Alice Rondini

Hybrid simulation modelling as a supporting tool for sustainable product service systems: a critical analysis

Manufacturing companies are increasingly shifting their value proposition from a product-centric perspective to Product-Service-System (PSS). This evolution allows companies to improve the customisation of their offer and to contribute to reduce material flows and consumption, thus enhancing sustainability. However, when companies introduce PSS offers, they have to face higher complexity and dynamism, as customer behaviours, process requirements and sustainability assessment must be considered during the design and the development of the new solutions. In this paper, after the identification of the main PSS dynamic features, the authors argue that business process simulation (BPS) could represent an effective tool to cope with the dynamics and the complexity entailed in a sustainable PSS. This paper analyses and compares existing BPS approaches identifying the hybrid simulation (HS) modelling as a promising approach. In fact, according to the critical PSS features, HS allows grasping PSS features and integrating customer, company and environmental sustainability perspectives into the model, thus, supporting effective PSS design and assessment. These findings have been validated in a test case where a hybrid model (integrating Discrete Event Simulation with Agent-Based Modelling) has been compared against a pure DES model. The results highlight the advantages of the hybrid modelling approach with respect to DES in supporting the engineering of a sustainable, customer-oriented PSS provision process.

Service engineering framework: The adoption of simulation to design and configure Product-Service solutions

In the last years, a number of companies have undertaken a shift to a service paradigm. Apart from the benefits obtained by the so called “servitization”, many companies have also suffered the lack of methodological and systematic tools to deal with the enlargement of their Product-Service Systems (PSS) offering. The few tools nowadays available in the Service Engineering (SE) context have a reduced industrial applicability, and are mainly focused on the satisfaction of customer needs. Starting from this limitation, Pezzotta et al. (2014) defined the SErvice Engineering Methodology (SEEM) that aims at supporting companies during the engineering of a new PSS balancing the value perceived by the customer and the company sustainability. In particular, this paper aims at investigating and defining how it is possible to properly adopt Discrete Event Simulation (DES) in SEEM for the purpose of assessing the performance of a new or revised PSS offering. Two possibilities have been identified and compared through an industrial case study, and a comparison to select the best one has been conducted. The identified paradigm has been then used in a real context with the aim to better understand the main industrial implications.

Standardizing delivery processes to support service transformation: A case of a multinational manufacturing firm

Abstract While enlarging their value proposition adding services to their product portfolio, an increasing number of manufacturing companies is suffering a lack of methods to engineer and manage the service offer effectively and efficiently. In particular, multinational companies are struggling with the complexity of organizing the service delivery process of a composite portfolio throughout their branches spread in different geographical locations and characterized by different maturity levels. This paper specifically focuses on this dilemma proposing an approach for service delivery process standardization as a mean to make the service activities uniform and similar in different units. The intent is not to create organizations all working in the same way but instead to re-use best practices and share business optimization. To achieve the research objective, a structured approach that guides the identification of a standard process and a service based reference model internal to the company are proposed. They would pursue the identification of a common taxonomy inside the company and the contextualization of the standard process into the company structure. Through a step-by-step procedure to apply the technique, an industrial application was carried out showing the practical and managerial implication coming from the adoption of the standardization approach inside the company. The outcome of the case constitutes a first step toward the development of a standard reference model for service delivery process to be adopted in multiple industries and contexts.

Business Process Simulation for the Design of Sustainable Product Service Systems (PSS)

Nowadays, a lot of manufacturing companies are shifting their value proposition from a product-centric perspective to sustainable Product-Service-Systems (PSS). This transition allows companies to improve the customization of their offer and to contribute to the reduction of material flow and consumption; nonetheless, it poses some new challenges in terms of mindset and organization. In particular, the analysis of the literature about PSS shows that there is still a gap concerning the evaluation and the monitoring of new or reengineered PSS provision processes using business process simulation. Few examples of simulation in PSS field can be found, and multidimensional models considering customer perspective and environmental sustainability beyond the economic driver are not yet available. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to compare different simulation paradigms and to define the most suitable to support the engineering phase of a sustainable, customer-oriented PSS. Two possible alternatives were identified and discussed through a test-case.

Service transformation in industrial companies

The recent transformation of industry in the digital era, characterised by saturated and commoditised global environments, where companies strive for attracting and retaining customers, has pushed ...