Field Service newsletter - 2025 autumn edition
We're thrilled to announce the launch of our customer and field service newsletter, bringing together insights from experts, solutions, and knowledge across various countries.
How to manage product options and variants
As markets demand more personalization and regional adaptation, it’s important to know how to manage product variants.
A variant might differ by function, material, size, certification, and even a simple product can generate hundreds of valid combinations. At first, it’s common to handle this manually: one BOM per variant, duplicated CAD files, and a few spreadsheets to keep track. But as the product line grows, so does the risk of inconsistency, errors, and delays.
Manage increasing complexity
Variants often share components, yet changes don’t always propagate reliably. Manufacturing teams may not know which configuration is valid. Sales might offer combinations that can’t be built. Engineering ends up duplicating work.
To manage complexity, companies need a structured and modular approach. Starting by organizing the product into standard modules or option sets. Defining configuration rules that govern which combinations are technically valid or market allowed. Embeding these rules into engineering processes and connect them to production and service systems.
Centralizing variant logic ensures consistency and traceability across departments. Instead of reacting to errors late in the process, teams can design and plan with confidence, even when working with hundreds of configurations.
The goal is not to limit flexibility, but to enable controlled customization at scale. With the right structure, variant management becomes a driver of product quality, faster delivery, and competitive differentiation.
The right technology
Mastering product options and variants isn’t just a technical win, it’s a business enabler, and for that you need the right tools, such as a PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system. Integrating variant data into a PLM system allows for full traceability, structured change control, and visibility into the impact of any modification across the entire product landscape.
It allows for:
- Faster time-to-market for new configurations
- Mass customization at scale
- Fewer errors and lower engineering cost
- Optimized inventory and supply chain
- Stronger compliance and regulatory control
As product complexity and customer expectations continue to rise, companies that can efficiently manage variants will be better positioned to grow globally, respond to market needs faster, and operate more profitably.
Increase internal efficiency and collaboration between engineering and production
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