Designing value-driven solutions: The evolution of industrial product-service systems

Abstract

Industrial Product-Service Systems (IPS²) have been increasingly researched and practiced in a variety of fields and sectors. Nevertheless, such solutions are not as significantly implemented as expected by the CIRP keynote in 2010: it is not a dominant business of manufacturing companies today despite their economic and environmental advantages. One reason for this delay is assumed to be that the initial efforts were mainly on business and service when design was an afterthought. The promising digital technologies that have become easily implementable in practice will in the next years facilitate design and implementation of IPS² smartly to satisfy users and contribute to sustainability. This keynote analyses literature and practice in the last decade, aiming to propose the main characteristics of IPS² of the future and design processes adequate for IPS². The design process of both production systems for sustainability and high-value systems for sustainable development goals may need to be supported differently than today. The list of recommendations for future research on IPS² design is provided at the end of the paper.