Automotive production is faced with the challenge of bringing new products to market faster, with decreasing turn-around times, meaning production must be continually changing to accommodate new products. This paper proposes an approach to decrease a product’s time-to-market, by increasing the efficiency of automotive assembly unit design. Providing designers with conceptual information about future vehicle models early in the product design process, could shift the design start forward and enable a more efficient transition process. Large automotive companies work on vehicle design and development for years before a product is ready for production. If during these earlier stages of product design, significant changes are identified and communicated to production designers, the manufacturing system design can get a jump start with an early exploration phase. A method exists, which uses the Axiomatic Design theory to develop Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems through a modular breakdown. A similar method Adapt! employs Axiomatic Design and Scrum to develop changeable or adaptable production systems. This paper proposes to extend the Adapt! method to include an exploration phase, which through early communication, provides an overview of the required design process, and enables faster identification of the critical design challenges. A case study is performed by analysing a currently produced vehicle and its future electric version.

This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the literature available in the field of External Technology Searching. Many methods exist to enable companies to take advantage of new technologies and apply them to achieve a competitive advantage. This literature review focuses on reducing complexity and providing clarity related to the numerous different terms and methodologies used throughout the literature. The main methods found in the literature include: Technology Foresight, Technology Forecasting, Technology Intelligence, and Technology Scouting. However, many additional terms have also been used to describe similar strategies, leading to inconsistency in the use of the terms, resulting in confusion and missed opportunities to innovate for those trying to navigate the field. Synthesis of the results assists in clarifying the differences and conflicts in the literature between the numerous terms. The results serve to display the state of the art on the field and present a basis for further research.