On the use of platforms for product–service solutions

The purpose of this thesis is to identify and describe factors influencing the use of platforms for product–service solutions. Briefly put, product–service solutions are combinations of products and services integrated and customised to address customers’ overall needs. However, because customisation can be costly and time-consuming, following a platform approach can enable companies to meet customers’ individual needs while taking advantage of economies of scale effects at the same time. Compiling five papers, this thesis proposes factors that are influencing the development and applicability of such a platform approach. Drawing from research on product–service solutions and on platform and modular approaches, the thesis seeks to answer three research questions addressing: (1) arguments in favour of using platforms for product–service solutions, (2) how a platform approach influence key aspects of the solutions development, and (3) how a platform approach influence key aspects of the organisational structure. To answer those questions, the research for the thesis adopted a case-study approach. Following a pre-study on Alpha and Beta—an access solutions provider and a healthcare ICT solutions provider, respectively—the lion’s share of data concerns the firm Gamma, operating in the transportation industry. Within the scope of that company, two solutions development projects—the ECOS and COBO projects—were also studied in-depth.As revealed in the case studies, the use of platforms for product–service solutions is influenced by the objectives of the solution business, the solution itself and the organisational architecture, as well as variation in customers’ needs. Further, the thesis outlines three development-focused efforts undertaken in providing product–service solutions based on a platform approach: (1) developing and utilising standardised assets (i.e. a platform), (2) the customising efforts concerned with the configuration of solutions, and (3) personalising activities referring to adaption of the delivery of solutions. Leveraging usage and technology knowledge as shared assets, the thesis identifies two approaches to developing a platform: establishing the platform first or taking a point of departure within an individual solution. Despite arguments in favour of using a platform approach for product–service solutions, implementing such an approach typically presents obstacles. Challenges are likely to arise in an organisation due to the misalignment of the solution architecture with the organisational architecture. After all, the solution architecture encompasses products and services that are inseparable from the development phase forward. However, if products and services are separated organisationally, then the organisational architecture can direct product and service development into different structures, which can cause major challenges in managing the integration needed to provide a seamless solution

Med rätt teknik– en studie av ingenjörers inställning till rekrytering via sociala medier

Titel: Med rätt teknik– en studie av ingenjörers inställning till rekrytering via sociala medier Författare: Siri Jagstedt Uppdragsgivare: PS Partner Handledare: Malin Sveningsson Kurs: Examensarbete i medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, MK1500 Termin: HT-12 Antal ord/sidor: 20 000 ord / 50 sidor exklusive bilaga Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka hur ingenjörer ser på arbete och rekrytering i relation till sociala medier. Metod: Kvalitativa, semi-strukturerade samtalsintervjuer Material: Analys av åtta samtalsintervjuer med ingenjörer och ingenjörsstudenter med olika utbildningsinriktning. Huvudresultat: Studien visar att ingenjörerna är positivt inställda till rekrytering via sociala medier, så länge annonsering och tilltal sker inom vissa ramar, med hänsyn taget till den privata sfären och individuella intressen. För de ingenjörer som har några års arbetslivserfarenhet är det viktigt att skilja på privatliv och yrkesliv. Detta medför bland annat en praktisk uppdelning av kontaktnäten mellan olika sociala nätverk. Arbetsmarknadens stora efterfrågan på ingenjörer gör att få upplever att de aktivt behöver söka jobb. Ingenjörerna försöker däremot hålla sig uppdaterade om arbetsmarknaden, om någon väldigt lockande tjänst skulle dyka upp. För att de skall bli intresserade av en annons krävs att innehållet känns väl anpassat till den personliga profilen samt att annonsen känns exklusiv och lättillgänglig. Sociala medier anses vara ett bra sätt att, genom nätverket, hålla ett öga på arbetsmarknaden och eventuella jobbannonser

Decision-making in integrated product-service development

This paper is investigating decision-making in integrated product-service development through a focus on the decision-makers’ attention. By conducting a case study of an on-going development project, it is concluded that attention to product-related aspects will suppress service-related aspects to be acknowledged. As structures and channels benefit product-orientation, service-related issues will be undermined when proceeded through the same channels as product-related issues. Consequently, the existence of a service-oriented separate function does not necessarily help focusing the attention towards service-related issues in an integrated product-service development project. However, while there has been an argued tension between service- and product-orientation, this paper also proposes that attention towards both aspects in the decision-making could be enabled through a focus on the overall, integrated offering rather than on individual components which compete in attention. In order to facilitate decision-making that concerns both product- and service-related issues, the organisation needs to acknowledge and integrate service aspects in the early phases of the development project, before a product-orientation has been established

Managerial attention alteration in integrated product-service development

This paper examines managerial attention alteration in an integrated product-service development project. A case study was conducted to shed light on the issue of developing integrated offerings in a product-oriented organisation. It is shown that attention given to product-related aspects will suppress service-related aspects. Since structures and channels benefit a product-orientation, service-related issues that use the same channels tend to be undermined. It is suggested that attention to both aspects would be enabled by a focus on the overall integrated offering rather than on the individual components competing for attention. However, an integrated project faces challenges in maintaining such a focus due to organisational structures that separate product- and service-related issues into separate channels

Managerial Challenges in the Development of Integrated Solutions

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate managerial challenges related to the development of integrated solutions. This purpose is in line with a trend towards moving into solution provision in manufacturing, and the complexity that arises in the development of so called integrated solutions compared to the development of physical products. Integrated solutions can be described as products and services integrated to create a value surplus associated to the customer’s operations. That is, when services are not simply added to the product and can be treated separately, but rather are provided as an integrated solution to a customer problem to facilitate or optimise their operations. While challenges related to servitization have been identified, companies are struggling with the development of integrated solutions. Those integrated solutions put new demands on the development organisation and raise several challenges, which have to be managed. This thesis are concerned with these. The thesis addresses two research questions. The first research question is ‘How can integrated solutions be described?’ which relates to what needs to be developed. The second research question refers to the implications for the product development organisation and is formulated as ‘What are the implications for the product development organisation when a manufacturing company moves into provision of integrated solutions?’Three studies were conducted, based mainly on data collected via interviews with managers working on the development of integrated solutions. The first study investigated effects on the product development of a manufacturer moving into provision of integrated solutions. The second study investigated how various dimensions can be used to describe different integrated solutions. The third study explored how platform thinking applies to the development of integrated solutions.The thesis concludes that there are managerial challenges involved in the development of integrated solutions related to the co-existence in the same company of different integrated solutions. There are challenges also associated to integration in the development of integrated solutions, and the need to balance customisation and standardisation. In addition, manufacturers are required to utilize and care for their product and technology knowledge, which add to the complexity of the development

Using platform strategies in the development of integrated product-service solutions

Providers of product-service solutions find it challenging to simultaneously manage an increasing need for customised offerings along with internal demands for efficiency. To manage this balance, this paper explores the utilisation of platform strategies in the development of integrated product-service solutions. While platform strategies have been employed for many years in the develop-ment of physical products, this paper focuses on platform strategies in the development of solutions that combine both products and services. Based on a case study, we identify different assets that can be shared by these integrated productservice solutions and provide rationales for using platform strategies for solutions. We emphasise the potential of applying platform strategies while acknowledging the need for a holistic perspective on what assets to share among solutions. In particular, we draw attention to knowledge platforms as a basis for development of product-service solutions. The potential from using technology and usage knowledge platforms is highlighted in particular

A framework for analyzing integrated solutions

Manufactures can gain competitive advantage by addressing the customers’ needs and provide a combination of services and products (Wise & Baumgartner, 1999). When services and products are integrated into a seamless offer addressing customers’ requirements by focusing on solutions rather than products, this could be referred to as an integrated solution (Lightfoot, Baines, & Smart, 2013; Shepherd & Ahmed, 2000; Wise & Baumgartner, 1999), a form of business model to move downstream in the value chain (Wise & Baumgartner, 1999). The integrated solution is hence a tailored offering creating a desired outcome for the customer by looking beyond a product base in a manufacturing company and addressing the customers’ overall needs and problems (Baines, Lightfoot, Benedettini, & Kay, 2009; Davies, 2004). In present literature, there exists various definitions of the integrated solution concept (see for example Wise and Baumgartner (1999) and Miller, Hope, Eisenstat, Foote, and Galbraith (2002)) and it can be argued that the definitions used are quite vague regarding for example the value for the customer (Brax & Jonsson, 2009). When studying companies providing integrated solutions in practice, the complexity increases even further as there seems to be a lack of consensus of how to use the concept. In addition, the provision of integrated solutions do not look the same for customer goods companies and business-to-business industries (Davies, 2003). However, how those various integrated solutions differ towards another are still not very well researched. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for classification of different integrated solutions. In order to fulfill the purpose of this paper a multiple case study has been done. The concept of integrated solutions is a phenomena hard to separate from the context, hence a case study approach is beneficial (Yin, 2014). A multiple case study with semi-structured interviews also enables deep insight as well as giving the opportunity for comparison between cases (Bryman & Bell, 2011; Yin, 2014). Three different companies participated in the study, being in various industries, which had various closeness to end customer and focus differently on various solution components. In total fifteen recorded interviews were done in the case companies.In these three case companies two dimensions were identified as distinguishers for a classification connected to the integrated solutions concept; namely degree of integration and customer adaption. This paper contributes with a framework for classification of different integrated solutions, built on two dimensions; the degree of customer adaption and degree of integration between products and services. In Figure 1 this framework with examples of integrated solutions from the case companies is presented. This calls for future research focusing the impact various positions in the framework have on the development of integrated solutions

Using Platform Strategies in the Development of Integrated Product-Service Solutions

Providers of product-service solutions find it challenging to simultaneously manage an increasing need for customised offerings along with internal demands for efficiency. To manage this balance, this paper explores the utilisation of platform strategies in the development of integrated product-service solutions. While platform strategies have been employed for many years in the development of physical products, this paper focuses on platform strategies in the development of solutions that combine both products and services. Based on a case study, we identify different assets that can be shared by these integrated product-service solutions and provide rationales for using platform strategies for solutions. We emphasise the potential of applying platform strategies while acknowledging the need for a holistic perspective on what assets to share among solutions. In particular, we draw attention to knowledge platforms as a basis for development of product-service solutions. The potential from using technology and usage knowledge platforms is highlighted in particular

A framework for analyzing integrated solutions

Manufactures can gain competitive advantage by addressing the customers’ needs and provide a combination of services and products (Wise & Baumgartner, 1999). When services and products are integrated into a seamless offer addressing customers’ requirements by focusing on solutions rather than products, this could be referred to as an integrated solution (Lightfoot, Baines, & Smart, 2013; Shepherd & Ahmed, 2000; Wise & Baumgartner, 1999), a form of business model to move downstream in the value chain (Wise & Baumgartner, 1999). The integrated solution is hence a tailored offering creating a desired outcome for the customer by looking beyond a product base in a manufacturing company and addressing the customers’ overall needs and problems (Baines, Lightfoot, Benedettini, & Kay, 2009; Davies, 2004). In present literature, there exists various definitions of the integrated solution concept (see for example Wise and Baumgartner (1999) and Miller, Hope, Eisenstat, Foote, and Galbraith (2002)) and it can be argued that the definitions used are quite vague regarding for example the value for the customer (Brax & Jonsson, 2009). When studying companies providing integrated solutions in practice, the complexity increases even further as there seems to be a lack of consensus of how to use the concept. In addition, the provision of integrated solutions do not look the same for customer goods companies and business-to-business industries (Davies, 2003). However, how those various integrated solutions differ towards another are still not very well researched. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for classification of different integrated solutions. In order to fulfill the purpose of this paper a multiple case study has been done. The concept of integrated solutions is a phenomena hard to separate from the context, hence a case study approach is beneficial (Yin, 2014). A multiple case study with semi-structured interviews also enables deep insight as well as giving the opportunity for comparison between cases (Bryman & Bell, 2011; Yin, 2014). Three different companies participated in the study, being in various industries, which had various closeness to end customer and focus differently on various solution components. In total fifteen recorded interviews were done in the case companies.In these three case companies two dimensions were identified as distinguishers for a classification connected to the integrated solutions concept; namely degree of integration and customer adaption. This paper contributes with a framework for classification of different integrated solutions, built on two dimensions; the degree of customer adaption and degree of integration between products and services. In Figure 1 this framework with examples of integrated solutions from the case companies is presented. This calls for future research focusing the impact various positions in the framework have on the development of integrated solutions

Platform thinking in the development of integrated solutions

Integrated solutions combine products and services into a seamless offer. When developing such offerings, it is argued to be important to create repeatable solutions meanwhile allowing for adaptions to the customers. Platform thinking is commonly applied in development of physical products to handle this balance, meanwhile research on what such strategies could mean for development of integrated product-service offerings are still lacking. This paper acknowledges the on-going debate about customisation and standardisation regarding integrated solutions by linking it to platform strategies, and explore how platform thinking applies in development of integrated solutions. By conducting a case study, it is concluded that the role of knowledge and associated people and relationships platforms are increasingly important. Component platforms seem as a prerequisite to be able to develop repeatable integrated solutions, meanwhile a process platform for integration seems beneficial to be able to create a value surplus for the customer. Knowledge and relationship platforms seem closely aligned and could regard both the user and knowledge of solution usage, as well as technical knowledge and partnerships with external parties in order to be able to deliver an integrated solution corresponding to an overall need of the customer