QFD as a tool to improve negotiation process, product quality, and market success, in an automotive industry battery components supplier

30th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM2021) 15-18 June 2021, Athens, GreeceThe automotive industry faces major megatrends such as climate change and emissions control, digital transformation, and increased customer power, resulting in more intensive competition, and higher sophisticated vehicles. The application of QFD (Quality Function Deployment) can be particularly valuable to link customer expectations with the technical characteristics of the product. In the case of products, such as batteries for electric vehicles, where technology is not yet mature, and the technical requirements (e.g., autonomy) are continuously more demanding, this is particularly relevant. The QFD customer-oriented product development technique is applied to a cover of a battery pack, to improve the negotiation process with the car manufacturer, the automotive industry battery components supplier company and its suppliers, to ensure market success once the product is released. The application of the HoQ revealed that Product Design and Tolerancing are the main technical requirements with the most impact over the battery cover development, followed the Leakage ratio. This research confirms that the voice of the customer could be quite generic, and it is critical that these requirements are translated into engineering requirements, which, in turn, can be translated into items that can be measured quantitatively and actionable within the company. The application of the affinity diagram was found to be quite valuable to address the significant amount of subjective information, and it is also relevant that OEMs have a desire to standardize the electric vehicle platforms at least on fewer and general sizes, hinting the need for more collaborative team approaches.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Human-Centred Design in the context of Servitization in Industry 4.0: A Collaborative Approach

The competitiveness of the business today will depend on empowering hu-man intelligence and creativity, capturing and capitalizing on available infor-mation and knowledge for the total product and service lifecycle. To realize this beyond technical aspects, the collaborative work of multidisciplinary and inter-sectoral teams is constituted to develop an appropriate methodology of human-centred design (HCD) with advanced service innovation in indus-try 4.0. Based on the state-of-the-art analysis and industrial requirements, the methodology is tested with European industrial cases in various sectors to validate its implementation and benefits. This paper aims to provide the well-rounded collaborative framework to deliver the new HCD methodology

Data-Driven Transformation in the Automotive Industry: The Role of Customer Usage Data in Product Development

Automotive manufacturers are pressured to integrate customers into product development effectively to foster innovation and remain competitive. While traditional approaches to customer integration have relied on market research and the customer’s intention to use, the digital transformation of the automotive industry increasingly enables manufacturers to leverage customer usage data for product development. However, we lack insights into how customer data influences automotive productive development. To close this gap, we investigated the role of customer usage data for product development at a leading car manufacturer. Drawing on 20 expert interviews, we derived three key dimensions that explain how customer usage data influence product development in automotive: “data-driven product evaluation,” “data-driven product development,” and “data-driven product innovations.” Our findings shed light on the transformative role of customer usage data for product development and provide valuable guidance for practitioners to effectively leverage customer usage data as part of the automotive digital transformation

Digital Technology Integration Among Eastern European Companies, Based on Digital Economy and Society Index

The European Commission has given special attention to the digital evolution of the European economy and society since the early 2000s. Starting with 2014, the Digital Economy and Society Index has become a key monitoring and assessment instrument. In 2021, the main indicators of the Digital Economy and Society Index were matched with the Digital Agenda 2030 targets, which encompass four dimensions: human capital, connectivity, digital technology integration, and digital public services. The article aims to verify the convergence amongst Member States in integrating digital technologies, which is the third dimension of the Digital Economy and Society Index yearly database. The σ-convergence analysis assessed decreased disparities in digital technology integration between Member States over time. The β-convergence analysis was used to evaluate the pace of catch-up from the initial development level. The σ- and β-convergence were not confirmed. The specific digital technology integration indicators (11) are studied to identify crucial areas that must be addressed in the future to guarantee that digital inclusion is as widespread as feasible. The present research is concentrated on the member countries that joined the EU during the Eastern enlargements. All individual indicator performance is typically behind the EU average, and as the β-convergence study indicates, the average catch-up rate is not encouraging

The Digital Transformation of Automotive Businesses: THREE ARTEFACTS TO SUPPORT DIGITAL SERVICE PROVISION AND INNOVATION

Digitalisation and increasing competitive pressure drive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to switch their focus towards the provision of digital services and open-up towards increased collaboration and customer integration. This shift implies a significant transformational change from product to product-service providers, where OEMs realign themselves within strategic, business and procedural dimensions. Thus, OEMs must manage digital transformation (DT) processes in order to stay competitive and remain adaptable to changing customer demands. However, OEMs aspiring to become participants or leaders in their domain, struggle to initiate activities as there is a lack of applicable instruments that can guide and support them during this process. Compared to the practical importance of DT, empirical studies are not comprehensive. This study proposes three artefacts, validated within case companies that intend to support automotive OEMs in digital service provisioning. Artefact one, a layered conceptual model for a digital automotive ecosystem, was developed by means of 26 expert interviews. It can serve as a useful instrument for decision makers to strategically plan and outline digital ecosystems. Artefact two is a conceptual reference framework for automotive service systems. The artefact was developed based on an extensive literature review, and the mapping of the business model canvas to the service system domain. The artefact intends to assist OEMs in the efficient conception of digital services under consideration of relevant stakeholders and the necessary infrastructures. Finally, artefact three proposes a methodology by which to transform software readiness assessment processes to fit into the agile software development approach with consideration of the existing operational infrastructure. Overall, the findings contribute to the empirical body of knowledge about the digital transformation of manufacturing industries. The results suggest value creation for digital automotive services occurs in networks among interdependent stakeholders in which customers play an integral role during the services’ life-cycle. The findings further indicate the artefacts as being useful instruments, however, success is dependent on the integration and collaboration of all contributing departments.:Table of Contents Bibliographic Description II Acknowledgment III Table of Contents IV List of Figures VI List of Tables VII List of Abbreviations VIII 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation and Problem Statement 1 1.2 Objective and Research Questions 6 1.3 Research Methodology 7 1.4 Contributions 10 1.5 Outline 12 2 Background 13 2.1 From Interdependent Value Creation to Digital Ecosystems 13 2.1.1 Digitalisation Drives Collaboration 13 2.1.2 Pursuing an Ecosystem Strategy 13 2.1.3 Research Gaps and Strategy Formulation Obstacles 20 2.2 From Products to Product-Service Solutions 22 2.2.1 Digital Service Fulfilment Requires Co-Creational Networks 22 2.2.2 Enhancing Business Models with Digital Services 28 2.2.3 Research Gaps and Service Conception Obstacles 30 2.3 From Linear Development to Continuous Innovation 32 2.3.1 Digital Innovation Demands Digital Transformation 32 2.3.2 Assessing Digital Products 36 2.3.3 Research Gaps and Implementation Obstacles 38 3 Artefact 1: Digital Automotive Ecosystems 41 3.1 Meta Data 41 3.2 Summary 42 3.3 Designing a Layered Conceptual Model of a Digital Ecosystem 45 4 Artefact 2: Conceptual Reference Framework 79 4.1 Meta Data 79 4.2 Summary 80 4.3 On the Move Towards Customer-Centric Automotive Business Models 83 5 Artefact 3: Agile Software Readiness Assessment Procedures 121 5.1 Meta Data 121 5.2 Meta Data 122 5.3 Summary 123 5.4 Adding Agility to Software Readiness Assessment Procedures 126 5.5 Continuous Software Readiness Assessments for Agile Development 147 6 Conclusion and Future Work 158 6.1 Contributions 158 6.1.1 Strategic Dimension: Artefact 1 158 6.1.2 Business Dimension: Artefact 2 159 6.1.3 Process Dimension: Artefact 3 161 6.1.4 Synthesis of Contributions 163 6.2 Implications 167 6.2.1 Scientific Implications 167 6.2.2 Managerial Implications 168 6.2.3 Intelligent Parking Service Example (ParkSpotHelp) 171 6.3 Concluding Remarks 174 6.3.1 Threats to Validity 174 6.3.2 Outlook and Future Research Recommendations 174 Appendix VII Bibliography XX Wissenschaftlicher Werdegang XXXVII Selbständigkeitserklärung XXXVII

Orchestrating Digital Innovation: The Case of the Swedish Center for Digital Innovation

In recent years, researchers have paid increasing attention to how firms facilitate and enact digital innovation in networks with diverse actors (i.e., heterogeneous networks). However, while considerable evidence shows that firms can build key capabilities via engaging with external partners, we found few studies on how they orchestrate digital innovation in situations where an academic unit plays a facilitating role in the heterogeneous network. We address this question by focusing on experiences from a national academic initiative, the Swedish Center for Digital Innovation (SCDI). Formed in 2013, the SCDI has adopted an engaged scholarship approach and a combination of activities designed to increase digital innovation capabilities among partner organizations. We argue that acquiring new knowledge through external and internal sources stimulates firms and public sector organizations engaged in digital innovation to integrate such new knowledge with their existing knowledge base. Specifically, we demonstrate how SCDI’s core activities have created increased capabilities for the involved stakeholders, and we offer lessons learned and recommendations for academic units that wish to orchestrate digital innovation

Semi-confusing Information Systems Revisited: The Role of Inefficiencies in Enacting Ambidexterity

Forty years ago, Bo Hedberg and Sten Jönsson proposed the notion of semi-confusing information systems as a desired state for organizations operating in dynamic environments. At its core, the idea posits that efficiency alone cannot ensure long-term success but that organizations also require a certain amount of inefficiency. These ideas resonate in the growing literature on organizational ambidexterity that has deemed the dynamic balancing of exploration and exploitation a prerequisite for long-term performance. We use the design characteristics of semi-confusing information systems as a lens to analyze secondary data on a case of new product development in a global, automotive organization. We found that inefficiencies in the new product-development process correspond to the proposed design characteristics of semi-confusing information systems, which illustrates a new perspective on the role that inefficiencies play in organizations’ efforts to enact ambidexterity. The identified inefficiencies manifested in unsanctioned repertoires, which resulted in increased variety. In addition, we found the level of compliance with semi-confusing information systems characteristics to impact both an organization’s ambidextrous balance and the degree to which an organization enacts ambidexterity in a decentralized way

Strategic business models: opportunities for business model innovation in the automotive industry - in-depth analysis of car subscriptions in Germany

Digitization and changing customer preferences have an impact on the determinants of sales and ownership in the automotive industry. In this context it is crucial to understand the new, disruptive business models and their potential for market players. The purpose of this report is to analyze the distinct characteristics of different business models that exist in the automotive industry in Germany today, and to provide an in-depth analysis of the business model components for car subscriptions. The report also provides an evaluation of the advantages and vulnerabilities of the given business model and offers an outlook for future research on the topic