Deciding on PSS: A Framework for PSS Strategies

Product/Service-Systems (PSS) are a strategic approach wherein the value proposition covers the performance of a system throughout the whole life cycle. Many industrial companies are challenged on many levels in the transition process towards a PSS oriented approach. Much of the literature has until now focused on PSS from a design object perspective, and less focus has been on how the business model of the company must be designed simultaneously with the offering, covering topics as organisational restructuring, value chain collaboration plus a change management focus. This paper presents a PSS strategy topic matrix, as a boundary object for the company, aimed at creating a shared understanding of important factors in the organisation while evaluating, developing, implementing and operating a PSS strategy. This is done through an empirical foundation of twelve companies representing a whole branch industry, together with three cases of industrial best-practice.