How a construction equipment manufacturer reduced portfolio complexity by 60% and cut development effort by 40% with a standardized E/E architecture.
Our client develops and manufactures road construction equipment and differentiates itself through advanced control, automation, and digital capabilities. As skilled labor shortages continue to grow and quality requirements for road infrastructure become more demanding, these technologies are expected to become an even more critical competitive advantage.
The company offers a diversified product portfolio spanning the entire road construction process, organized into several largely independent product lines. As a result, control systems had historically been developed separately for each product line.
Challenge: Establish a unified foundation for digital product capabilities
To unlock cross-product synergies while delivering consistent and integrated user experience, the company set out to develop a standardized electronic control unit (ECU) architecture. This common platform would serve as the foundation for future automation and digitalization capabilities across the entire portfolio. 3DSE supported the client during the architecture concept phase and helped launch the implementation.
At the beginning of the concept phase, we systematically captured, consolidated, and prioritized the requirements of all product lines. In addition to technical requirements, we incorporated customer expectations for future digital and automated capabilities. Based on these insights, multiple concepts for a shared electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture were developed and evaluated.
Beyond facilitating the architecture development process, 3DSE also helped establish efficient cross-functional and cross-product-line ways of working, enabling closer collaboration throughout the project.
Outcome: Reduced complexity. Greater efficiency. Increased scalability.
Following the selection of the preferred architecture, 3DSE supported the creation of a centralized implementation team that brought together expertise from multiple engineering disciplines. The introduction of the standardized E/E architecture reduced portfolio complexity by 60% and lowered development effort by 40% compared with the previous product-line-specific approach.
