The individualisation of products is a hybrid business strategy, which increases the competitiveness of production enterprises. But the inherent risks of order processing for customised products jeopardises the successful and economical implementation of this strategy: A potential risk exists within the calculation of the total costs due to incomplete information about the product and the production processes during the offer specification process as well as due to the temporal fluctuations of the prices and costs after the offer specification. This paper analyses the risks and existing methods regarding risks in offer calculation processes. The approach developed here proposes a knowledge-based system for the evaluation and configuration of risks during the order processing of individualised products. Based on a classification of the immanent risks, an evaluation method is introduced which is implemented in a knowledge-based system. The methods developed for calculation and interpretation allow for a good analysis of the risk situation of individualised products.

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Nowadays, manufacturing companies operate in a constantly changing environment. Customer requirements, increasingly stringent environmental laws and the entrance of new competitors into the manufacturer's market influence the decisions and processes of manufacturing companies. In order to sustain a competitive advantage, a manufacturer needs to anticipate this dynamic environment and offer the right amount of the right products at the right time to the right markets. Therefore, companies need to understand and analyze the different influencing factors. Many of these factors occur at periodical intervals and demonstrate a cyclic behavior. This article proposes a number of models and methodologies for anticipating and managing the different occurring cycles. In this pursuit, various trends in the production industry and the manufacturer's environment are highlighted. Thereby, different aspects, perspectives and concepts regarding the production process are discussed. Finally, the need for the professional management of cycles is emphasized and the application of the introduced methodologies is demonstrated through a case study of the industrial robot industry.

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Kurzfassung Auf Grund der Globalisierung und der damit einhergehenden Verkürzung der Produkt- und Technologielebenszyklen müssen heutige Unternehmen in einem dynamischen Produktionsumfeld agieren. Die Fähigkeit, die Produktionsstruktur kontinuierlich und schnell an neue Randbedingungen zu adaptieren, wird immer häufiger als entscheidender Wettbewerbsfaktor in einem ständig turbulenter werdenden Umfeld genannt. Die Methode des Produktionsstruktur-Monitorings stellt dabei eine Möglichkeit dar, den Adaptionsbedarf zeitgerecht zu erkennen und den Planungsprozess optimal anzustoßen, sodass die Adaptionszeit verkürzt werden kann. Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt, basierend auf einer Analyse der Auslösefaktoren für die Umplanung der Produktionsstruktur, eine Monitoringmethode für Produktionsstrukturen, die zyklische Eigenschaften der Auslöser, wie z.B. den Lebenszyklus von Produkten, integriert.