Abstract:
This thesis makes a contribution to knowledge through the development of a
strategy formulation methodology for manufacturing organisations who wish to
compete through advanced technology enabled service delivery systems. The
research introduces the reader to the concept of Product Service Systems
(PSS) and the process of ‘servitization’. It identifies Integrated Vehicle Health
Management (IVHM) as one of a set of enabling technological applications,
which if adopted, can facilitate the supply of “intelligent” or “informated”
products. Such products enable the manufacturer to monitor the condition and
usage of these products ‘in the field’ thereby enabling aligned service solutions
to be offered.
A five phase research programme is undertaken which seeks to understand the
principles of IVHM and gain knowledge of the level of practitioner awareness of
the concept and related issues. The research then explores and defines the
concept of the service delivery system, and identifies and reviews operations
strategy formulation methodologies. A pre-pilot methodology is adopted which
is then tested via case application to generate a list of requirements and
specification. A pilot methodology is designed to suit the specification and
tested via industrial case studies and expert practitioner evaluation. The pilot
methodology is finally refined prior to verification and validation through
industrial case application and further expert practitioner evaluation.
This research delivers a sequential and iterative strategy formulation
methodology which fills a gap that is identified through a state of the art
literature review and practitioner survey. The documented methodology is the
result of a structured development and test programme and is shown to be
feasible, useable and useful by test and validation by numerous manufacturing
organisations. It makes a significant contribution to knowledge. This is attained
through seeking to understand the organisation’s actual competitive position,
its alignment to the stakeholder’s service requirements, and organisational
structure. It also offers alignment relative to the level of technology adoption
when offering intelligent/informated products. The research provides a strategy
formulation methodology to deliver an enhanced service delivery system.
