Developing Architecture for Platform-based Circular Economy Business: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

A number of platform-based businesses using digital technologies are increasing toward achieving a circular economy (CE). However, it is less systematized on how to design successful platform-based CE businesses. As the first step to address this problem, this paper aims to develop an architecture to represent the relationship between a target CE business and functional requirements for building a digital platform. For this purpose, we applied Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA) to clarify the features that need to be considered for developing an architecture in the context of CE business. A case study was conducted for a container reuse business. By applying IIRA, we described two scenarios, i.e., as-is scenario where the current business model is assumed and proposed scenario where additional digital technologies are introduced. Results showed that IIRA is useful for describing the relationships among stakeholders and the functions required for a digital platform. Moreover, describing the two scenarios helped to execute the improvement cycles of extracting problems and suggesting solutions for the target CE business.