Strategies for Designing and Developing Services for Manufacturing Firms

Product/service-systems (PSS) are in effect an approach to designing integrated products and services with a focus on both customer activities and product life cycle considerations. Literature offers a range of serviceoriented design strategies from product-oriented DfX approaches to more customer-oriented approaches such as integrated solutions and service design. These design strategies are mapped out in relation to how applicable they are to different types of services. Case studies from two industrial companies are used to confront the existing literature in order to begin to understand how manufacturing companies may align their business strategies with their product and service development activities.