Nexis3 Office Furniture Line Pages with cover

Office Furniture Line
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A Nexis3 Company
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shmö
Who is Nexis3?
Nexis3 is a case good manufacturing company that
offers high quality automated manufacturing with
fast lead times. They operate in the business-tobusiness
market consulting with clients to deliver
unique manufacturing solutions to fit their needs.
Additionally, they deal with business-to-consumer
projects in instances where companies cannot
adequately meet their customers needs.
What is schöen möbel?
Schöen möbel will act as the sister company of
Nexis3 offering their first in-house product. Nexis3
will continue to operate the custom fabrication
and engineering side of the business while slowly
transitioning into the office furniture market.
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The junction between thoughtful
design, purposeful engineering and
cutting edge technology
Die Verbindung zwischen
durchdachtem Design, zielgerichtetem
Engineering und modernster
Technologie

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Contents
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Phase 1:
Defining Target Persona Challenges and the
Customer Experience
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Phase 2:
History of the Office and Product Offerings
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Phase 3:
Understanding Sample Size and Product
Configuration
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Phase 4:
Conclusion and Thank You
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Understanding the Target Consumer
1Schöen möbel will operate in the business-to-
business market, but also offer select products
to consumers. An underlying issue with laminate
products and lean manufacturing is the amount
of options available. Customers are overwhelmed
with the amount of options offered and are quick to
change their minds. This product line will condense
the amount of samples, hardware, and sizes available
for regular production.
Our target customer wants to know exactly what they
are ordering, how much it costs, and how fast they
can receive product. For larger jobs with specific size
requirements, software can accurately map out the
material cost and give a reliable projection for lead
times.
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Understanding the Target Consumer
We identified two customer personas that we are
looking to design products for.
Our first persona is an interior designer who works
with large businesses who have multiple locations.
They want their furniture to match from space to
space with the ability to add custom variants to our
products to fit their needs.
Our second persona is a consumer who wants to
customize their own products and is willing to pay
more for better quality furniture. They appreciate the
ability to receive product quickly and understand the
cost associated with that convenience.
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Custom finishes, expert build
quality and fast lead time
Kundenspezifische
Oberflächen, fachmännische
Verarbeitungsqualität und schnelle
Vorlaufzeiten
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Understanding the Target Consumer
In the existing customer experience there are
three key points where the progress of a project
experiences the most change. When customers start
a project and communicate their requirements, the
quality of their communication varies. The initial
inquiry could be very formalized with specific space
layouts and outlines including all the necessary
components to complete the project. Or, project
specs are sent for the sales team and engineers to
fill in the blanks.
The next point in the project is when the finalized
specifications are created by the sales and
engineering team. Clients go back and fourth
between sales and engineering and some parts of
the project can be lost in communication resulting
in mistakes being made. Often, most mistakes are
avoided but sometimes they are not caught until
a later stage in the process. Then the production
process begins.
During the production, clients can continue to make
changes and cause major project delays. Ultimately
those changes slow down manufacturing and hold
up other jobs on the production line.
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Physical Evidence
Website Visit
Contact Visit Discussion
Customer Actions
Navigates Website
Sends
Inquiry
Facility
Tour
Chooses samples
and hardware
Sales Dialogue
Receives email
about quote
times and visit
Tour by owner and
sales team
Provided lead time
samples and quote
Backstage Actions
Sales prepares a
quote for client
approval
Discussion with
owner about
client visit
Created by
assigned employee
Support Actions
Engineers review
materials
Cloud Data
referenced for
available stock
Referenced cloud
system based on
final input
In this current customer experience there are multiple
lines of communication that inhibit client contact.
The initial dialogue between the customer from the
point of contact to the first conversation is too long.
Following the approval and production phase, if the
client decides to make changes during the process,
there needs to be a full production stop.
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Approval Changes Completion
Client approves
production
Client makes
changes
Customer is
informed of the
project completion
Sales informs
engineers about
requirements
Sales informs
engineers about
changes
Sales informs
customer about
project completion
Engineers begin
CAD/CAM
Engineers discuss
changes and
potential setbacks
Discuss setbacks
with owner
AutoCAD, Imos and
cloud data system
Project is sent to
the CNC shop
Skype and cloud
data system
Production stop
Assembly begins
Cloud data system
signals the project
completion
Construction
Changed parts are
Parts are sorted for
begins
found
assembly
Panels are
laminated
Panels recut
Products are built
Material is cut and
sorted
Parts are resorted
Products are
scanned and
labeled
Machining and
Parts are
Components are
finishing begins
rechecked
packaged
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Physical Evidence
Website Visit
Customer Contact Project Discussion Approval
Customer Actions
Receives
questionnaire
prompt
Discusses project
parameters with
sales
Digital or in
person
Client approves
production
Sales Dialogue
Sales reaches out
to customer about
project scope
Provided samples,
change period lead
time and quote
Sales informs
customer about final
agreement items
Backstage Actions
Company meeting
discussing
potential project
Created by
assigned employee
Engineers begin
processing the
project materials
Support Actions
Website Software
Review cloud
data for available
materials
AutoCad, Imos
and the cloud data
system
AutoCad, Imos
and the cloud data
system
Project is sent to
the CNC shop
Construction
begins
This chart illustrates how this process should
function in the current system in place at Nexis3.
Here there are appointed communication groups
where information is exchanged from the client to all
parties involved in the project. Additionally, there is a
full production stop when changes to the project are
requested.
Panels are
laminated
Material is cut and
sorted
Machining and
finishing begins
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Changes
Project Delay
Completion
Client makes
changes
Client approves
new changes
Customer is
informed of the
project completion
Sales holds a
Sales informs
Sales informs
meeting, informs
engineers about
customer about
client of delay
approval
project completion
Engineers make
changes
AutoCAD, Imos and
cloud data system
Project is sent to
the CNC shop
Project Stop
Production stop
Assembly begins
Cloud data system
signals the project
completion
Construction
Changed parts are
Parts are sorted for
begins
found
assembly
Panels are
laminated
Panels recut
Products are built
Material is cut and
sorted
Parts are resorted
Products are
scanned and
labeled
Machining and
Parts are
Components are
finishing begins
rechecked
packaged
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Physical Evidence
Website Visit
Customer Contact Project Approval Change Period
Customer Actions
Receives
questionnaire
prompt
Discusses project
parameters with
sales
Digital or in
person
Client approves
production
Sales Dialogue
Sales reaches out
to customer about
project scope
Provided samples,
change period lead
time and quote
Sales informs
customer about final
agreement items
Backstage Actions
Company meeting
discussing
potential project
Created by
assigned employee
Engineers begin
processing the
project materials
Support Actions
Website Software
Review cloud
data for available
materials
AutoCad, Imos
and the cloud data
system
AutoCad, Imos
and the cloud data
system
Project is sent to
the CNC shop
Construction
begins
This chart illustrates how this system would function
with a semi-custom product line optimized for the
current manufacturing capabilities of Nexis3. In this
system there is a focus on the client and their needs.
This allows the project lead times to be consistently
projected from project to project.
Panels are
laminated
Material is cut and
sorted
Machining and
finishing begins
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Completion
Customer is
informed of the
project completion
Sales informs
customer about
project completion
Assembly begins
Cloud data system
signals the project
completion
Parts are sorted for
assembly
Products are built
Products are
scanned and
labeled
Components are
packaged
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Customer Discovery
Awareness
Website
Navigation
Interest
New Manufacturer
Easy to navigate
Interesting graphics
Custom finishes
Oversaturated Market
Google ad engine
Limited product variety
Product Differentiation
Inscentive to buy
In our customer journey we have identified what
our ideal path to purchase would include. The green
boxes are positive qualities of our product and red
boxes are negative.
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Product Purchase
Configuration
Purchase
Packaging
Assembly
Price out options
Competitive price
Interesting graphics
Instructions
Customize product
Direct shipping
Size and weight
Parts Lists
Visualize color and functions
Incentive to buy
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Consumer-centric, transparent
and accountable
Verbraucherorientiert, transparent
und rechenschaftspflichtig
Through our research and product development
we aim to offer our customer the best experience
in office furniture. They have the ability to choose
their product, size and finish without questioning our
quality or service.
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History and Inspiration
2During the research phase, we looked at European
companies in Germany, Denmark and Italy to
understand how they design and manufacture
products. Modular office furniture as we know
it today was created in the late 60’s by an
Italian company called Tecno. They used simple
components that could be scaled to fit in small or
large settings. Companies using their products had
the ability to grow into an office space.
Our office system uses the traditional 32mm system
used in cabinet making. It assigns rules to the sizes
of cabinets and components to easily scale up or
down for ease of manufacturing. Using this system
allows for a wide range of custom options for
storage height adjustments.
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Hardware and Direction
We have chosen to offer the most advanced
hardware and finish options available. Their delivery
channels are reliable and transparent. In our search
we have honed in on the best component options
to deliver a parametric product experience that can
accommodate a wide range of project scopes.
Narrowing down the available options ensures
the decision process is more straightforward and
structured. We stand by all of the companies we
have included in our launch of schöen möbel.
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Workspaces
Desks
Our desks and configurations
are versatile, featuring heightadjustable
and static options
suitable for any space.
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Storage

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Storage
Shelves
Our modular shelf design allows
for any size configuration and
compact shipping.
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Break Room

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Home Office

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Executive Office and Meeting Room

Workspaces
Simple design allows for easy
configurations that encourage
productive workflow.
Simple utilitarian design,
streamlined productivity
Einfaches, zweckmäßiges Design,
optimierte Produktivität
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It is imperative that every customer knows exactly
what they are going to receive. Our systems allows
our customers to have a hand in the design and
configuration of their own unique solutions.
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Product Configurator
3Using UnrealEngine4 (a graphics generator) we are creating
a platform for product visualization. This gives clients the
ability to see what their custom product looks like before
purchase.
Narrowing down the samples and generating a real-
time quote will make the purchasing experience more
streamlined.
To create this, I paired with Alex Raguso, a junior 3D Digital
Design major, who helped transfer all the files into UE4 and
create the final configurator. This was part of an Unreal
Engine grant awarded to Shaun Foster, the Director of the
3D Digital Design program, intended to document a cross
disciplinary project with real world applications.
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Product Configurator
Sample Size
We chose a robust sample size
to give customers a breadth of
combinations to choose from.
Using UE4 as visualization software
allows for real-time creation of our
products. This information helped
Alex create all the combination trees.
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Product Configurator
Creating the product configurator with the
UnrealEngine4 was pivotal to Alex’s role on the project.
The UE4 ‘Blueprinting’ system added a level of visual
clarity to the project with it’s easy to read and write
node-based logic trees. UE4 also has substantial
online documentation that helped him keep the project
moving whenever a roadblock was reached.
With Alex on contract for only 20 hours of work
through an Unreal Engine Grant, having access to an
active online community of developers constantly
sharing their advice and techniques allowed him to
make the most of his time.
UE4 naturally comes with many tools that streamline
working with 3D assets because it is a game creation
platform. Displayed is the logic graph for the function
‘Top Shelf Change’.
Since UE4 can store animations within the engine as a
time line graph that can be referenced in the blueprint
editor, the ‘open’ and ‘close’ actions for any single
component on the product could share the same
function. This would allow for the animation time line
to play normally or in reverse.
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Product Configurator
Unreal allows for a single material to have multiple
custom parameters that can drive logic within the
material. Alex used material parameters to allow each
material on the product to change and be configured
to the users needs.
A tree of linear interpolation nodes controls what
texture sample gets passed through to the final
color input of a material. By triggering the change of
parameters “Selection A”, “Selection B”, “Selection
Trigger” and “SelectionTrigger02” with UI elements,
the user can change materials on the product with the
click of a button.
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Product Configurator
We have taken the best technology, manufacturing,
and visualization available to offer robust and quality
furniture solutions made in America.
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German Inspired, American Made
Deutsch inspiriert, amerikanisch
gemacht
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Conclusion
4My name is Jimmy Antonelli and I am an Industrial
Designer from the Chicago area. I am interested in
using technology and manufacturing techniques
to help create profitable and scalable products.
Understanding the market and the factors involved in
the product cycle are where I start when beginning to
think about a design solution.
In this instance the solution has more factors
than just the product involved. This furniture line
incorporates a streamlined system that allows
for faster planning, manufacturing, and delivery.
However, in order for those to work together, it starts
with the customer experience.
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Thank You
I want to extend a thank you to all the professors and
faculty that have helped me throughout my college
experience at Rochester Institute of Technology. In
light of the recent COVID-19 social distancing orders,
the class of 2020 was unable to end college in the
traditional way.
I have used this experience to grow as a person and
designer and understand that even when things end
without closure, the bonds I have created over the
years in college will outlive this short stint in time.
A special thank you to:
Tim Wood
Steve Schoenacker
Mary Golden
Will Tracey
Gary Molinari
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A Nexis3 Company
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Schöen möbel licensed by Nexis 3 Inc. 1681 Lyell Ave,
Rochester, NY 14606 www.nexis3.com www.schoenmobel.com