The Real Problem in Variant Management
In mechanical engineering, the number of variants grows faster than the organization can handle. Sales promises options, engineering maintains new parts, procurement loses synergy, and IT struggles with master data. Rule systems become fragile. Every new product line increases risk, costs, and time. The result is often duplicate parts, incorrect bills of materials (BOMs), and slow quotations.
The solution lies in the correct sequence: First, recognize the variety; then, plan it; finally, utilize it. VULCAN supports exactly this with variance analysis, part specification, and product configuration in one continuous system.
Where the Bottlenecks Are Today
The VULCAN Solution in Three Steps
Engineering imports CAD data into VULCAN. This creates parameterized parts and parameter-controlled BOMs. New product configurations result from assigning parameters. VULCAN exports parts, BOMs, and work plans to the leading ERP system. This reduces design effort and lowers error rates.
Procurement benefits from grouped requirements and Gozintographs. Identical characteristic values across different orders are bundled. Batch sizes increase, prices decrease, and deadlines become more stable.
Why is VULCAN a Perfect Fit for Mechanical Engineering in Germany?
classix is actively involved in the VDMA Industrial Working Group on Variant Management and contributed to the VDMA guideline. This ensures proximity to best practices in the German-speaking mechanical engineering sector. VULCAN runs in a browser and adapts to existing system landscapes, whether in single- or multi-user operation. It is based on the flexible CyberEnterprise Business OS.
Sales kits simplify product definition in sales. Calculated formula attributes derive technical data from performance features, reducing error risks. Variant bills of materials and variant work plans reduce the effort in design and production planning.
The Concrete Advantages of VULCAN
Simplicity: Variance becomes visible and understandable first. Groups and features instead of countless parts. Less maintenance, more value.
Usability: Configuration via dialogue or chat. Quotations are generated directly from the inquiry. This makes CPQ fast and reliable.
Reliability: Parameterized BOMs and clear rules prevent errors. Export to the leading ERP ensures consistency.
Price/Performance Ratio: Fewer parts in the master data. Less maintenance. More bundling in procurement. Better batch sizes. This lowers costs and shortens the Time to Quote.
Prices and further details can be found here: vulcan.classix.de
In mechanical engineering, the number of variants grows faster than the organization can handle. Sales promises options, engineering maintains new parts, procurement loses synergy, and IT struggles with master data. Rule systems become fragile. Every new product line increases risk, costs, and time. The result is often duplicate parts, incorrect bills of materials (BOMs), and slow quotations.
The solution lies in the correct sequence: First, recognize the variety; then, plan it; finally, utilize it. VULCAN supports exactly this with variance analysis, part specification, and product configuration in one continuous system.
Where the Bottlenecks Are Today
- Master data has grown historically. Identical components are duplicated, just named differently. A reliable grouping is missing.
- Rule-based configurators require constant maintenance. New products slow down sales.
- Quotation processes take too long. Pricing and technical plausibility are not cleanly linked.
- Procurement faces the challenge of bundling requirements. Batch sizes remain small, and discounts are lost.
- The IT landscape is heterogeneous. ERP and PDM systems may not communicate cleanly with each other.
The VULCAN Solution in Three Steps
- Recognize: The VULCAN app reads part descriptions from ERP or PDM, uses AI-powered text analysis, and suggests part groups, variant parts, and features. This transforms text into a clear structure of product variety.
- Plan: The Part Specifier defines the variant parts, including feature lists, variant bills of materials, and variant work plans. Variability is embedded in intelligent features and their characteristic values. Specific values do not have to be maintained as separate parts, which significantly reduces maintenance effort.
- Utilize: The Product Configurator builds upon this structure. Only disallowed combinations are prevented. Configuration, pricing, and quotation run in one step. VULCAN can be controlled via chat. NLP understands the request, determines the price, and instantly creates a quotation. This noticeably shortens the CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) process.
Engineering imports CAD data into VULCAN. This creates parameterized parts and parameter-controlled BOMs. New product configurations result from assigning parameters. VULCAN exports parts, BOMs, and work plans to the leading ERP system. This reduces design effort and lowers error rates.
Procurement benefits from grouped requirements and Gozintographs. Identical characteristic values across different orders are bundled. Batch sizes increase, prices decrease, and deadlines become more stable.
Why is VULCAN a Perfect Fit for Mechanical Engineering in Germany?
classix is actively involved in the VDMA Industrial Working Group on Variant Management and contributed to the VDMA guideline. This ensures proximity to best practices in the German-speaking mechanical engineering sector. VULCAN runs in a browser and adapts to existing system landscapes, whether in single- or multi-user operation. It is based on the flexible CyberEnterprise Business OS.
Sales kits simplify product definition in sales. Calculated formula attributes derive technical data from performance features, reducing error risks. Variant bills of materials and variant work plans reduce the effort in design and production planning.
The Concrete Advantages of VULCAN
Simplicity: Variance becomes visible and understandable first. Groups and features instead of countless parts. Less maintenance, more value.
Usability: Configuration via dialogue or chat. Quotations are generated directly from the inquiry. This makes CPQ fast and reliable.
Reliability: Parameterized BOMs and clear rules prevent errors. Export to the leading ERP ensures consistency.
Price/Performance Ratio: Fewer parts in the master data. Less maintenance. More bundling in procurement. Better batch sizes. This lowers costs and shortens the Time to Quote.
Prices and further details can be found here: vulcan.classix.de
