Product-Service System; from Basic Concepts to Design Process

Service design has been introduced to the field of industrial design for decades and the design of product service systems has been studied and emphasized since the 1990s, due to the importance and benefits of combining products and services in response to the needs and values of users, as well as improving the economic position of companies; since then, numerous studies have been conducted to clarify the relevant concepts and provide the PSS design process. Accordingly, the number of projects and dissertations related to service design and design of product service systems, has been increased in university education; but unfortunately, due to the insufficient information of students about the basics of this field and the appropriate and usable processes, there are many problems in the process and the results of such researches. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide basic and practical concepts about the product service system and also to introduce one of the best PSS design processes.To achieve the goals of this research, questions can be asked and examined: What is a product service system? What does service mean and what are its characteristics according to both traditional and developed approaches? What components does the product service system consist of? What are the benefits and challenges of PSS? What are the types of product service system? In the PSS design process, how the two service-design and product-design processes can be integrated? What are the most important processes presented in the field of PSS design and which process has more clarity, accuracy and comprehensiveness and what is its main structure?Recently, companies produced their products and offered them to customers, and in this way, the strategy of companies' success in the field of economy, were identifying customer needs, also designing and producing products which had multiple capabilities, economic value and competitive quality, to meet customer needs. Today, with the economic crisis, increasing competition between manufacturing companies, increasing environmental problems and concerns, and diverse customer demands, "selling products only" is more difficult than ever Therefore, the design, production and supply of industrial products alone are not responsible and companies and organizations must use more successful strategies to attract and retain customers. Providing services with products can be considered as a strategy that improves competition and achieves social, environmental and economic goals, as well as attracting and retaining customers  In other words, given the increasing competition between manufacturing companies and concerns about their stability in the market environment, it is necessary for companies to move away from the traditional approach with a focus on creating value by the product, and choose an approach that focuses on the customer and his values; An approach that provides services alongside products, can provide more innovation and added value and enable longer communication with customers. Accordingly, we see that the importance of designing and providing services along with products is increasing day by day and continuously. Another challenge for the companies is to integrate and interact these two components instead of paying separate attention to products and services so that they can reap the benefits of this integration. Baines et al. (2007) combined the ideas of Manzini and Vezolli (2003) and Tukker (2004) to describe three kinds of PSS. It should be noted that this category is clearly presented for the first time in Tukker article and has been used in numerous studies: Product-oriented PSS: The provider not only sells a product, but also offers services that are needed during the use phase of the product. Services such as maintenance, recycling, refilling, etc. can be classified in this type.Product-oriented PSS types:Product related services: such as maintenance of escalators or elevators or product warranty or supply of consumables.Providing information, training and consulting: such as consulting about the arrangement of a factory's machines or training on working with a CNC machine.Use-oriented PSS: The Company sells the ability to use or make available a product that does not belong to the customer. Leasing or product sharing are examples of this.Use-oriented PSS types:Product lease (personal and exclusive access): such as renting a food or newspaper stall.Product renting / sharing (temporary personal access): such as renting a bicycle or car for a short and specific period of time (shift use and in order).Product pooling (simultaneous use of a product): such as play equipment and sports in parks, simultaneous use of a recreational or sports environment.Result-oriented PSS: The Company sells the result of the use or capacity of a product that does not belong to the customer. For example, a company instead of selling the paint to the customer, can sell the result which is, painting a house.Result-oriented PSS types:Activity management (often, the method and technology of the activity is determined): such as outsourcing food preparation, cleaning and car washing.Pay per service unit (according to the level of access, use and amount of output): such as payment per copy of the page or payment of car fare per kilometer.Functional result (In contrast to the first case, only the result is emphasized, not the technology and the way it is done): such as providing a company's air conditioning, a contract to guarantee the health of farmers' products.It should be noted that in the field of PSS, new trends (such as digital PSS / service or smart PSS) have been proposed and are being developed that addressing their characteristics and applications is beyond the scope of this article. As mentioned, another important issue is the integration of products and services in product-service systems. Integrating products and services and supporting it requires a system consisting of components of product, service, business model, stakeholders and organizational structure, which is called the product service system, and the correct and accurate design of this system is the concern of methodological experts. In academia, Ulrich (2011) has suggested that either a product or a service can be considered as an "artifact" which is designed by a human being with the same process. Aurich et al. (2006), for product and service design, first considered two systematic processes which similarity and coherence between them can be seen. Then, from the combination and integration of the two mentioned processes, they have proposed the integrated design process of PSS, which is the general process of designing product service systems. Sakao (2011), for designing a product service system, has proposed a process called "SPIPS" which has 7 steps. Marques et al. (2013) also proposed an integrated process of designing product service system that includes four phases: organizational preparation, planning, design and post-design. In their research, Tuan and Park, while methodologically examining and analyzing some PSS design methods, have proposed a general and integrated PSS design method, along with examples illustrating its application in the three types of product service systems introduced. The steps are clear and understandable and have more clarity, accuracy and comprehensiveness than other processes presented. This process consists of 7 steps (includes: PSS idea development, PSS planning, requirement analysis, design and integration, test and refinement, implementation, retirement and recycling) and the design actions, communication with the business model as well as the role and participation of all stakeholders in it are clearly defined, and the application of this process in the design of product oriented, use oriented and result oriented PSS is presented with practical examples. Therefore, it can be used more clearly as a product service system design process, along with practical tools by students and designers.