II. Terms and Definitions
A. Engineer-to-order industries
The Engineer-To-Order sector encompasses many types
of companies producing a broad range of capital goods
especially industrial plants. The main business activities of
ETO companies are the design, manufacture and construction
of industrial plants e.g. power stations, high integrity material
handling equipment, oil platforms and ships. These are
products that have deep and complex product structures with
many levels of assembly [3][9].
ETO companies are characterized as ‘one of a kind
production’ [10] and capital goods companies. They supply
highly customized products, in low volume and operate as
project-based organizations [3][11]. In contrast to product
business (make-to-order, assemble-to-order or make-to-stock)
the ETO sector differs primarily by the volume produced (only
a few plants per year, as opposed to hundreds or thousands of
machines) and the complexity of the different functional
requirements and individual standards of the customer groups
[3][5].