined by poor management, but good results product. It is discussed mainly in four content categories;
cannot be achieved without a suitable product structure. productization of products, services, software and technology
Therefore, this research aims to identify how a business- [2]. Currently, the productization discussion is the most
specific product structure can be formed and should be developed concerning products [1,2,4,5,8] and services
managed to maximize the value of the offering. [2,4,5,8,13]. This research focuses on the manufacturing
PPM focuses on the entire offering of a company and links industry sector and is, therefore, most closely related to the
the sales items on the commercial structure to the technical productization of physical products. In this context, the
product structure [1,4,5,8]. PPM does not take a position on productization focus on modeling the commercial and technical
how the technical structure is formed but aims for consistency product structure of the offering to reach a consistency [4]
in logic [4,5]. Hence, it can be seen that in practice, PPM and seems appropriate. In practice, the commercial side of the
PFD are interlinked whether or not it is has been realized. offering is managed by PPM and technical aspects can be
PFD studies the significance of product structure and provided with the logic of PFD, both of which are discussed in
presents different means for defining the product structure more detail below.
[9,10]. Assessing the quality of the product structure in the
early phase of development has, however, been seen as 2.2. Product portfolio management, PPM
challenging due to uncertainty and complexity [11]. One
example of the importance of considering product structure and Defining which products to develop, sell, deliver, maintain,
potential interlinkages among PPM and PFD involves the and remove according to the company´s strategic targets are the
observation that the full financial gains of introducing product main function of PPM [8]. Even though the strategic targets are
configurators necessitate consistent product structure to important, and these relate to performance indicators (KPIs), it
support the activities to succeed, especially related to is important to notice that in the service context the focus can
engineering to order (ETO) products [12]. be more on adding value rather than traditional KPIs [3]. Thus,
Therefore, this research aims to clarify the special PPM operates on a management level contributed mainly by
characteristics of PPM and PFD concepts in the context of the business or industrial management scholars. Strategic
productization, as well as their interlinkages and potential targets [8] and corporate goals [14,15] are highlighted in the
cooperation. The following research questions are addressed: PPM literature for guiding the decisions. The total offering of
RQ1: What are the similarities and differences a company is usually divided into, for example, product lines
between PPM and PFD in the productization context? or product families for managing aspects in a technical product
RQ2: How to benefit from PPM and PFD in portfolio, see Figure 1.
productization?
RQs are answered by using literature as the main source of
information (RQ1) and illustrative case example (RQ2) for
demonstrating the effects and connections of successful PPM
and PFD. The present paper is structured as follows: next, a
literature review of the area is provided. Then, the methodology
is presented. The analysis and results are followed by a
discussion and conclusion.

2. Literature review

A constructive research strategy was selected, and a

literature review is used as the main research method for this
research. The industrial experience of authors is also applied
for the illustrative case study examples to highlight the
relevance of findings. The literature review was conducted by
using Scopus and the following keywords: “productization”
OR “productisation” 2010-2021, “product portfolio
management” 2010-2021, “product family development”
2010-2021. References focusing on product structures were
selected and their references were also used to complement the
literature review. The aim was to introduce a topic discussed in Figure 1. Concept of product portfolio management over the life cycle in
productization (adapted from Lahtinen et al. [5]) and foci of this research
highlighted (grey).
 Janne Mämmelä et al. / Procedia CIRP 109 (2022) 25–30 27
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000 3

PPM aims to manage cost, value and strategic fit of product operations.” Pakkanen et al. [10] propose the Brownfield
portfolio by conceptualizing clear connection between Process for rationalizing existing product variety towards
commercial and technical product portfolios, see Figure 1 [5]. modular product families. They conclude that a module system
PPM aims to understand the total number of items in the requires knowledge of modules, interfaces, architecture,
portfolio, in addition to recognizing profitable and/or strategic configuration, and especially the partitioning logic which is
products. Sales item refers to an entity that can be chosen and seen as a key element for capturing the value of the product
purchased by the customer and generates revenue. Each sales families. Partitioning logic “defines viewpoints that affect
item is realized technically by assemblies or components, product structuring decisions from both a business and
causing costs. Strategic fit is evaluated against the company customer perspective” [7]. Module interfaces and visualization
strategy [8]. [21] is one approach to communicating the knowledge.
The PPM model also focuses on the product life cycle Product life cycle perspective is discussed for example by
through the focus on what products to develop, sell, or archive focusing on supply chain [22] and assembly [23]. More
[1]. PPM includes vertical and horizontal product portfolios comprehensive evaluations of the life cycle effects of the
referring to the product structure and product life cycle. Using product family are proposed for example by Andreasen [20]
this kind of a generic product structure is also discussed for and Pakkanen [7]. The strategic fit of the product family with
improving the design reuse in engineer-to-order products [16]. organizational and process-related aspects are also worthy of
Since PPM focuses on the commercial product portfolio and consideration [24]. Design maturity and the product structure
provides a general structure for the technical product portfolio, should support the product lifecycle where productization
additional tools for developing product families are needed as prepares products for the external markets and internal
discussed below. production [25].
The design of product structure must therefore consider the
2.3. Product family development, PFD customer needs causing variety, the company´s internal
operational activities and objectives, besides requirements
When companies are aiming to increase design reuse and from outside the company. Business-specific product structure
enable product variants the development of product families is enables capturing the value of the product family during the
often discussed [10]. A product family is based on product product life cycle.
platforms including re-usable assets for fulfilling certain needs
by providing product variants [7]. PFD focuses on technical 2.4. Synthesis of literature findings
aspects of product structure, contributed mainly by the
engineering design research discipline. Although, also Summary of findings related to differences and similarities
customer view is seen as vital when developing product between PPM and PFD in the productization context is
families [17]. The customer view forms a clear connection synthesized in Table 1. PPM focuses on managerial and
between PPM and PFD by describing the features that are in commercial level decisions related to product portfolio whereas
the customers´ interest. In PFD the engineering and part views PFD provides support for defining technical product structure
are two additional interesting areas that refer to working and architecture and thus rationalizing the partitioning logic.
principles, and the more detailed physical structure of a product The connection of PPM and PFD involves the link between
family. During the productization process, there are several sales items and technical assemblies, which can be formulated
different product views such as bill of materials (BOM) and in different ways.
engineering bill of materials (EBOM) raising questions on
which views are most important in PFD. Table 1. Summary of literature review: perspectives of PPM and PFD in the
productization context.
PFD methods can be categorized into four groups of being
function-oriented, index-based, optimization and, matrix and Perspectives Product portfolio Product family
clustering-based methods [10]. The function-based partitioning management, PPM development, PFD
logic is discussed, for example, by Erixon [9] who presents the
Main objective “PPM should define, “Increase design reuse
Modular Function Deployment method. Simpson et al. [18] which products to and enable product
propose an index-based method for defining the common and develop, sell, deliver, variants” [10]
unique structures of product families. They contribute also to maintain, and remove
matrix-based methods by providing support tools for studying based on company’s
strategic targets” [8]
interactions of components and sub-systems. The optimization
approaches focus on multiple aspects such as multi-objective Concreteness (concept, Higher-level i.e. Aims for practicability
model, method, etc.) product structure i.e. method [23],
optimization in product variants [19].
concept [5] process [10], or
Since PFD is seen as a complex task [11], various additional approach [19]
methods, tools and principles have been suggested to support
Quantitative - Quantitative Focus on qualitative
previously mentioned categories. Modularization is often Qualitative approaches are used [10,17,23] but
connected to PFD. According to Andreasen [20] for revenue [1] but quantitative tools
modularization “is aiming at creating variety seen from the qualitative in product exists [18,19]
customer’s viewpoint, whilst at the same time showing kinship structure [16]
or commonality between module variants, and such structural
properties, that it reduces the complexity in the company’s
28 Janne Mämmelä et al. / Procedia CIRP 109 (2022) 25–30
4 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

Future - past Data is based on actual Focus on future, type of wheels, and the location of the cable reel. The target of
figures (past) and targets of PFD are 5+ PFD is to isolate the effects of the MCQs on controllable items
targets are in the near years away
future
in the product structure.
Figure 2 shows two different ways to control the product in
Vertical portfolios The primary focus is The primary focus is
terms of variation. The left side shows the engineering-to-order
(product structure) on commercial aspects on technical aspects
approach, familiar from the projecting business, where
Technical General product Multiple approaches
everything is designed according to the customer's wishes. The
structure is proposed proposed for defining
but existing product technical right side describes the configure-to-order method, in which
structure is used as a structure[9,17] and the reusable sections and delivery-configurable sections are
base [5] partitioning logic [10] identified in the product. The goal of the PFD was that not
Commercial Income, cost and Technical structure is everything would have to be redesigned due to changing
strategic fit is used based on commercial customer requirements, but the change could be applied to a
according to sales input such as customer smaller part of the product. This would support, for example,
items [5] based on the view [17] and main
the benefits of design reuse. Analyzing the typical requirements
technical structure customer questions
[10] of the customer’s, partitioning logic was found to increase the
controllability of the product in terms of changes.
Horizontal portfolios Discussed in varying Discussed in-depth
(product life cycle) depth such as Sales such as Sales [10,24],
[5], Design [5], Design [24], Supply
Maintenance/Warranty chain [22],
[5] Manufacturing [23],
Use [24],
Maintenance/Warranty
[10]
Value creation Value maximization Decisions about
includes, for example, product structure are
market attractiveness mainly based on
and turnover [1] potential value instead
of actual figures [9,10]
Costs and income Income from sales Value creation
items and cost from mechanisms proposed
technical realization to evaluate business
[5] impact [10]
Company strategy Portfolio aligned with Taken into account
strategy [8,14,15] [10,24]
Knowledge focus Strategic fit, value Partitioning logic,
maximization and architecture,
balanced and right-size interfaces, modules,
portfolio [1] and configuration rules Figure 2. The visual product structure of a container crane before and after
[10] redesign with potential benefits during the product life cycle.

Weaknesses Visibility behind Difficulties to assess

product costs and the impact of the Originally the steel frame was an order-specific structure
value, support for decisions taken and the connection between the sales items and the physical
product development structure was challenging to formulate. After the redesign, the
Strengths Fact-based evaluation Possibility to affect height and width were realized through vertical and horizontal
of outcome through value and cost of sales part elements see Figure 3. Wheels were designed as
money and strategy items at the product interchangeable, and the cable reel remained as it was. The
level
connections between the sales items and the container crane
product structure are presented in Figure 3 according to the
PPM product structure model proposed by Tolonen et al. [1].

3. Results and illustrative case

To support PPM, the sales items and the technical product

structure are essential to link to each other. However, it is not
trivial how this is done in practice; totally software-based
linking is not efficient and therefore also physical product
structure with design principles is considered. To open this
paradigm an illustrative case example is used, see Figure 2. We
applied the Brownfield process [10] to redesign the product
structure of a load-bearing steel frame of a container crane.
From the customer perspective, the main customer questions
(MCQ) i.e., sales items were height and width of the frame,
 Janne Mämmelä et al. / Procedia CIRP 109 (2022) 25–30 29
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000 5

a different physical product structure can affect profitability

and the agility of a manufacturing company.
The PPM management tools do not directly support
developing a technical product structure from the perspective
of value creation. Certain general propositions of the
connection between sales items and technical structure are
presented, but it should be understood that this can be done in
several different ways. Tools from PFD are recommended to
be used for developing the technical product structure since
business-specific partitioning logic is vital for capturing the
benefits in PPM. The product structure cannot be managed
efficiently enough if virtual.
In answer to RQ2, the product structure formed in PFD
should support the proposed PPM model. The PPM model can
be used for all kinds of products. PPM tools can be used for
evaluating and validating the outcomes of PFD in real-time i.e.,
Figure 3. Horizontal and vertical portfolio concept of container crane before
the price and cost of fulfilling customer requirements (sales
and after the redesign. Grey lines describe the configuration rules i.e., the items). Therefore, close cooperation between PPM and PFD is
connection between sales items and technical assemblies. important for efficient productization.
PPM scholars can benefit from the research related to the
Potential business benefits of the redesigned product definition and effects of technical product portfolio [1,5].
structure are presented at the bottom of Figure 2 where the Focusing on partitioning logic and using a product structure as
effects are proposed according to product life cycle phases [7]. it is designed is seen as beneficial both in ETO products (see
The sales can be supported by promising shorter delivery times Figure 2) but also in fully configurable products since a new
due to storing standard components instead of delivery specific generation of products is designed. The effects of product
designs. During the supply chain, the costs can be decreased by structure on product life cycle phases (horizontal product
buying standard components in larger batches. Parametrically portfolio) are discussed widely in the PFD literature and can be
configurable straight steel beams have a reducing effect on the used in PPM [1]. Purely IT-based linking between sales items
required design time. Manufacturing can benefit from larger and product structure does not necessarily give a true picture of
batch sizes and standard components both in time and money. the goodness of the portfolio.
During the use phase of a container crane, the proposed The main challenges of PFD are related to evaluating the
standard components provide tested quality to the customer and effects of decisions done in PFD [11]. PPM can be used for
better spare part availability. Thus, redesigned version of the evaluating the product family outcomes by using the sales
product structure support both PPM and PFD approaches to items as a reference point between the old and new product
maximize the value and strategic fit of a product. structures. The research contribution to PFD lies in this
improved portfolio-level analysis.
4. Discussion Managers can benefit from the findings by recognizing the
importance of the connection between sales items and the
In the productization context, the understanding of the technical structure of a product. Also, the effects of product
connection between technical and commercial product structure on business benefits are worth investigating since the
portfolios is seen as vital. Generally, the technical aspects of a same components in different structures can have a significant
portfolio are developed by responsible PFD, using for example impact on the economic sustainability of the manufacturing
function or value-based methods. Company´s product portfolio industry.
is managed by PPM, focusing mainly on commercial aspects
but also highlighting the role of technical product structure. 5. Conclusion
Decisions are based on monetary estimations, but strategic
portfolio aspects are considered. The main differences and This research aimed to review PPM and PFD literature and
similarities between PPM and PFD are listed in Table 1 as an propose how productization can benefit from the current
answer to RQ1. methods. The main contribution involves indicating that
Generally, in the PPM literature product is seen as a black effective PPM requires a business-specific physical product
box referring to the interrelations of product properties, and the structure and partitioning logic. The benefits of PPM can only
structures are not visible or understood in the sense of value be truly captured through applicable product structure.
creation during the product life cycle. This can lead to non Therefore, PFD is recommended to be used in designing
sequitur for example looking at profitable or non-profitable product portfolio related technical aspects. PPM is applied for
sales items. This was highlighted in the container crane management purposes with the support of a defined product
example where the product structure comparison revealed that structure.
both versions of structures include the same components and Limitations of this research consist of limited depth of
the same amount of steel. The structures also provide the same literature review since the aim was to introduce different
functionality to a customer. However, the same components in perspectives of PPM and PFD related to productization.
30 Janne Mämmelä et al. / Procedia CIRP 109 (2022) 25–30
6 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

Therefore, some of the relevant literature could be left out of https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2021.05.034.

the review causing an incomplete comparison between PPM [12] Christensen B, Brunoe TD. Product Configuration in the ETO and
and PFD. Also, research was mainly on a theoretical level Capital Goods Industry: A Literature Review and Challenges. In:
besides the illustrative case example where the industrial Hankammer S, Nielsen K, Piller FT, Schuh G, Wang N, editors.
experience of authors was synthesized for communicating the Cust. 4.0., Springer; 2018, p. 423–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-
findings. 3-319-77556-2_26.
Potential areas of future research were recognized in two [13] Harkonen J. Exploring the benefits of service productisation:
categories: applying the findings in a different context and support for business processes. Bus Process Manag J 2021;27:85–
further developing of PPM concept. For example, the service 105. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-01-2021-0056.
business can benefit from modular service portfolios which can [14] Riesener M, Dölle C, Dierkes C, Jank MH. Applying Supervised
be developed through proposed principles. It is also worth and Reinforcement Learning to Design Product Portfolios in
exploring whether the PPM model can be supported in practice Accordance with Corporate Goals. Procedia CIRP 2020;91:127–33.
by PFD tools for example in the management of product life https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.02.157.
cycle and value maximization. [15] Riesener M, Dölle C, Schuh G, Lauf H, Jank MH. Performance-
driven and company goal-orientated design of product portfolios: A
References methodological framework. Procedia CIRP 2019;84:725–30.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2019.03.267.
[1] Tolonen A, Härkönen J, Verkasalo M, Haapasalo H. Product [16] Brière-Côté A, Rivest L, Desrochers A. Adaptive generic product
Portfolio Management Process over Horizontal and Vertical structure modelling for design reuse in engineer-to-order products.
Portfolios. Int J Prod Lifecycle Manag 2015;8:189–215. Comput Ind 2010;61:53–65.
[2] Harkonen J, Haapasalo H, Hanninen K. Productisation: A review https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2009.07.005.
and research agenda. Int J Prod Econ 2015;164:65–82. [17] Harlou U. Developing product families based on architectures:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.02.024. Contribution to a theory of product families. Technical University
[3] Wirtz J, Fritze MP, Jaakkola E, Gelbrich K, Hartley N. Service of Denmark; 2006.
products and productization. J Bus Res 2021;137:411–21. [18] Simpson TW, Bobuk A, Slingerland LA, Brennan S, Logan D,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.08.033. Reichard K. From user requirements to commonality specifications:
[4] Harkonen J, Mustonen E, Hannila H. Productization and Product An integrated approach to product family design. Res Eng Des
Structure as the Backbone for Product Data and Fact-based 2012;23:141–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-011-0119-4.
Analysis of Company Products. IEEE Int Conf Ind Eng Eng Manag [19] Li H, Azarm S. An approach for product line design selection under
2019:474–8. https://doi.org/10.1109/IEEM44572.2019.8978845. uncertainty and competition. J Mech Des Trans ASME
[5] Lahtinen N, Mustonen E, Harkonen J. Commercial and Technical 2002;124:385–92. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1485740.
Productization for Fact-Based Product Portfolio Management over [20] Andreasen MM. 45 Years with Design Methodology. J Eng Des
Lifecycle. IEEE Trans Eng Manag 2021;68:1826–38. 2011;22:293–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2010.538040.
https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2019.2932974. [21] Gebhardt N, Bahns T, Krause D. An example of visually supported
[6] Wirtz J. Viewpoint: Service products, development of service design of modular product families. Procedia CIRP 2014;21:75–80.
knowledge and our community’s target audience. J Serv Mark https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2014.03.162.
2020;35:265–70. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2020-0086. [22] Nishi T, Tsuboi T, Matsuda M. A Simultaneous Optimization
[7] Pakkanen J. A Method for the Rationalisation of Existing Product Framework for Product Family Configuration and Supply Chain
Variety towards a Modular Product Family. Tampere University of Planning. Procedia CIRP 2019;81:1266–71.
Technology; 2015. [23] Stief P, Dantan JY, Etienne A, Siadat A. A new methodology to
[8] Mustonen E, Seppänen J, Tolonen A, Harkonen J, Haapasalo H. analyze the functional and physical architecture of existing products
Product Portfolio Management Strategic Targets and kpis over for an assembly oriented product family identification. Procedia
Life-Cycle: A Case Study in Telecommunications Busines. Manag CIRP 2018;70:47–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2018.02.026.
Glob Transitions 2020;18:5–23. [24] Greve E, Rennpferdt C, Krause D. Harmonizing cross-departmental
[9] Erixon G. Modular Function Deployment - A Method for Product Perspectives on Modular Product Families. Procedia CIRP
Modularisation. Stockholm: The Royal Institute of Technology; 2020;91:452–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.02.198.
1998. [25] Leino S-P, Jokinen L, Anttila J-P, Pulkkinen A. Case Study on
[10] Pakkanen J, Juuti T, Lehtonen T. Brownfield Process: A method for Engineering Change Management and Digital Manufacturing. In:
modular product family development aiming for product Bouras A, Eynard B, Foufou S, Thoben K-D, editors. Prod.
configuration. Des Stud 2016;45:210–41. Lifecycle Manag. Era Internet Things, Cham: Springer International
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2016.04.004. Publishing; 2016, p. 591–600.
[11] Sankowski O, Küchenhof J, Dambietz FM, Züfle M, Wallisch A,
Krause D, et al. Challenges in early phase of product family
development processes. Procedia CIRP 2021;100:840–5.