Building the Next Generation of Industrial Automation

A Practical Path to Flexibility, Intelligence, and Resilience

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Industrial Automation: Scaling Intelligence and Flexibility

Industrial automation is shifting toward more connected, software-driven, and data-intensive systems. Demand for higher efficiency, flexibility, and reliability is accelerating the adoption of smart technologies, while AI, edge computing, and advanced instrumentation are increasing system complexity. The opportunity lies in structuring automation solutions to be modular and configurable from the start. This makes it easier to integrate new technologies, scale across applications, and adapt over time—providing a solid foundation for faster innovation, resilient operations, and long-term competitiveness.

From ETO to CTO — a practical manufacturer’s guide

Learn how manufacturers reduce lead times, improve predictability, and scale without adding complexity

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Change Creates Opportunity — Are You Ready to Capture It?

At Modular Management, we empower businesses to turn change into opportunity.

We specialize in modularity and configuration, embedding adaptability and resilience into every corner of your business — from strategy and products to processes and people. By simplifying complexity and building flexible systems of strategic building blocks, we enable your business to scale, innovate, and thrive.

Your Goals, Our Starting Point

We begin by understanding your priorities — the goals you want to achieve and the challenges that matter most. From there, we identify high-impact opportunities that deliver quick wins and set the stage for sustainable growth.

Modularization: The Foundation for Configurability

Our approach starts with modularization, creating structured product architectures that make configurability possible. This foundation unlocks flexibility, accelerates speed to market, and drives cost efficiency — transforming complexity into scalable, customer-focused solutions.

Smart Configuration Where it Matters With PALMA

To manage and execute these configurations, we use PALMA, our purpose-built Product Configuration Platform. PALMA unifies data, applies smart configuration rules, and ensures governance — making your product strategy future-ready and digitally enabled.

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Reduce Complexity Without Sacrificing Customer Choice

Streamline your portfolio with configurable product architectures that reduce complexity and cost while maintaining customer choice.

The Payoff

Lower complexity and inventory costs

Streamlined operations and supply chain

Maintain customer choice without excess SKUs

Capture the Full Value of Modularity

Turn modular platforms into scalable architectures supported by smart digital tools, standardized interfaces, shared data models, and clear decision rights.

The Payoff

Higher reuse across product lines

Lower development and lifecycle costs

Faster customization at scale

Move from Project Delays to Market Leadership

Shift from custom projects to a configure to order approach that accelerates delivery, standardizes core modules, reduces rework, and improves predictability.

The Payoff

Cut engineering effort by up to 70%

Reduce project risk and change requests

Scale variants without adding complexity

Launch Faster With Configurable Platforms

Replace one-off development with configurable platforms that speed up launches and simplify change. Standardized core modules reduce rework, improve predictability, and accelerate Time to Market.

The Payoff

Shorter Time to Market

Competitive advantage in dynamic markets

Quick response to customer needs

Industrial Robotics Manufacturer Case Story:

Scaling Growth While Reducing Complexity

A leading global manufacturer of industrial robots and robot software faced a market inflection point. Rising labor costs, increasing quality demands, and growing pressure on cost and delivery speed were driving a rapid increase in demand for automation. While growth opportunities were clear, the company needed a way to expand its portfolio, protect margins, and accelerate delivery without letting product and software complexity spiral out of control.

The Challenge

Demand for robots was accelerating, but existing product architectures limited scalability. Controller variants, robot arm assortments, and software development were tightly coupled, driving part proliferation, slow feature releases, and operational inefficiencies. The executive team needed to grow assortment, speed up innovation, and scale production capacity—while reducing cost and complexity.

Image is AI generated and has nothing to do with the manufacturer mentioned in the case.

The Solution

Modular Management and the manufacturer partnered to establish a modularization program covering hardware, software, and operations:

A business-driven modularity strategy aligned to growth and cost targets
Customer-led market segmentation to steer portfolio and architecture decisions
Modular product architectures for controllers, robot arms, and software
Modular Function Deployment to embed customer value and strategy into modules
A decoupled software architecture enabling faster, independent feature releases
Operational changes to support scalable, automated production

Outcomes

300% increase in controller cabinet variants without added complexity

50% reduction in unique parts for controllers

50% reduction in the size of the smallest controller

50% expansion of robot arm assortment

Quadrupled production capacity with fewer production lines

Insights to Help You Navigate Complexity

Practical Roadmap for Product Modularity

This practical roadmap will guide you step by step through building a modular product architecture that works for your business.

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Complexity Scorecard for Optimized Product Assortment

This Complexity Scorecard helps you evaluate whether your current approach truly optimizes your product architecture or simply reduces numbers without addressing root causes.

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Best Practices for Software Architecture in Hardware Companies

Traditional hardware companies are increasingly becoming software-centric, making effective software architecture essential to compete and innovate in connected products and automation systems.

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