Developing integrated solution offerings for remote diagnostics

Abstract

Purpose -This paper analyzes two manufacturing firms entering condition based maintenance business reveals the complex nature of establishing integrated solutions. Existing literature on integrated solutions is contrasted critically against empirical findings. Design/methodology/approach -Descriptive, comparative case study focuses on solution offerings in two different companies. The data consist of 57 thematic interviews of both manufacturer and customer representatives and company documents. Findings -In integrated solutions, value is created incrementally through the customer-provider co-production process. Building integrated solutions business requires managing the interdependence of 134 the solution components -both within the provider company and the offering, and between the provider and the client -to enable this collaborative process. Research limitations/implications -The case studies were first conducted separately and later compared. However, despite some minor differences in case methodologies, no problems were encountered in the comparative analysis of the data sets. Originality/value -The paper departs from the canons of earlier literature as it proposes a revised definition for integrated solution offerings; it emphasizes balanced amalgamation of multiple perspectives instead of just replacing the old ones; it questions the view of solutions development as a straight-forward implementation process; and it switches perspective from the manufacturer to the business of the client as the main system.

Solutions offerings: a critical review and reconceptualisation

“…This integration aspect of a solution is also pinpointed by authors who do not explicitly include it in their terminology. Some who do define this type of offering merely as a combination or bundle, rather than the integration of products and services into the kind of seamless offering in which, as Brax and Jonsson (2009) put it, the sum provides more value than the individual parts. use the term total customer solutions to describe the kind of broader offerings that can solve most if not all of customer's needs.…”

Strategy, operations, and profitability: the role of resource orchestration

“…From a soft point of view, resources are focused on value for customers and concerns organizational resources from "sales and marketing, design, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, human resources, administration and customer support to understand where this value is created, retained and lost by operations within a firm and up and down the value chain" (Brennan et al, 2015(Brennan et al, , p.1265. Resources relevant to a manufacturing strategy are, therefore, quite broad because they fuel competitiveness, such as the ability to price new offerings based on risk/reward (Cova and Salle, 2008), integrate products into customer systems (Brax and Jonsson, 2009), and develop new processes (Paiola et al, 2013) among others (e.g., Raddats et al, 2017). Hard levers relate specifically to equipment and plant.…”

Industrial Informatics Design, Use and Innovation

“…Distant technicians monitor variances in the collected data to determine the need for product maintenance. With sensors embedded in objects it becomes possible to go beyond object identification and measure the status or condition of products (Braax & Jonsson, 2009;Hackenbroich, et al, 2006). Object location, temperature and acceleration are examples of parameters that can be measured.…”