## 3 Discussion
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Concept**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Tool**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Product Variety Level**} \\ \cline{3-5}  & & **Low** & **Medium** & **High** & **Very High** \\ \cline{3-5}  & & **MP** & & **MC** & **MPe** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Modular} & Functional & & & & \\  & Physical & & & & \\  & Functional and Physical & & & & \\  & Product & Manufacturing Process & & & \\  & & Client Requirements & & & \\  & Modularity Type & & & & \\  & Lifecycle & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Modular} & Def.1: Commons parts & & & & \\  & Platform & Def.2: Rules and interfaces & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Variety} & Internal/External & & & & \\  & Management & Functional/Technical & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Interface} & Interface Standardization & & & & \\  & Interface Decoupling & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Modular} & Mixed-Model Production & & & & \\  & Cellular Manufacturing & & & & \\  & RAL & & & \\  & Manufacturing Flexibility & & & & \\  & FMS & & & & \\  & RMS & & & & \\  & ATO & & & & \\  & Late Customization & & & & \\  & Distributed Network/Outsourcing & & & & \\  & Modular Assembly & & & & \\  & DFMA & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Configuration} & Product Configurator & & & & \\  & CPQ & & & & \\  & Web-Based Configurator & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Modular} & Commonality and Standardization & & & & \\  & Connectivity and Interface & & & & \\  & Personalization and Variety & & & & \\  & Count and Size & & & & \\  & Level of Modularity & & & & \\  & Business Costs/Profitability & & & & \\  & Manufacturing Costs & & & & \\  & Multi-Platform Metrics & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Complexity Management} & Static/Dynamic Complexity & & & & \\  & Manufacturing Complexity Types & & & & \\  & Assembly Sequence/ & & & & \\  & Supply Chain Configuration & & & & \\  & VMEA & & & & \\  & Reduce Platform Quantity & & & & \\  & Part Standardization & & & & \\  & Sub-Systems/More Modules & & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
Legend: \(\blacksquare\)One of the essential options to be implemented, \(\blacksquare\)Option should be seriously considered, \(\blacksquare\) Option should be considered, \(\blacksquare\).  
Option should be considered, \({}^{\star}\) Tools for Businesses Operating Across Multiple Product Platforms  
\end{table} 
Table 6: _Cont._The analysis also points out the presence of three fundamental concepts for both MC and MPa, namely product architecture, product decomposition, and modular platform. These three elements, thus, form the base upon which other modularity concepts rely. Table 5 clearly illustrates that it may be relevant but not necessary to implement additional concepts in contexts of medium variety. Structured tools are, thus, less essential in the case of a low or medium product variety level. To guide the selection of appropriate tools for each concept, Table 6 was created based on the literature review and Table 4. This table illustrates the relationship between the levels of product variety and the recommended modularity tools. In addition to guiding the choice of tools for creating a modularity implementation strategy, analysis of the table has identified nine findings, one finding per concept, as well as three general findings.