Configuration of product‐service systems

Abstract

Purpose Traditionally, many manufacturers of cost intensive capital goods have largely focused on design, realization and distribution of high‐quality products. Meanwhile, their industrial customers increasingly expect to be provided with diverse services. These services predominantly aim at enhancing the functional and the economical performance of the underlying products. To systematically exploit the potential of services, an appropriate combination of products and services becomes crucial. For achieving desired benefits for both manufacturers and their industrial customers, product‐service systems (PSS) have to be configured systematically. This paper aims to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach The presented approach considers customer, manufacturer and product life cycle specific aspects within the configuration of PSS. The paper presents a framework which comprises all activities necessary to conduct a systematic configuration of PSS. Throughout the paper, an elementary case study illustrates the activities. Findings Exemplary use cases indicate that the configuration of PSS using the presented approach is beneficial. Research limitations/implications The case study is a success. However, especially the increasing complexity of modern capital goods demands for developing a suitable application software that supports the configuration. Originality/value The paper presents a successful application for conducting a customer, manufacturer and product life cycle‐oriented configuration of PSS.