Simplifying Product CustomizationSimplifying Product Customization

Herman Miller Inc. is betting that when it comes to custom-designed office furniture, a picture is worth a thousand words. The $2.2 billion maker of office furnishings will soon test Web-based software from Parametric Technology Corp. that the vendor says will make it easier for designers to customize office furniture for customers.

Designers working for the Zeeland, Mich., furniture company now customize desks, chairs, and other furnishings using data from text-based applications available through its extranet. But the use of jargon sometimes makes the process confusing. For example, the designer may be asked to choose a "right-hand depth" or a "left-hand depth" without knowing which side is right or left, or be given esoteric options such as choosing whether he wants a "curvilinear" table top.

"Things like that become very confusing for the designer," says Jeff Faber, Herman Miller's manager of product development IT.

Parametric's DynamicDesignLink addresses the problem by accompanying text-based options with a 3-D model of the product designers are customizing. The model changes as options are chosen, so designers can see the impact of modifications from their browsers. Because DynamicDesignLink can be integrated with Parametric's computer-aided design software, Pro/Engineer, the final design is registered in the CAD program. Now, the manufacturer will know exactly what the customer wants. If needed, a designer can print a picture of the final design, along with the specifications, to show to the customer before ordering the product.

Herman Miller has standardized product development on Parametric's CAD software and expects the product, which is available this month, will cut down on errors in custom orders and lead to fewer incomplete orders requiring a company representative to call the designer. Unlike the text-based system, a designer can't save the finished model unless the specs are complete, Faber says.

Herman Miller will test DynamicDesignLink in January with five of the 150 dealers who regularly order custom-designed furniture. Most of the deployment effort will be spent configuring DynamicDesignLink for Herman Miller's product line. The deployment isn't expected to be difficult. "I'm not hearing concerns" from developers, Faber says. "It's not heavy programming." Parametric provides tools for defining business rules without programming.