The Success Factors of PSS Development : A Transformation of Traditional Manufacturing Companies

Abstract: The competition and increasing customers‘ demands makes traditional manufacturing companies consider new ways of differentiate themselves. One way of doing this is to develop product service system (PSS) solutions. PSS solutions are a total offering, where the customer purchases the use of a solution instead of a physical product. This bachelor thesis within the School of Innovation Design and Engineering at Mälardalen University aims to determine the success factor of PSS development at ICT and AM, which are two traditional Swedish manufacturing companies. To do this, the main challenges of transforming ICT and AM into PSS providers will be identified. The thesis also aims to determine if there is a need for change of performance measurements and key performance indicators (KPIs) to enable this transformation. A theoretical review is presented to help the readers in the understanding of the thesis areas. Interviews at ICT and AM were made to get a view of the situations at the companies considering PSS development. The information gathered at the interviews stated the major challenges of transforming both companies into PSS developers. With the theoretical framework and the stated challenges, an analysis was made to determine the success factors of PSS development.The identified success factors of PSS development were Senior management clarification of strategic intent, Cultural change management, Teamwork culture, Internal communication mechanisms, External communication mechanism, Customer relationship, Motivating breakthrough ideas, Project core competency, Cross-functional collaboration, Cross-functional development, Allocation of resources, Training and education, Knowledge management, Customer satisfaction data, Risk management, Product positioning, Portfolio of product opportunities, Product functional content, Knowledge of market potential, Product service processes, Product environment, Development process, Responsibilities of team members, Concurrent development, Internal task coordination, Organizational readiness for sales, Internal marketing and External marketing.Based on the theoretical framework and interviews a statement was made; it is crucial to change the performance measurement and KPIs if implementing PSS, to support collaboration between departments and contribute to the overall success for the companies.