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The aims of this article are to introduce a modularization framework and a method for the formation of modules.

A methodological framework is presented to guide designers and engineers in the formation and selection of suitable modules in developing customized products. Detailed explanations of the framework are presented theoretically. This framework interacts with different product development participants such as resources, customers' preferences, design architecture for planning, and scheduling a custom‐built product. A new method is proposed with a case example to facilitate the formation of modules.

This paper investigates the potential of the modularization framework, usable for prioritizing the components dependencies and creating required number of modules. It also explains the overall concept, usability and rules/methods for the module formation applied to product design, to allow a greater degree of freedom for the designer, and the opportunity to reduce development time and increase customer satisfaction. A method, based on the rules for modularity concept is proposed within the scope of this paper.

The framework and the method of modularization as illustrated in this article are based on a theoretical hypothesis. Both the approaches require implementing in a real industrial environment in order to generalize their effectiveness, applicability and consistency in the manufacturing arena.

Since product architecture is an important element in determining the value and flexibility of the product development process, the relationship pattern between the architecture and productivity is therefore worthy of careful investigation. The aims of modular framework and rules for modularity are to incorporate design variables and dependency structure with a view to enhancing product development lead time and will contribute to the exploitation of overall bottlenecks of manufacturing systems.

The implementation framework for modular product architecture seems unique as its potential value could be applied in the industrial environment for production flexibility and reducing bottlenecks. Along with the framework, the presented modularity rule or method will contribute to business architecture with a view to providing more reliable operation, easier maintenance and faster product development time.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the strategic issues associated with the implementation and subsequent development of modular supply chains within the automotive sector.

Given the exploratory nature of this research a case study approach was adopted analysing key suppliers within a single developing modular supply chain. The key approach to the topic was to examine strategic operations management literature in order to determine the operational impact associated with the move from traditional supply chains to supplying on a modular basis.

The findings indicate that moving from the traditional approach to supplying parts to a modular approach requires suppliers to consider how they can develop their individual module offerings and to determine what operations do not add value to a modular offering and as a consequence can be transferred to downstream suppliers.

Given the exploratory nature of this research and its sectoral specificity one should not view the findings as applicable to other supply chains in the process of developing modular offerings. This said, the findings do correlate with earlier research which indicated that value‐transfer activity within modular supply chains is a key characteristic associated with developing supply chains (Doran, 2004)

In terms of practical applications, the findings demonstrate that modular activity requires the reorganisation of value‐creating activities and also requires those suppliers close to the OEM to strategically position themselves to configure their operations to accommodate the growing modular paradigm.

The paper explores supply chain modularization which is a fairly under‐researched area supply chain management and as such this paper provides insights into this emerging area. The originality is also evident in the approach and focus of the paper (that is examining the three key suppliers within a single automotive supply chain).

This paper contends that the description of tiering within automotive supply chains is likely to require redefining in light of the development of modular supply and that a natural consequence of modular supply will be the transfer of value‐adding activity throughout the supply chain. Two concepts are presented to illustrate the characteristics that are likely to be required for suppliers to succeed within a modular environment. These concepts are applied to a supply chain currently in the process of accommodating modular supply. The findings suggest that whilst modularity accrues a number of tangible benefits to both the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) buyer and the modular supplier, the skills required to become a modular supplier are likely to result in a number of first‐tier suppliers either exiting the industry or becoming second or third‐tier suppliers.

By aiming at defending cascade failures effectively, the purpose of this paper is to present a strategy of inserting modular topologies into urban road network through reducing the burdens of critical components with too much traffic flow.

Each module is considered as a small-world random network, which is inserted into the initial Barabási-Albert scale-free network. Based on the user-equilibrium assignment, the strategy searches for remote nodes with low betweeness and flow in the network, and sets these nodes to be connected with the modular topologies. In this sense, the inserted modules are supposed to attach to the nodes with lower intensity of shorter path, and avoid bringing more impact to the nodes with higher betweeness and traffic flow. By using efficiency as the measurement of cascading failures, the performance of the networks generated through the strategy is tested.

The results show that the performance of the strategy is sensitive to the average degree of the inserted modular, and the modular size with a better effect on reducing the size of cascading failures or delaying the time of breakdown, while the other factors (e.g. the rewired probability) present few differences among various values. Meanwhile, it is found that the importance-based attachment mechanism has a better effect on preventing the cascading failures, especially delaying the step time of the larger reduction.

The strategy aims at alleviating the burdens in critical components to prevent the cascading failures of the network, and provides practical guidance on the decision of the urban road network evolving process.

An effective strategy for cascade defense in urban road network is proposed in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate modularity degree in terms of interfaces and innovation.

The research objective is achieved through a modeling approach for deciding modular architecture and its implementation regarding unique components and product innovation. A case example is presented to elaborate on the concept of modularity degree and provide an option for choosing the best module from different alternatives.

The presented approach can be considered a product design strategy, in which loose coupling is achieved through standardized component interfaces. Loosely coupled component interfacing is a prerequisite for developing mass customized products. There needs to be a decision support system to formulate the interfacing in order to achieve maximum benefits. This is illustrated in this paper.

The modeling strategy for measuring the modularity level is formulated theoretically. This approach needs to be validated through an empirical study in order to generalize its findings.

In the industrial arena there is a research gap in identifying and measuring the modularity level, which is formulated in the presented approach. It is hoped that this approach will contribute to filling this research gap in the business environment, which would further benefit managers of firms in their corresponding production processes.

The unique contribution of this modeling approach is articulated through analyzing product architecture, with a view to interpreting the component interfaces in a more productive way. This formulation triggers the decision‐making process in complex product development processes.

This paper aims to present research which explores the application of modular practices and principles within a construction sector supply chain to demonstrate the degree to which supply chain practices are aligned with modular construction.

The paper uses an exploratory case study approach to examine a construction supply chain from module manufacturer through to module client. Each member of the supply chain was involved in the provision of a modular hospital in the United Kingdom.

The findings suggest that there is a need to increase supply chain integration to ensure that modular solutions can compete more effectively with traditional, on‐site solutions and overcome some of the negative attributes associated with modular buildings.

The study has focused on the key stages of a modular supply chain in order to identify the application of supply chain practices within the context of modular operations. Suppliers need to balance the inherent limitations associated with modular product architecture with the increasing needs of module clients for more bespoke modular solutions.

The paper provides useful insights into the dynamics of modular supply chain operations, which illustrate the difficulties associated with integrating modular operations and competing with the traditional on‐site construction, which currently dominates the sector.

The main theoretical argument put forward in this paper centres on the need for greater levels of supplier integration amongst suppliers to the modular construction industry. The study is one of the first to explore supply chain integration through the lens of a single modular supply chain and contributes to knowledge in this growing area through the development of a number of tools to position potential and current module suppliers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of product modularity on four aspects of competitive performance: cost, quality, flexibility, and cycle time.

Constructs were created from a comprehensive survey of the automotive sector. Regression is used to ascertain the relationship between the constructs of product modularity and performance with three different integration strategies as mediators.

Modularity positively and directly influences each aspect of competitive performance for each integration strategy tested. Indirect effects were found for each integration strategy for cost and flexibility; and for manufacturing integration and cycle time.

A product modularity strategy enables simultaneous improvements on multiple dimensions of competitive performance.

This research is the first to empirically validate the effects of product modularity on competitive performance. Furthermore, it provides insight into the exact nature of product modularity's influence on competitive performance.

The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the modularity literature to identify the established and emerging perspectives.

A systematic literature search and review was conducted through the use of bibliometrics and network analysis. The analysis identified structure within the literature, which revealed how the research area evolved between 1990 and 2015. Based on this search, the paper establishes the basis for analyzing the structure of modularity literature.

Factors were identified within the literature, demonstrating how it has evolved from a primary focus on the modularity of products to a broader view of the applicability of modularity. Within the last decade, numerous research areas have emerged within the broader area of modularity. Through core-periphery analysis, eight emerging sub-research areas are identified, of which one is the study of modularity in the context of services.

Although bibliographic methods are limited as they are based on common citations within the field, they enable systematic analysis and the identification of structure within an emergent field of research. Such analysis has implications by for a growing and inter-disciplinary field like modularity by providing overview and suggesting future directions.

This paper contributes by conducting a systematic review based on the citation structure within modularity and identifies the established and emerging areas of research on modularity.

This study aims to investigate service modularization in a manufacturing firm, identifies service modularization processes and examines how these processes change the service module characteristics.

The study is based on a longitudinal case study (2008-2017) of a manufacturing firm. The development of six service modules was analyzed using data from interviews with key informants, informal meetings and internal documentation.

This study suggests five service modularization processes, and that service module characteristics, such as standardization and interconnectedness, change in different ways depending on the service modularization processes used. It further identifies two service modularization routes that each combine the service modularization processes in unique ways with replication as a key process to improve both standardization and customization.

This study elaborates a framework for service modularization, which can serve as a guideline for developing service modules. It also highlights the differences between product and service modularization, suggesting that the role of service module characteristics such as standardization and customization is specific for services.

This longitudinal case study (2008-2017) provides empirical evidence on service modularization and extends existing knowledge on service modularization processes and how they influence service module characteristics.