The notion of ‘value’ has become pivotal in the PSS domain, with a plethora of ‘indicators’, ‘drivers’ and ‘measurements’ proposed to guide the assessment of PSS concepts across the design process. This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review that maps existing contributions dealing with metrics for PSS value in early design. The findings reveal the lack of a common taxonomy to define what PSS value is, as well as differences in terms of granularity of the applied metrics, which span from very generic to highly case-study specific. This mapping aims at validating a proposed classification framework for such metrics, which balances customer and provider value perspectives in early stage PSS concept assessment activities. Its goal is to raise the cross-functional design team awareness on the multiple value types impacted by early stage design decisions when working with MADM matrixes; hence to highlight opportunities for improvement, recombination and refinement.
Recent economic transformations have forced companies to redefine their value propositions, increasing traditional product offerings with supplementary services—the so-called Product-Service System (PSS). Among them, the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies is very common. However, the directions that companies are undertaking to offer new value to their customers in the Industry 4.0 have not yet been investigated in detail. Based on a focus group, this paper contributes to this understanding by identifying the main trajectories that would shape a future scenario in which PSS and Industry 4.0 would merge. In addition, future research directions addressing (a) the transformation of the PSS value chain into a PSS ecosystem, (b) the transformation inside a single company towards becoming a PSS provider, and (c) the digital transformation of the traditional PSS business model are identified.
Literature and field study research highlight that transiting toward PSS means for many companies to either miss interesting business opportunities or to bet on the wrong solution concept. Early stage assessment activities play a crucial role in this respect, guiding the selection of a value-adding PSS while preventing commitment of resources on poor design alternatives. Emerging from empirical studies in the manufacturing industry, the paper highlights the need for systematic procedures, tools and metrics able to encompass customer satisfaction together with the producer’s value perspective in such assessment. The paper proposes a 2 step assessment method based on the Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) matrix enabling the integration of customer and provider value and supporting early stage PSS design decision making. Verification activities highlight the positive implications of balancing the trade-off between customer and provider value during the PSS assessment phase.
While the provision of PSS is becoming more and more common, the transition toward a servitized business model is still critical. This is particularly true for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to their limited internal resources and ability to define a servitization strategy. A crucial aspect during this transition is the identification of the right solutions to be implemented into the business that must render high value capture for providers and create value for customers. While a literature review showed that a large number of evaluation methods are available, these are often complex and require substantial amounts of resources in order to be carried out. This paper aims at supporting companies in taking decisions during early design phases by proposing a method that combines two existing approaches: The EVA method and the ProVa method. The combined method simplifies the existing ones while aiming at an easy implementation and application in SMEs. It is composed of two steps, the first pursuing the identification of valuable concepts from both the customer and the provider perspective; the second pursuing an individual analysis of the components available for use in the concepts selected. The application of the simplified method in a student-case of a startup company seeking to enter the distributed mobility market highlights the ease of use of the method in rendering valuable PSS concepts and in evaluating its specific components.