From supply chains to service ecosystems

Servitization describes the digital transformation toward an increasing service orientation in manufacturing companies. Done well, pursuing a servitization strategy offers organizations substantial benefits in value creation. However, it also poses significant challenges, both internally with organizational architectures and externally with the existing supply chain configuration. Research and practice in supply chain management recognize the influence of servitization on the understanding and design of supply chains. This dissertation explores the transformation process of a product-centric organization into a data-driven servitized one. It examines both the necessary internal structural adaptations and external configurations in the organization’s environment to provide product-service systems (PSS). From an external perspective, especially, supply chain management is pivotal in fostering a new service ecosystem paradigm for servitization. The dissertation further elucidates capabilities, change management actions and arising challenges on the path to a servitized organization and thus contributes to the effective delivery of PSS.