Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Designing flexible service systems: application to machine tools

  • Published:
Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Service system design process is complex in nature and involves many stakeholders. The process becomes more critical in the context of machine tools due to market competition, complexity of services, competency requirements and cost constraints. The objective of this paper is to propose a generic approach for the design of a service system for machine tools which can support a variety of business models along with meeting customers’ demand for flexibility. The proposed approach makes use of fundamental service design steps and offers flexibility to the customers to choose the services, service mechanisms, service levels and service frequencies as per their requirements considering the economic aspects, and thus underlines the involvement and participation of customers in the service design process. It also facilitates service designers to visualize the roles of stakeholders involved in the service process and highlights the importance of customer involvement for customer service assurance and better service experience. Application of the approach is discussed through a case study conducted in association with a leading Indian machine tool manufacturing group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alonso-Rasgado, M.T., Thompson, G., & Dannemark, O.J. (2004a). State of the art in service design and modelling. In VIVACE consortium monograph.

  • Alonso-Rasgado, T., Thompson, G., & Elfström, B. O. (2004b). The design of functional (total care) products. Journal of Engineering Design, 15(6), 515–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alonso-Rasgado, M. T., & Thompson, G. (2006). A rapid design process for total care product creation. Journal of Engineering Design, 17(6), 509–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arai, T., & Shimomura, Y. (2004). Proposal of service CAD system–A tool for service engineering. CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, 53(1), 397–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asjad, M., Kulkarni, M. S., & Gandhi, O. P. (2013). Supportability scenario-based contract alternatives for operating life of a mechanical system. International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 6(1), 102–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aurich, J. C., Fuchs, C., & DeVries, M. F. (2004). An approach to life cycle oriented technical service design. CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, 53(1), 151–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aurich, J. C., Fuchs, C., & Wagenknecht, C. (2006). Life cycle oriented design of technical product-service systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(17), 1480–1494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aurich, J. C., Mannweiler, C., & Schweitzer, E. (2010). How to design and offer services successfully. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology, 2(3), 136–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baines, T. S., Howard, W., Lightfoot, S. E., Neely, A., Greenough, R., Joe, P., et al. (2007). State-of-the-art in product-service systems. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 221(10), 1543–1552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biege, S., Copani, G., Lay, G., Marvulli, S., & Schroeter, M. (2009). Innovative service-based business concepts for the machine tool building industry. In Proceedings of the 1st CIRP industrial product-service systems (IPS2) conference. Cranfield University, London, 1–2 April, p. 173.

  • Biege, S., Lay, G., & Buschak, D. (2012). Mapping service processes in manufacturing companies: Industrial service blueprinting. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 32(8), 932–957.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L., & Morgan, F. N. (2008). Service blueprinting: A practical technique for service innovation. California Management Review, 50(3), 66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bitran, G., & Pedrosa, L. (1998). A structured product development perspective for service operations. European Management Journal, 16(2), 169–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, J., Beverungen, D., & Knackstedt, R. (2008). Reference models and modeling languages for product-service systems status-quo and perspectives for further research. In Hawaii international conference on system sciences, proceedings of the 41st annual, IEEE, pp. 105–105.

  • Becker, J., Beverungen, D., & Knackstedt, R. (2010). The challenge of conceptual modeling for product-service systems: Status-quo and perspectives for reference models and modeling languages. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 8(1), 33–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boughnim, N., & Yannou, B. (2005). Using blueprinting method for developing product-service systems. In Proceedings of the international conference of engineering Design (ICED), Melbourne, Australia, August 15–18.

  • Brännström, O., Elfström, B. O., & Thompson, G. (2001). Functional products widen the scope of development work. In Proceedings of the 13th international conference on engineering design (ICED), Glasgow, Scotland, UK, August 21–23.

  • Brax, S. (2005). A manufacturer becoming service provider—Challenges and a paradox. Managing Service Quality, 15(2), 142–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, M. B., Bhamra, T. A., & Lemon, M. (2006). The transfer and application of Product Service Systems: From academia to UK manufacturing firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(17), 1455–1465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durugbo, C. (2013). Competitive product-service systems: Lessons from a multicase study. International Journal of Production Research, 51(19), 5671–5682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edvardsson, B., & Olsson, J. (1996). Key concepts for new service development. Service Industries Journal, 16(2), 140–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fließ, S., & Kleinaltenkamp, M. (2004). Blueprinting the service company: Managing service processes efficiently. Journal of Business Research, 57(4), 392–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gangadharan, G. R., & Luttighuis, P. O. (2010). BHive: A reference framework for business-driven service design and management. Journal of Service Science, 2(1), 81–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, J., Yao, Y., Zhu, V. C., Sun, L., & Lin, L. (2011). Service-oriented manufacturing: A new product pattern and manufacturing paradigm. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 22(3), 435–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gkekas, K., Alcock, J., & Tiwari, A. (2012). An investigation of the dynamic features of service design methods. Journal of Service Science Research, 4(2), 353–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goedkoop, M., Van Halen, C., te Riele, H., & Rommers, P. (1999). Product service-systems, ecological and economic basics. Report for Dutch Ministries of Environment (VROM) and Economic Affairs (EZ).

  • Goldstein, S. M., Johnston, R., Duffy, J. A., & Rao, J. (2002). The service concept: The missing link in service design research? Journal of Operations Management, 20(2), 121–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, A., & Houser, J. R. (1993). The voice of the customer. Marketing Science, 12(1), 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IfM, I. B. M. (2008). Succeeding through service innovation: A service perspective for education, research, business and government. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Komoto, H., & Tomiyama, T. (2008). Integration of a service CAD and a life cycle simulator. CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, 57(1), 9–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Komoto, H., Tomiyama, T., Nagel, M., Silvester, S., & Brezet, H. (2005). Life cycle simulation for analyzing product service systems. In Environmentally conscious design and inverse manufacturing, eco design. Fourth international symposium, p. 386.

  • Kostopoulos, G. (2012). Service blueprinting effectiveness: Drivers of success. Managing Service Quality, 22(6), 580–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linstone, H. A., & Turoff, M. (1975). The Delphi method: Techniques and applications (Vol. 29). Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manzini, E., Vezzoli, C., & Clark, G. (2001). Product-service systems: Using an existing concept as a new approach to sustainability. Journal of Design Research, 1(2), 12–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manzini, E., & Vezzoli, C. (2003). A strategic design approach to develop sustainable product service systems: Examples taken from the ‘environmentally friendly innovation’ Italian prize. Journal of Cleaner Production, 11(8), 851–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, D., & Van der Vorst, R. (2003). Developing sustainable products and services. Journal of Cleaner Production, 11(8), 883–895.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meier, H., Roy, R., & Seliger, G. (2010). Industrial product-service systems-IPS2. CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, 59(2), 607–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mont, O. K. (2002). Clarifying the concept of product-service system. Journal of Cleaner Production, 10, 237–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morelli, N. (2003). Product-service systems, a perspective shift for designers: A case study: the design of a telecentre. Design Studies, 24(1), 73–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, A. (2008). Exploring the financial consequences of the servitization of manufacturing. Operations Management Research, 1(2), 103–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okoli, C., & Pawlowski, S. D. (2004). The Delphi method as a research tool: An example, design considerations and applications. Information & Management, 42(1), 15–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pires, G., Stanton, P., & Stanton, J. (2004). The role of customer experiences in the development of service blueprints. In Proceedings of ANZMAC 2004 conference, Wellington, N.Z., 29th November–1st December.

  • Polonsky, M. J., & Garma, R. (2006). Service blueprinting: A potential tool for improving cause-donor exchanges. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 16(1–2), 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakao, T., Shimomura, Y., Sundin, E., & Comstock, M. (2009). Modeling design objects in CAD system for service/product engineering. Computer-Aided Design, 41(3), 197–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shokohyar, S., Mansour, S., & Karimi, B. (2014). A model for integrating services and product EOL management in sustainable product service system (S-PSS). Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 25(3), 427–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shostack, G. L. (1984a). Designing services that deliver. Harvard Business Review, 62(1), 133–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shostack, G. L. (1984b). Service design in the operating environment. In W. R. George & C. E. Marshall (Eds.), Developing new services (pp. 27–43). Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shostack, G. L. (1987). Service positioning through structural change. Journal of Marketing, 51(1), 34–43.

  • Shostack, G. L. (1992). Understanding services through blueprinting. Advances in Services Marketing and Management, 1(1), 75–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, A., & McAloone, T. C. (2006). Characteristics of strategies in Product/Service-System development. In Proceedings of the 9th international design conference (DESIGN 2006). Dubrovnik, Croatia, May 15th–18th, pp. 1435–1442.

  • Tatsunori, H., Tamio, A., & Yoshiki, S. (2006). A concept of service engineering: A modeling method and a tool for service design. In International conference on service systems and service management, October 25–27, Troyes, Vol. 1, p. 13.

  • van Halen, C., Vezzoli, C., & Wimmer, R. (2005). Methodology for product service system innovation: How to develop clean, clever and competitive strategies in companies. Assen: Royal Van Gorcum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, P. P., Ming, X. G., Li, D., Kong, F. B., Wang, L., & Wu, Z. Y. (2011). Status review and research strategies on product-service systems. International Journal of Production Research, 49(22), 6863–6883.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe, K., Mikoshiba, S., Tateyama, T., & Shimomura, Y. (2012). Service process simulation for integrated service evaluation. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 23(4), 1379–1388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiesner, S., Winkler, M., Eschenbächer, J., & Thoben, K. D. (2013a). Strategies for extended product business models in manufacturing service ecosystems. Product-service integration for sustainable solutions (pp. 239–250). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wiesner, S., Peruzzini, M., Doumeingts, G., & Thoben, K. D. (2013b). Requirements engineering for servitization in manufacturing service ecosystems (MSEE). In The philosopher’s stone for sustainability. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 291–296

  • Xu, X., & Wang, Z. (2011). State of the art: Business service and its impacts on manufacturing. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 22(5), 653–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, B., Kim, S., & Rhee, J. (2012). An evaluation method for designing a new product-service system. Expert Systems with Applications, 39(3), 3100–3108.

  • Zhu, Q. Q., Jiang, P. Y., Huang, G. Q., & Qu, T. (2011). Implementing an industrial product-service system for CNC machine tool. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 52(9–12), 1133–1147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance provided by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India for this research under scheme No. 22(0553)/EMR-II. Authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for the constructive comments and suggestions which helped for improving the value of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Pankaj U. Zine & Makarand S. Kulkarni

  2. Endurance Technologies Private Limited, Plot No E-92, M I D C Waluj, Aurangabad, 431136, Maharashtra, India

    Arun K. Ray

  3. Micromatic Machine Tools Private Limited, No. 550-E, Sector-37, Phase-II, Gurgaon, 122001, Haryana, India

    Rakesh Chawla

Authors
  1. Pankaj U. Zine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Makarand S. Kulkarni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arun K. Ray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rakesh Chawla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pankaj U. Zine.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zine, P.U., Kulkarni, M.S., Ray, A.K. et al. Designing flexible service systems: application to machine tools. J Intell Manuf 27, 1237–1259 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-014-0947-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-014-0947-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation