For many years now, HANNOVER MESSE has shown how digital product models can be used to manufacture products more effectively. The fair has always been a showcase for the latest CAE tools for engineering and configuring technical products. But the situation is quite different in the early stages of product development, where many companies still often rely on basic Office tools such as tables or presentations when exploring initial concepts. Yet it is precisely in this early phase that a large part of the future costs are irreversibly specified.

In an age of highly complex technical products and countless product variants, it has so far been difficult to assess the true impact of specifications laid down in the early concept development stage. However, Odego has set out to change that with Cquenz - a tool designed to provide innovative end-to-end support in the concept development process, with a particular focus on complex and highly varied products. Cquenz enables users to create all the elements of a product - such as requirements, components, functions, interfaces, costs, batch sizes and modules - and their links in next to no time. The tool then provides clear visualizations to highlight a whole range of correlations in an interactive format. Engineers and cross-functional teams can thus design their modular product system from a variety of different perspectives to ensure its long-term success across the board. The tool enables them to analyze and optimize cumulative consequences that would be completely overlooked without the use of powerful calculations. The result should be a modular product that is fit for the market and the user's own value chain. "We have created a platform for teams that networks the expertise, ideas and people involved in designing product ranges," explains Dr. Thomas Gumpinger, Cquenz lead developer. "Teams can thus work collectively to develop better products."