To gain the benefits and competitive advantages of a configurability strategy, thinking configurability must be pervasive - originating early in the heart of product development, using a robust configurator as a core element - and continuing persistently over the entire product lifecycle.

This executive guide identifies the two interrelated phases in a configurability strategy: developing the product, which emphasizes the essential functionality of a product configurator; and executing the strategy, which identifies the many benefits gained by optimizing configurability.