Dominant Innovation Design for Smart Products-Service Systems (PSS): Strategies and Case Studies

Market globalization has brought us not only new opportunities, but also new challenges. The theme of innovation has become a mandatory topic for all industries - it has become a focal point for the enterprise, society and the world. The goal of innovation is to create business value by developing worthwhile ideas into a customer-centric marketable reality. This, for most companies, is difficult to achieve due to the lack of a methodology and tools for systematic innovative thinking. This paper introduces the concept and strategies for product-service innovation based on a Dominant Innovation Design approach. An innovation toolset that effectively combines an Innovation Matrix, Application Space Map, and QFD tools is explained. This methodology enables the identification of hidden customer needs and gaps as they relate to product-service requirements. This paper also shares two case studies of how this tool-set can be utilized for real product-service innovation. The case study includes an overall IT-enabled service solution for a traditional product, which encompasses service thinking, blueprint planning, technical solution evaluation, service platform implementation, and service operation. Combining these elements can lead manufacturing industries into new service business model based on their core product while creating more value to their customers.