Methodology for Structuring and Bundling Product-Service Systems

Abstract

Companies from the mechanical and plant engineering sector are increasingly offering Product-Service Systems (PSS) because they are facing greater competitive pressure within their industry. Furthermore, they perceive a stronger demand for holistic solutions by the customer. A single company is often unable to provide the PSS fully on its own because it may not have all competencies for its provision. Therefore, companies organize themselves in so-called corporate value networks. In order to assign individual components of the PSS to partners for provision, the PSS must be structured and the components of the PSS must be bundled. These bundles are formed based on the interdependencies between the components and can consist of both tangible product and intangible service components. This paper presents a methodology for structuring a PSS and creating a PSS architecture. A Multiple Domain Matrix is used to evaluate and display the interdependencies among the PSS components.