The need for a new product development framework for engineer‐to‐order products

New product development (NPD) is the cornerstone of manufacturing companies. An engineer‐to‐order (ETO) company can achieve its business objectives by reducing design iterations and rework, recognizing customer’s requirements up‐front and building quality into design and manufacturing. This paper discusses differences between ETO and make‐to‐stock (MTS) companies and justifies the need for a separate framework for ETO in NPD. Four frameworks from published literature were analyzed and it was found that the frameworks were not suitable for ETO companies due to the differences in operations and product design activities. This paper proposes a set of requirements for establishing a design and manufacture framework specifically for ETO companies. The framework can aid design and manufacturing engineers to plan their work to include customers, suppliers, consultants, contractors and manufacturing concern during the design stage. The framework requirements can serve as a foundation of further work to be carried out in this area.