The recommendations discussed in this article are based on the authors’ experiences leading consulting engagements in the areas of variety management and complexity management for a range of businesses within Hewlett-Packardi, including the company’s PC, printing, server and spare parts businesses, as well as for other companies, all of which were dealing with the challenges of exploding product variety. Each engagement followed an approach similar to that illustrated in the “Complexity Cost Checklist,” in some cases preceded by an assessment of the overall business needs identifying complexity management as a significant opportunity. The checklist was compiled from costs identified during these engagements.

Our research in this area also included the development of frameworks for analyzing both variety-driven and volume-driven costs, governance models for variety management and product-line management metrics.

i. For a discussion of earlier work in this area at Hewlett-Packard, see: B. Cargille, C. Fry and A. Raphel, “Managing Product Line Complexity,” OR/MS Today (June 2005):... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.

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