Product-Service Systems

Product-Service Systems, like all complex systems, are vulnerable to unpredictable environmental changes that can seriously undermine their ability to continuously deliver value to customers. The long-term consequences of volatile markets, unanticipated technologies, and unpredictable changes in society must be captured, modeled and communicated to decision makers since the earliest stages of the design, so to identify sustainable PSS solutions able to deliver value for years or decades to come. The paper analyses the problem of PSS changeability from the perspective of established medium-large product manufacturers facing the transition toward result-oriented PSS offers. Building on established literature in the systems engineering field, the paper proposes the definition of the changeability criteria, also named 'ilities', that are relevant to consider for PSS engineers in the early stages of design. Furthermore, the paper describes a systematic framework for assessing ilities in early PSS design, elaborating on technological enablers for ilities modeling.

""Purpose – While previous studies explored the argument that allies the notion of complexity to the complex product-service offerings being procured, this paper explores whether there is a corollary with exchange governance complexity. More specifically, the paper analyzes the relationship between systemic complexity and complexity of contractual and relational exchange governance in procuring complex performance (PCP) arrangements.

Design/methodology/approach - A multiple, longitudinal case study method is used to examine the relationship between systemic complexity and exchange governance complexity.  The study deploys rich data sets by combining government and company reports with 43 semi-structured interviews.

Findings - Preliminary conclusions suggest that as a response to increasing systemic complexity, organizations respond with increasing contractual governance complexity. However, better performing PCP arrangements illustrate that the use of simplified contractual governance in form of working agreements in combination with relational governance such as inter-personal relationships may be more effective to counteract complexity.

Practical implications – The paper questions whether organizations should respond with increasing exchange governance complexity to counteract systemic complexity. Managers must consider the manageability and enforceability of complex contracts in combination with the formation of inter-personal relationships and simplified working agreements. 

Originality/value – This study adds to the limited empirical understanding on the nature of long-term public-private interactions in procuring complex performance. It also contributes through a rare focus on the relationship between systemic complexity and exchange governance complexity in PCP arrangements.
""

Product-Service Systems (PSS) or Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) have been heralded as one of the ways to achieve sustainable consumption and production. PSS can lower environmental impact and enable the circular economy. However, low consumer acceptance has hindered the success of this business model. This paper analyses what determines consumer acceptance of PSS in the business-to-consumer context. This was done by examining the most important attributes of PSS, how consumers value these attributes and how this is related to their consumers' inherent characteristics. To answer the research questions, 18 interviews were held with PSS experts, that were consecutively complemented with a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) among 1061 Dutch consumers. It was found that consumer acceptance of a product-service system was mainly influenced by eleven attributes of a proposition, whereof only seven were directly included in this study on laundry solutions. To show the influence of preferences for a laundry solution, the attributes were investigated on the basis of utility and importance scores. Furthermore, the discrete choice experiment allowed to test for heterogeneity among preferences for a PSS by identifying latent classes. Five different latent classes of consumers were identified, these were then described according to their characteristics. Lastly, this study investigated which consumer characteristics variables had the most effect on the choice for a laundry solution. Future studies should take the utility and importance scores, variables, and latent classes into account, in order to improve the product-market fit with the consumer. This research contributes to a better alignment of consumer needs' with PSS-propositions. Ultimately benefitting the consumer acceptance and adoption of such propositions, increasing the performance of PSS and potentially contributing to the circular economy. [Masterthesis - Anonymized]

In today’s fast-paced industry where fight for market share is fierce and reaching the market ahead of competition imperative, product development is a target for lead-time reductions. In this context, in product development in stage-gate processes, decisions need to be made even though knowledge and information are scarce and flawed. The challenge is how to support the decisions that are made in light of uncertainty and ambiguity.
The thesis moves from analysing the role of the stage-gate process within the aerospace industry. The stage-gate process was more than a decision making mechanism, and instead a mechanism that facilitated communication, discussion and knowledge sharing between team members, as well as supported knowledge creation and shaping of the boundaries between people’s different perceptions of the knowledge base. However, the communicative and negotiative function of the stage-gate was highly dependent on the ability of the participating individuals to reflect on the status and quality of the available knowledge assets used throughout the process.
To make this reflective activity an explicit part of the stage-gate practice, this thesis proposes the application of a knowledge maturity concept at the gates to raise the decision makers’ awareness of the status of the knowledge assets handled at the decision point. The knowledge maturity concept considers three basic dimensions: input, method/tool and experience/expertise in assessing the knowledge base maturity. The scale is intended to act as a boundary object, facilitating the knowledge creation process by highlighting the current status of the knowledge base and making stakeholders aware of the nature of the project’s uncertainties and ambiguities. In the knowledge maturity concept, its purpose is to support design teams at the gates in taking appropriate action, mitigating risk and focusing their efforts on improving the knowledge assets where it is needed most, regarding the situation at hand and, finally, to make more confident decisions.
The thesis was developed within the EU FP6 VIVACE (Value Improvement through a Virtual Aeronautical Collaborative Enterprise) and EU FP7 CRESCENDO (Collaborative and Robust Engineering using Simulation Capability Enabling Next Design Optimisation) projects, and within the Faste Laboratory, a VINNOVA Excellence Centre involving partners from the Swedish manufacturing industry.

"Product development involves a set of complex problem-solving activities. Their effectiveness depends on how well companies share learnings from one problem-solving experience to another. “Lessons learned (LL) practices” are common knowledge management efforts through which companies attempt to foster experience-based learning environments within them. However, many companies fall short in utilizing LL at an action level, i.e. in capturing and sharing learned lessons, and applying them in new situations is still difficult.

This thesis is largely based upon qualitative data collected in three case studies that had two main objectives. Firstly, to investigate the current state of LL practice in order to identify potential barriers in the light of emerging product development trends. Secondly, to identify ways to improve current practices from both capture and reuse perspectives.

The research work identifies 11 functional requirements for improving LL processes based on the outlined potential barriers in as-is practice. The studies showed that effective LL practice requires a continuous approach with a standard format that should be applicable not only to capture lessons from design projects, but also from manufacturing, use, and maintenance phases, where much of the learning is still tacit in nature and difficult to articulate. From a reuse perspective, current project-specific lessons lack contextual knowledge related to learning—that is, the lessons’ background, root-causes, and applicability—thereby demanding a method to capture LL at a process-based level with a richer context.

Based on this analysis, a methodology has been developed for representing LL in a standardized format together with guidelines, using videos and storytelling as enabling media. This methodology includes a seven-step representation of LL, consisting of: (1) lessons learned statement, (2) working context, (3) task description, (4) “what went wrong” or “what went well”, (5) lessons learned, (6) lessons learned measures, and (7) applicability and delimitations.

Preliminary validation activities revealed that the methodology facilitates the preparation and formulation of concise LL with richer context than traditional text-based formats. The methodology has proved to be beneficial in capturing lessons from skill-oriented activities in a narrative form, by visually displaying defects, problems or improvements in complex products and associated actions in production or maintenance phases, for instance. Thus, a video-based LL captures a single learning point with more specific details and actionable recommendations than traditional project-specific text-based approaches, thereby enabling process-based learning. Moreover, the reuse of video-based LL was found to facilitate the execution of new design tasks by increasing users’ contextual awareness, thus enabling them to select possible solutions and apply them in new design situations relatively quickly. The methodology has potential advantages in leveraging experience-based knowledge and learning in early product development phases to avoid reinventing the wheel, and repeating potentially costly mistakes in all relevant company environments."

The circular economy (CE) has recently stimulated debates on sustainable consumption and production; Its regenerative systems minimise the environmental impact as practitioner reduce their externalities, including; waste, emissions, and energy leakages through the use and reuse of resources. Therefore, this review paper examines relevant regulatory guidelines, policies and recommendations on sustainable development; where it traces the origins of CE. Afterwards, it sheds light on key theoretical underpinnings on CE's closed loop and product service systems. This contribution offers a critique on CE's inherent limitations and discusses about the implications of having regulatory interventions that are intended to encourage responsible consumption and production behaviours. In conclusion, this contribution implies that CE is creating value to business and the environmental dimensions. This sustainable development model has potential to unleash a new wave of operational efficiencies through reduced throughput in production processes; as practitioners repair, reuse, remanufacture, refurbish, and recycle resources, whilst safeguarding the natural environment.

This is a working paper from the exploratory research carried out at early phases of Visions and Pathways 2040 project. The paper discusses new dynamics in the business environment relevant to sustainability and low-carbon transitions and identifies and exemplifies new and emerging business models with a potential of disrupting existing unsustainable socio-technical systems. 

Co-authored with Paul Twomey

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption to address the relentless depletion of resources and the accumulation of waste. In the circular economy literature, there are sparse suggestions that Product-Service Systems (PSSs) have the potential to produce closed-loop resource flows. This study explored this potential using a systematic literature review focused on the use phase and obsolescence. We identified twenty-one PSS elements that contribute to closed loops and categorised them by six architectural levels, i.e. services, resources, stakeholders, contract, value delivery, and systems and tools. We then structured the PSS elements and their contributions to closed loops under four subfunctions and consolidated them in a novel framework. Intercepting and transitioning obsolete resources are subfunctions demanded by a PSS to achieve an operational solution. Stating and governing resource lifetime are subfunctions wanted by a PSS to improve the solution. The results call for a functional approach to PSS design and consideration of obsolescence of products, components and materials. The implications of the results are that PSS elements contribute to achieving circularity by satisfying specific subfunctions and the data in the framework provide a basis for selecting suitable PSS elements.

The move towards offering product-service systems (PSS) requires the involvement of stakeholders from heterogeneous functions or companies with knowledge of the different stages of the life cycle. This challenges the way in which organizations create, share, and manage knowledge across functional and corporate boundaries. The management and reuse of knowledge within the cross-functional teams are still enormous tasks, especially when dealing with semi- structured or unstructured information, as well as with informal and tacit knowledge.
The purpose is to explore how a lightweight collaborative approach can support knowledge sharing in cross-functional collaboration in the context of product-service system development. Through an empirical analysis of the knowledge management practices within cross-functional collaborative teams in the aerospace supply chain, this thesis describes the knowledge-related problems in light of the implementation of a PSS paradigm and explores how lightweight collaborative technologies can enable knowledge sharing in boundary-crossing collaborative working environments. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology whose empirical findings are based on two industrial case studies. Data have primarily been generated through interviews, focus group meetings, and survey questionnaires.
The research work outlines the limitations of current knowledge management systems in capturing, managing, and reusing cross-functional knowledge in PSS development in terms of knowledge sharing, pointing to lightweight collaborative technologies as a key knowledge-sharing enabler for PSS development. Furthermore, the study elaborates upon the opportunities and challenges embedded in the lightweight concept by using SWOT analysis as well the development of several scenarios in which social, bottom-up technologies are applied in an engineering context. This approach results in the identification of promising areas for the significant impact of PSS development, such as in identifying new product opportunities, locating the right capabilities in the organization, and capturing the design intent and design rationale. These areas eventually highlight the features and requirements for effective lightweight knowledge sharing in PSS development efforts.
The research work introduces Web 2.0/social software applications and methods as a bottom-up and lightweight collaborative approach for knowledge sharing in PSS development. First, the study determines that these technologies can enhance knowledge sharing by providing empowering opportunities and dynamic way of interactions for knowledge workers. Second, these technologies can improve teams’ capabilities by exploiting the network of connections through the collective creation and maintenance of shared knowledge assets with a common understanding. Such improvements will eventually enhance decision making and sense making in a global, virtual, and cross-functional team setting. Finally-and most importantly- these technologies can amplify access to individual tacit knowledge, thereby ensuring continuous organizational learning.
This research work is particularly significant as the adoption of a Web 2.0/social approach in engineering collaboration is still not eminent. The thesis outlines several issues that have to be addressed from both methodological and technological perspectives before pursuing the wide adoption of lightweight tools in the areas identified.

The continuous development of the sharing economy calls for the attention of the design community. Practical knowledge of where, how and what roles designers could play, in developing the phenomenon out of its infancy into a full-grown alternative way of consuming and living with social and ecological benefits, remains absent. This article reports upon an exploration to match product-service system design with the sharing economy. A literature study was needed toward understanding the sharing economy from a designer’s point of view. A link was formed by focusing on different kinds of stakeholders. The result is a framework of five operable levels concerning PSS. One level concerns the product- service characteristics (0), while the other four concern levels of stakeholders mapped according to their involvement with the product-service. These four levels are the users (1), the ecosystem (2), the organization (3) and society (4). The framework results in an overview of workable parameters and leverage points: an attempt to support designers in understanding and designing PSS in a sharing economy context.

The demand response monitoring is one key energy-efficient production technique and can reduce costs contributing simultaneously to the reduction of environmental emissions and maintaining the stability of electrical grids following the policies examined from European and International organizations. Although, energy trade market effect has been investigated in the literature, the novelty of this research work lies in the design and development of an Industrial
Product Service System (IPSS) business model, aiming to the collaboration between Energy Sales Companies (ESC) and manufacturing companies. ESC through an energy-demand management tool, supported by data acquisition devices connected to the Cloud, calculates and signals energy price forecasts to the manufacturers. Moreover, an adaptive production scheduling approach
considering the power usage of manufacturers in response to time-varying energy prices is presented. Particularly, an intelligent algorithm is applied for the generation and examination of multi-criteria alternative assignment scenarios and an evaluation of each planning scenario against  a set of user-defined criteria is made for the identification of the most efficient ones. The proposed
approach is validated in an industrial case study using production and energy-consumption data from a mold making industry. The results indicate potential savings for the industrial consumer finding both actors to mutually benefit

De tout temps, les entreprises industrielles ont offert des services autour de leurs produits ; ce n’est cependant que depuis une vingtaine d’années, avec l’avènement d’une véritable économie des services, que ceux-ci ont pris une place centrale dans l’arsenal concurrentiel des entreprises industrielles. Si les services autour des produits sont bien connus des entreprises qui les offrent depuis longtemps et des clients qui les ont toujours achetés, ce n’est pas le cas de la littérature académique et scientifique qui peine à les insérer dans un cadre théorique existant ou à en développer un nouveau. L’objectif de ce chapitre est premièrement de définir le concept de services autour des produits et de l’insérer dans le cadre théorique du marketing relationnel. Deuxièmement, avec l’aide de ce cadre théorique, ce chapitre cherche à proposer une typologie de stratégies de services autour des produits qui soit théoriquement consistante mais aussi utile pour les managers.
Ce chapitre est organisé de la manière suivante : premièrement, nous définissons le concept des services autour des produits, les liens qu’ils ont avec les produits qu’ils entourent et leur contribution à la performance de l’entreprise qui les offre. Ensuite, nous présentons les quatre types de stratégies de services autour des produits que sont :
- la stratégie discount,
- la stratégie relationnelle,
- la stratégie individuelle,
- la stratégie d’outsourcing.
Chacune de ces stratégies est ensuite illustrée par des exemples pratiques permettant la mise en évidence des mécanismes sous-jacents à la création de valeur pour les entreprises comme pour leurs clients. Ces stratégies étant basées sur différents types de liens entre entreprises et clients, ces exemples permettent de mieux comprendre leurs avantages et inconvénients. Finalement, nous concluons le chapitre sur les conditions nécessaires aux stratégies de services autour des produits et sur les difficultés liées à leur mise en œuvre.

Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS) carry great potential to deliver social well-being and economic prosperity while operating within the limits of our planet. They can however be complex to design, test, implement and bring to the mainstream. To increase our understanding of the potential benefits, drivers and barriers in S.PSS design, the research community has been inspired to collect and analyse an extensive number of cases in diverse sectors and to develop and test several design methods and tools. This Special Volume on “New Design Challenges to Widely Implement ‘Sustainable Product-Service Systems’” presents results of key studies in the following areas: user satisfaction and acceptance of S.PSS solutions, how industrial partnerships and stakeholder interactions can be designed for environmental and socio-ethical benefits, how knowledge of socio-technical change and transition management feeds S.PSS design processes, and the role of policy instruments to foster their implementation and scale-up. This Introduction reviews the current state of research and summarises the articles presented. The articles demonstrate increasing confidence in integrating approaches and theoretical frameworks from other arenas. These approaches include sociological practice theory, to shed new light on consumer practices in S.PSS configurations, and strategic niche management, to foster a suitable design and experimentation milieu. Experimentation, iteration and cyclical design processes were also seen by many authors as crucial to implementing and stabilising S.PSS solutions, but also their continuous sustainability evaluation. Several articles highlight the importance of local authorities, in developing S.PSS-enabling policies as well as supporting novel networks of stakeholders in the co-production of value. Finally this Introduction highlights key issues for a design research agenda, including but not limited to the development of new knowledge to support S.PSS designers (such as S.PSS design in low and middle-income contexts) and the role of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in the diffusion of knowledge and know-how to companies. Together, the papers in this special volume provide insight into the promise of the S.PSS concept for understanding, advancing and accelerating sustainability.

Consumers’ eating habits are gradually changing. In the next few decades, this shift will not be solely dictated by individuals’ decisions but by the need to feed an ever-increasing population in the face of global resources’ impoverishment. Novel superfoods rich in nutrients and produced with sustainable methods, including microalgae, maybe a solution. However, their unusual aspect, the palatability, and the lack of knowledge by most people could be obstacles to adoption. This study aims at encouraging the use of microalgae as food, highlighting the importance that design plays in the transition towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Through practice-based design research, characterized by empirical experiments, a survey, an engaging workshop, and the development of a fully-functional open-source product, the authors conceptualize a theoretical framework within which similar product-service systems could thrive. This real-world experimentation is of interest for academics, professionals, makers in the field of design, etc. It suggests that multidisciplinarity, education, and replicability are the keys to addressing this topic and paves the way for further technical and humanistic research.

From 2012 until today, I have given several seminars on metadesign, strategic design and collaborative design in Brazil (Unisinos), Mexico (Universidad Iberoamericana and Tecnológico de Monterrey), Italy (Università di Bologna), Guatemala (Universidad Rafael Landivar) and Colombia (Universidad de Caldas).
I collected the various contents in a single presentation that I am making available to my students and to the design scientific community.
The presentation does not consider the practical activities, due to its great diversity.

Creative consumers (defined as customers who adapt, modify, or transform a proprietary offering) represent an intriguing paradox for business. On one hand, they can signify a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property. On the other hand, they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. Central to business is the need to create and capture value, and creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms accomplish both. Based upon their attitude and action toward customer innovation, we develop a typology of firms’ stances toward creative consumers. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy and examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers: awareness, analysis, and response.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide further insight into operations management of the Product-Service (P-S) transition, known as servitization, and the resulting Product Service System (PSS) offerings. In exploring the dynamics of product-service transition this paper adopts a Service-Dominant (S-D) logic view of value creation, using it as a lens through which to explore value propositions of the P-S transition and their operations design.

Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents an in-depth case study of an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of durable capital equipment who, over the last five years, has
expanded their offerings to include use and result orientated product-service systems. The research design uses a multi-method approach; employing 28 in-depth qualitative interviews with customers and employees and analysis of texts, documents and secondary data including five years of
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), call centre and contract data.

Findings – The paper identifies 10 generic P-S attributes, which are abstracted into four nested value propositions; asset value proposition; recovery value proposition; availability value
proposition; outcome value proposition. In examining the operations design for delivery of these value propositions it is found that the role and importance of contextual variety increases as the organisation moves through the value propositions. Interdependencies amongst the value
propositions and differences in operational design for each value proposition are also found.

Research limitations/implications - The paper investigates PSS through an S-D logic mindset.
First, the paper considers value propositions of PSS not according to ‘product’ or ‘service’ but in terms of how resources (both material and human) are optimally designed to co-create customer value. Second, a value co-creation system of nested value propositions is illustrated. In so doing the findings have a number of implications for literature on both PSS and S-D Logic. In addition, the research adds to the PSS literature through the identification and consideration of the concept of
contextual use variety.

Practical implications – The paper demonstrates the complexity of the transition from product to service. Specifically, service cannot be seen as a bolt-on extra to their product offering, complexity caused by interactions and changes to the core offering require a systems perspective and consideration of both firm and customer skills and resources.

Originality/value – This paper extends existing literature on the P-S transition and its implications for operations management. Notably, it takes an S-D logic perspective of value creation and in so doing highlights the importance and role of contextual use variety in the P-S transition. It also provides further empirical evidence that the P-S transition cannot be treated as discrete stages but is evolutionary and requires a complex systems perspective.

Since 1959 in which one of the earliest attempts to address the problem of developing a coordinated link in a supply chain (SC) was performed by [1], managing SC performance has been a main challenge among enterprises. Supply chain planning (SCP), as one of the most important processes within the supply chain management (SCM) concept, has a great impact on firms' success or failure. SCP decision has been greatly influenced by the presence of uncertainty from the intricate nature and dynamic relationship among various stages involved in the SC network. This paper aims to present an extensive review of the existing literature to acquire a deep understanding of modelling approaches used in the area of SCP under uncertainty. The research main objective is to provide a classification framework based on the following elements: problem types, sources of uncertainty, performance measures, and modelling approaches that were exploited by previous researchers. We have conducted a survey of various journal papers dated from 1993 to 2012. In conclusion, some guidelines regarding future areas of research have been identified.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar sugestões específicas para a adaptação do Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade (SGQ) em empresas que desejam implantar o Sistema Produto Serviço (SPS) ou que já o tenham implantado. Estas sugestões serão restritas aos requisitos de realização do produto do SGQ (seção 7 da ISO 9001:2008), sendo um estudo piloto para se observar o potencial de se desenvolver esta adaptação aos demais requisitos. Os requisitos de “Realização do Produto” do SGQ foram escolhidos para este estudo em virtude de sua afinidade com o SPS. Entende-se que este é o elemento do SGQ de potencial mais evidente para a geração de sugestões pertinentes de ajuste e permite uma melhor avaliação para a continuidade do estudo. O SPS aliado ao SGQ permite que a empresa faça uma proposta de valor diferenciada e mais interessante aos seus clientes. É possível alcançar uma maior lucratividade com a abordagem proposta pelo SPS, ao invés de uma abordagem individualizada. Por meio da pesquisa bibliográfica que fundamentou este artigo pode-se observar que há trabalhos que tratam dos benefícios, da conceituação, do projeto e da implantação, mas há uma série de lacunas demandadas pelo SGQ e que os diversos autores da área ainda não o abordam.

"The paper analyzes changes in suppliers’ organizational structures to deliver integrated solutions by examining the bundling across different project phases with a focus on realizing risk transfer and through-life innovation. A multiple, longitudinal case study method is used to examine changes in integrated solution provision in Public Private Partnerships over a 15-year period. The study deploys rich data sets by combining 108 government reports with 38 interviews. Findings examine organizational transformation and suggest that as a response to the need to be competitive the solutions provider ‘unbundles’ the bundle of integrated solutions by creating sub-units to handle distinct phases. The paper questions whether bundling the different management and procurement phases of a major project into one contract is appropriate. Managers must weigh the transactional cost savings of dealing with a prime contractor against not only the transactional costs of dealing with distinct contractors for individual phases, but also the comparative ability of the two options to deliver.

KEYWORDS: Bundling, Integrated solutions, Customized solutions, Organizational transformation, Buyer- supplier relationship, Longitudinal case studies"

Service growth in product firms is one of the most active service research domains and is open to a variety of conceptualizations. This article provides a critical inquiry into the past, present, and future of the research domain. The evolution of the research on service growth is discussed in two phases: (1) setting the boundaries of the research domain, and (2) emergence of the conceptual foundation. We find that while research in this area has a well-established tradition in terms of output, theoretically it is still largely in a ‘nascent’ phase. Next, we highlight the contributions of the papers in this special section, emphasizing their challenges to prevailing assumptions in the research domain. We conclude by identifying, from the contributions to this special section, suggested themes for further research on service growth: the assessment of empirical evidence of the impact of service growth on firm performance, the role of merger & acquisitions in the service growth strategy, the exploration of single/multiple positions along the transition line, the process of adding or removing services, and expanding the context of service growth beyond product manufacturing firms.

The knowledge about a product and its value adding services is becoming as important as the physical product itself. This paper aims to address some knowledge management challenges to support the so-called "dynamic" productservice business ecosystems operating based on the creation, operation/evolution and dissolution of goal-oriented collaborative networks, such as Virtual Manufacturing and Service Enterprises, and their breeding environments.

The recent SDN Global Conference in Madrid ended with some
clear upscaling insights. Delivering great experiences for customers
requires organisations to expand their design activities beyond the
silos. Preferably, all ecosystem stakeholders deliver a consistent
and coherent offering together, providing value to the customer.
This brings the notion of systems thinking into their strategy,
design and execution as a means to balance customer and
business value into meaningful innovation. Training, incorporating
and communicating this knowledge to (non-)designers throughout
the organisation is indispensable. Quite logically, this comes with
certain barriers, different expectations of output, undesired
consequences, and more. However, in another five years, we are
bound to scale the impact of service design!

.

Structured Abstract:

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide further insight into operations management of the Product-Service (P-S) transition, known as servitization, and the resulting Product Service System (PSS) offerings. In exploring the product-service transition, this paper adopts a Service-Dominant (S-D) logic view of value creation, using it as a lens through which to explore value propositions of the P-S transition and their operations design.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents an in-depth case study of an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of durable capital equipment who, over the last five years, has expanded its offerings to include use- and result-orientated product-service systems. The research design uses a multi-method approach; employing 28 in-depth qualitative interviews with customers and employees and analysis of texts, documents and secondary data including five years of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), call centre and contract data.

Findings
The paper identifies 10 generic P-S attributes which are abstracted into four nested value propositions: asset value proposition; recovery value proposition; availability value proposition; and outcome value proposition. In examining the operations design for delivery of these value propositions, it is found that the role and importance of contextual variety increases as the organisation moves through the value propositions. Interdependencies amongst the value propositions and differences in operational design for each value proposition are also found.

Research limitations/implications
The paper investigates PSS through a S-D logic mindset. First, the paper considers value propositions of PSS not according to ‘product’ or ‘service’ but in terms of how resources (both material and human) are optimally designed to co-create customer value. Second, a value co-creation system of nested value propositions is illustrated. In so doing the findings have a number of implications for literature on both PSS and S-D logic. In addition, the research adds to the PSS literature through the identification and consideration of the concept of contextual use variety.

Practical implications
The paper demonstrates the complexity of the transition from product to service. Specifically, service cannot be seen as a bolt-on extra to their product offering; complexity caused by interactions and changes to the core offering require a systems perspective and consideration of both firm and customer skills and resources.

Originality/value
This paper extends existing literature on the P-S transition and its implications for operations management. Notably, it takes an S-D logic perspective of value creation and in so doing highlights the importance and role of contextual use variety in the P-S transition. It also provides further empirical evidence that the P-S transition cannot be treated as discrete stages but is evolutionary and requires a complex systems perspective.

Product-Service System (PSS) is a sustainable strategy that shifts the focus of the business from selling physical products to providing service by using the product. The innovation proposed in the PSS, focused on sustainable production and consumption, is consistent with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The scientific literature on PSS in machining showed studies that address the economic factor of PSS contract, machine maintenance and logistics and operational process improvement. Then, there is a lack of studies on the assessment of the PSS in machining under a sustainability factors perspective. Thus, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the economic, environmental, and social advantages of PSS cutting tools in machining. Consistent with this aim, the research focused on a case study in a diesel engine parts machining company. From an economic point of view, the results indicated a reduction in operating costs of US$ 1,206,080 per year, which allowed a nine-month return on investment. From an ecological perspective, the recovery of 602 kg of carbide per year mitigated the environmental impact of tungsten and cobalt exploration. These results are even more expressive because it deals with scarce metals. Furthermore, technological advances reduced the risk of injury to operators. This research increased knowledge on PSS in machining by presenting an original study that led the analysis under a sustainability perspective. Moreover, this study contributes to managers by showing the business model's advantages that reduce operating costs and socio-environmental impacts, enhancing sustainable development.

This study responds to calls to further investigate ways to make feedback more effective for students in the context of higher education. More specifically it scrutinizes the feedback practice, adapted to the exceptional reality of a partly on Campus, partly online semester-long Product-Service System (PSS) design project for first Master students of Product Development at the University of Antwerp. To do so, an established model of feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) is used as a framework to seek answers to the research question: which types (and levels) of feedback are generated when applying Comparative Judgement (CJ) to guide the students' and teachers' feedback formulation? Following the model, first three types of feedback: feeding up; feeding back; and feeding forward and second, four levels of feedback are discerned: task; process; selfregulatory and self. The current study describes how first year Master students (n=72) and lecturers (n=4) apply CJ to formulate feedback. We evaluate which types and levels of feedback are formulated and received by the students, both towards and from their peers and teachers. Additionally, based on a post hoc survey and reflection paper, we list the strengths and weaknesses of CJ as a method to help students to formulate, interpret and receive feedback. Finally, we identify various opportunities to improve CJ based feedback during product development cycles and its impact on learning and self-assessment of the own project process and (intermediate) results quality, and metacognitive strategies for learning.

Remanufacturing represents a well-suited approach for sustainable development in environmental, economic and social dimensions. Product-service systems (PSS) are among the most important enabler for remanufacturing. Companies that remain owner of a product have an intrinsic motivation to design goods for longer lifecycles considering the possibility of remanufacturing the product or its parts after each use phase. In addition, as the end customer only uses the goods without having its ownership, the acceptance -and consequently the demand -for remanufactured goods is significantly improved. This paper presents guidelines for the definition of innovative business models for remanufacturing, utilizing both remanufacturing and PSS characteristics, and permitting the dissemination of knowledge needed for successful implementation within a company strategy and operations model. Focusing on industrial PSS, an illustrative application of the guidelines is demonstrated.

RESUMO A implantação de um Sistema Produto-Serviço (PSS) em empresas de manufatura visa o alcance dos benefícios esperados e amplamente divulgados na literatura científica. Entretanto, verifica-se nas publicações casos em que, apesar dos esforços para incorporar serviços nos negócios de uma empresa de manufatura, não se alcança o retorno financeiro que justifique estes investimentos. Assim, o processo de implantação de um PSS não está livre de ser simples e óbvio. Para uma melhor taxa de sucesso nesta atividade é necessário obter maior conhecimento sobre os obstáculos existentes no processo de implantação de um PSS e, para tanto, este artigo identifica as dificuldades observadas durante este processo em uma empresa de manufatura no Brasil. Os resultados do trabalho permitiram confirmar o já observado anteriormente na literatura, mas também gerou novas contribuições. Verificou-se a existência de dificuldades não relatadas na bibliografia e referentes à preparação da empresa, mais especificamente sobre o treinamento dos funcionários e a obtenção de maior conhecimento sobre as particularidades do PSS. Observou-se que as dificuldades no processo de implantação são também causadas pelo método escolhido para o desenvolvimento do PSS. Os resultados da pesquisa contribuem para que futuros desenvolvedores de PSS previnam-se mais adequadamente aos óbices deste processo. Palavras-chave: Sistema Produto–Serviço, PSS, implantação de PSS, dificuldades. Área: Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Produto-Serviço (PSS).