Title: Business case analysis in rapid productisation

Authors: Tuomo Kinnunen; Kai Hanninen; Harri Haapasalo; Hanna Kropsu-Vehkapera

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland

Abstract: Companies are pushed to satisfy varying customer needs and getting new orders closed quickly, while simultaneously evaluating the business value of the case in hand. The objective of this study is to explore the procedure for business case analysis in rapid productisation. The research is realised by studying relevant literature, designing and conducting semi-structured interviews and analysing the interview data. The explored systematic procedure includes estimating and calculating revenue and costs, and checking fit with the product portfolio. The main tasks include estimating the potential revenue from a specific sales case, analysing the project and engineering cost of productisation, estimating market potential, total revenue, unit cost and the total costs. Finally, all the gathered information is synthesised into a business case document. The study contributes to the research of rapid manufacturing by integrating relevant parts of order delivery process and product development to justify rapid productisation cases.

Keywords: business case analysis; economic justification; rapid product development; rapid productisation; revenue estimation; cost estimation; product portfolio; product fit; rapid manufacturing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2014.062013

International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, 2014 Vol.4 No.1, pp.14 - 27

Received: 03 Jul 2013
Accepted: 09 Oct 2013
Published online: 23 Oct 2014 *

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