Usage-based leasing of complex manufacturing systems: A method to transform current ownership-based into pay-per-use business models

Abstract

Manufacturing technology with its cost- and resource-intensive manufacturing machines like machine tools, whose amortization often takes several years, is characterized by a high degree of individualization. Here, the need for increasingly complex as well as individualized products leads to the demand for high flexibility and resilience in complex manufacturing systems. The increasing uncertainty and volatility in the markets pose high economic risks for machine operators with ownership-based business models to enter new technologies. Consequently, this restrains the innovative and creative power of manufacturing companies. Although leasing models exist in various industry sectors like printing industry or compressed air supply, their implementation is still challenging due to the high degree of complexity regarding machine system, process, and services of the leasing product. In this paper, a novel method, with increased consideration of technical-technological aspects, to transform current ownership-based into usage-based business models like pay-per-use, is proposed. The resulting method also considers the pay-per-use readiness through an initial assessment of the existing manufacturing system.