Design for Manufacturability, 2nd Edition

Appendix A: ProductLine Rationalization

Product line rationalization is a powerful technique to improve profits, simplify operations and supply chains, and free valuable resources for product development. It does this by rationalizing existing product lines to eliminate or outsource products and product variations that are problem prone, have obsolete or hard-to-get parts, have low sales, have excessive overhead demands, have limited future potential, and may be losing money.

Rationalization can quickly improve profits by stopping the production of money-losing products and eliminating all of the excess overhead costs associated with fire-drill products. This, in turn, will allow precious resources to focus on the most profitable products ...