Design for industrial product-services combinations - a literature review

In today's business arena technological advantage no longer automatically guarantees a competitive advantage. The trend towards an increasing emphasis on services in the capital goods sector remains unbroken. This trend is turning equipment suppliers into solution providers by offering combinations of industrial products with services. While the basic principles of this transition have been discussed intensively in both theory and practice, engineering guidelines and design notes are lacking in their recognition of the newly arising technical equipment requirements in providing these combinations. The paper presents the current state-of-the-art in the "Design for Services" area by giving a comprehensive literature review. Against the backround of the transition outlined above, the need for enhancing "Design for Services" towards "Design for Product-Services Combinations" is illsutrated.