Product-Service Systems research
- Post by: Tobias Larsson
- 23rd September 2013
- No Comment
The goal with the research is to explore and develop work processes, methods and tools, that support the development of complete sustainable life-cycle offerings; product-service systems.
The focus is on the early design and development phases of such development, and in particular; simulation support for this development. Companies and actors in B2B environments are seeing an increase in lifecycle commitment requests from partners. To simultaneously deal with managing hardware, services, and software in the development is referred to as product-service system design (PSS),
Context
Services today occur in an ‘aftermarket’ and are seen as add-ons to the physical artefact. A major part of the profits is made on aftermarket activities, such as maintenance and spare parts. One trigger for PSS is found in an industrial context, is the interest to control the aftermarket activities of the physical artefact. The driving force to control the aftermarket also enables ecological sustainability through remanufacturing and design, with respect to technological advances, as well as to minimise the cost of maintenance and spare parts, since it is at the provider’s own cost. Fundamentally, this evolving view implies extending the life-cycle commitments of product developing companies (i.e. suppliers retain ownership throughout the total life-cycle) and an increased demand to collaborate in global alliances between value chain partners (i.e. the extended enterprise). Extending the life-cycle commitment creates new demands on the hardware development process, which now will have to deal with additional needs and requirements emanating from the aftermarket. Future customers will judge the physical artefact by the functions it provides in a larger perspective, i.e. an optimisation to the customers business as a whole.
The PSS area integrates the strands of hardware development and service development into a development process with a life-cycle perspective that in PSS business agreements predicts risk, improves the maturity of the decision base and ensures visibility of cost and income. Product-Service Systems, Soft Products, Functional Sales, Integrated Offerings etc. are all names for the “new” products with life-cycle, sustainability and function delivery perspective.
Overall objectives are to examine how physical artefacts and services may be designed and developed to become an element in a total offer, as well as enhance integrated product development to extend towards PSS development.
PSS’s will lead the way into the future society as a resource for sustainable growth.
Contact:
Responsible for the research is Professor Tobias Larsson