Application of Design Thinking Towards a PSS Concept Definition: A Case Study

摘要

Product-service systems (PSS) have been seen in literature as a new solution towards sustainable competitive advantage. Many companies have been migrating to this novel business model, which looks forward fulfilling the customers needs and desires. One approach that could be useful to support the generation of ideas and concepts for those offers is design thinking (DT), a human-centered design approach that has been used to stimulate innovation on several business processes, including the development process. Although some authors in literature have shown what the results of using this approach to generate concepts and ideas may be, there is sparse investigation on the application of DT regarding the generation of a PSS offer. This work aims to identify some particularities and insights about the DT application in the generation of new concepts as part of a methodology for transforming a product-oriented company into a PSS provider. The DT process was performed through workshops in a participatory case study in a mid-size Brazilian dental and hospital equipment manufacturer. The DT approach was in synergy with a method to define new business models. The main findings were: the synergic application of both methods that allowed the creation of a human-centered business model; the improvement of the existing product architecture and features to support the value proposition; and a roadmap of the future developments for PSS implementation. This work presents insights to manufacturing companies that intend to add value to their traditional offerings.