Development of computer-aided quotation system for manufacturing enterprises using axiomatic design

Abstract

To survive in the competitive market environment, rapid and accurate quotations of product prices are needed in addition to satisfying consumers from various perspectives, including product quality and after-sale service. This paper develops a framework for a computer-aided quotation system using Axiomatic Design. The system has five functional modules, i.e. inquiry check, search and statistics, design for quotation, price determination, and tender generation. The result of Axiomatic Design for price determination shows that a very complicated software program becomes simple and consists of 14 modules corresponding to 14 calculations and one main module that contains all the junctional properties at each level. According to the framework developed, several computer-aided quotation systems have been developed and applied successfully. A computer-aided quotation system for modular machine tools and production lines consisting of them is introduced as an example.