Towards a framework to design upgradable product service systems

Abstract

Besides the inherent potential of being an environmentally sustainable solution, the Product-Service System (PSS) business model equips manufacturers to capture customer values, and realize profits dispersed throughout the whole product life cycle. PSS features such as upgradability can provide further opportunity to increase manufacturer’s revenue streams while satisfying consumers’ evolving preferences and thus be perceived as value-adding. Even though several PSS design methodologies were introduced in recent years, none of them focuses specifically on the upgradability aspect of PSS. The purpose of this paper is to identify key upgrade-enabling design features and provide a literature review on existing PSS design methodologies with a specific focus on their adoption towards an upgradable PSS design framework. Additionally, this paper proposes a conceptual design framework that emphasizes upgradability for PSS, in this initial stage focused on the beginning of life. This initial literature-based framework will be evaluated and expanded in future research to reflect the requirements of practitioners and academics.