“3DSE's pragmatic and solution-oriented consulting approach has helped us to integrate the aspects of modular product development into our product development process. The developed solution is a perfect fit for BRP-Rotax and will help us to develop engin
Richard Winklhofer
Director Program Management R&D Powertrain
BRP Rotax GmbH & Co. KG
Design and Implementation of a Process for Modular Product Development
The Austrian subsidiary BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG develops and produces drive systems for the leisure and powersports sector such as for the BRP brands Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles or Sea-Doo personal watercraft in Austria and Mexico.
BRP-Rotax creates powertrain systems for various vehicles on water, on the road, off-road or on snow, aiming for optimal solutions. “At the same time, we need to develop and produce products more efficiently, manage portfolio complexity and leverage cost-side potential,” says Richard Winklhofer, Director Program Management R&D Powertrain at BRP-Rotax. “Modularization offers us the opportunity to keep internal complexity and thus costs low within the company through standardized interfaces, while offering optimized solutions for all applications.”
3DSE, with its industry expertise, integrated modular development into our successful process.
This involved activities like collection product requirements, designing module structures, and defining interfaces. A clear evaluation methodology creates transparency about the financial savings potential and supports management in making decisions.
Parallel to the process design, activities, tools, and templates were piloted using a concrete example. As part of the implementation, the role of the Chief Modularity Architect was introduced, and clear governance was defined to anchor the process organizationally as well.
“In addition to content and methodological support from 3DSE, the commitment of the Rotax team was a key success factor,” said Richard Winklhofer. “Together with 3DSE, we adapted existing concepts from the industry to make them a perfect fit for BRP.”
The process, that has already been applied in initial projects, provides various solution alternatives in a structured manner, and makes the advantages of modular product architecture transparent. After the first project has shown the possibility of significant cost savings, the process is now to be successively applied to other parts of the Rotax product portfolio in order to fully exploit the potential of modular products.