Reference Models and Modeling Languages for Product-Service Systems Status-Quo and Perspectives for Further Research

TLDR

Manufacturing firms are integrating complementary services into their portfolios, requiring coordinated product‑service systems that are supported by established conceptual modeling approaches. This study assesses how reference models and modeling languages currently support conceptual modeling of product‑service systems and proposes directions for future research.

Abstract

Being confronted with decreasing margins and a rising customer demand for integrated solutions, manufacturing companies integrate complementary services into their portfolio. Offering product-service packages (consisting of products and services) demands for setting up integrated product-service systems, which incorporate the coordinated design and provision of products and services. Conceptual Modeling is an established approach to support such efforts. This paper evaluates the current support of reference models and modeling languages for setting up conceptual models in the area of product-service systems. Consecutively, some perspectives are presented to induce further research in this field.