Marco to head global special interest group in Product-Service Systems research!
- Post by: Tobias Larsson
- 12th March 2020
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The Design Society is an interdisciplinary community of academics and industry practitioners with the goal of developing and promoting a robust, usable and scalable means of designing complex solutions that a sustainable and globalised society needs to thrive, in the 21st century. Within the DS, the PDRL researchers Marco Bertoni and Tobias Larsson, are now the chairs of a new SIG (Special Interest Group) with the focus on Product-Service Systems.
Here follows some words with Marco.
What is the SIG PSS?
It is a community – part of the larger Design Society – that brings together people with a shared interest in advancing the discipline of Product-Service Systems design. SIG stands for Special Interest Group and, quite explanatorily, its objective is to facilitate the mutual interaction between the community of design researchers and industry.
Why is it important?
The topic of PSS design has gathered plentiful interest in the research community in the last few years. Integrating traditional product-based offers with value-added services is appealing to better fulfil customer demands, improve sales, be competitive in dynamic markets and meet sustainability targets. We see many successful examples in industry, yet we see even more companies that struggle to shift from traditional one-sale models to PSS. There are many challenges accompanying this transition. The responsibility of the manufacturer needs to be extended, more intricate business relationships need to be established, heterogeneous capabilities need to be integrated in the design process, and more. Through shared knowledge and networking, the SIG will raise understanding of theories, methods and tools for PSS design. Furthermore, it will support the dissemination of experiences and lessons learned from industrial implementations. Last but not least, the interaction will foster the inclusion of servitization aspects in the education curricula.
What will you do?
The SIG is planned to organise workshops at major Design Society events, as a means to raise the level of understanding of the ‘PSS design’ issue. Starting from the autumn of 2020, the SIG will host a webinar series with academic experts and practitioners to share PSS know-how, know-who and know-why with the broader research community. Organizing spring schools, boot camps and tutorials for students and young researchers is another main goal for the group. In the medium-long term, the SIG vision is to establish its own bi-annual conference series in the topic PSS design.
How do I join?
Check our website at this link (https://pss.designsociety.org), and contact the SIG Chairs Marco Bertoni (marco.bertoni@bth.se) or Tobias Larsson (tobias.larsson@bth.se).