Short answer
Invest in or develop integrated digital platforms that consolidate knowledge, data, and evaluation tools to support the simultaneous development of digitalized, sustainable, and servitized products.
- Field
- Modelling
- Source
- Sustainability (2020)
- Method
- Mixed-methods research, combining a systematic literature review with semi-structured interviews and a pre-study.
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Manufacturers need integrated digital platforms to effectively model, evaluate, and develop new products that address digitalization, sustainability, and servitization trends simultaneously. This modelling research insight is drawn from a 2020 study published in Sustainability. Using Mixed-methods research, combining a systematic literature review with semi-structured interviews and a pre-study., researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Invest in or develop integrated digital platforms that consolidate knowledge, data, and evaluation tools to support the simultaneous development of digitalized, sustainable, and servitized products.
Integrated Digital Platforms Enhance New Product Development for Sustainability and Servitization
Manufacturers need integrated digital platforms to effectively model, evaluate, and develop new products that address digitalization, sustainability, and servitization trends simultaneously.
Sustainability · 2020
Key Findings
- 01Digitalization, sustainability, and servitization are fundamentally changing product development conditions for manufacturers.
- 02A key challenge is empowering engineers to model, present, evaluate, and develop smart digitalized solutions within time constraints.
- 03Prioritizing resource-efficient and sustainable solutions is crucial.
- 04Four complementary support resources are suggested: knowledge management platform, data management platform, progression metrics, and evaluation tools.
- 05Integrated digital platforms can facilitate simultaneous access and processing of information for sustainable, digitalized, and servitized solutions.
Application
Design takeaway
Invest in or develop integrated digital platforms that consolidate knowledge, data, and evaluation tools to support the simultaneous development of digitalized, sustainable, and servitized products.
How to apply
When designing new products, consider how a digital platform can be used to manage and integrate information related to digital features, environmental impact, and potential service models throughout the development lifecycle.
Project actions
- 01When researching a product, consider how digitalization, sustainability, and service aspects can be modelled together.
- 02Explore how digital tools can help you manage and evaluate different design options based on these multiple criteria.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Addresses the combined impact of multiple significant trends.
- +Offers practical, actionable recommendations for support resources.
- +Combines literature review with empirical data from industry professionals.
Limitations
The proposed solutions are conceptual; their practical implementation and effectiveness would require further development and testing. The study's focus on specific trends might overlook other critical factors in product development.
Reliability & validity
The use of semi-structured interviews and a systematic literature review contributes to the study's validity by triangulating findings from different sources. Reliability could be enhanced by further empirical testing of the proposed support resources.
Think critically
How can the proposed integrated digital platforms be designed to be flexible enough to adapt to future, as-yet-unknown, technological or societal trends?
Design Principles
"Integrated digital environments facilitate holistic product development by enabling concurrent consideration of diverse design drivers."
The increasing complexity of product development, driven by digitalization, sustainability, and servitization, demands new approaches. Integrated digital platforms can provide the necessary tools and data management to empower design teams to navigate these challenges, leading to more innovative and responsible product offerings.
What This Means for Your Design
To make new products that are smart, eco-friendly, and can be serviced, companies need better computer systems that bring all the information together in one place.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use the findings to justify the need for specific digital tools or modelling approaches in your design project.
- 2.Reference the suggested support resources (knowledge management, data management, metrics, evaluation tools) as potential areas for development or improvement in your design process.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This research underscores the necessity of integrated digital platforms for modern product development, particularly when addressing the concurrent demands of digitalization, sustainability, and servitization. The authors propose that such platforms, by consolidating knowledge management, data management, progression metrics, and evaluation tools, can empower design teams to effectively model and develop complex solutions, thereby enhancing the efficiency and impact of new product development efforts.
Source
Sustainability
The Need for New Product Development Capabilities from Digitalization, Sustainability, and Servitization Trends
journal · 2020
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about integrated digital platforms enhance new product development for sustainability and servitization?
- Invest in or develop integrated digital platforms that consolidate knowledge, data, and evaluation tools to support the simultaneous development of digitalized, sustainable, and servitized products. Evidence: Sustainability (2020).
- Why does "Integrated Digital Platforms Enhance New Product Development for Sustainability and Servitization" matter for design?
- The increasing complexity of product development, driven by digitalization, sustainability, and servitization, demands new approaches. Integrated digital platforms can provide the necessary tools and data management to empower design teams to navigate these challenges, leading to more innovative and responsible product offerings.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Invest in or develop integrated digital platforms that consolidate knowledge, data, and evaluation tools to support the simultaneous development of digitalized, sustainable, and servitized products.
- What were the main findings?
- Digitalization, sustainability, and servitization are fundamentally changing product development conditions for manufacturers.. A key challenge is empowering engineers to model, present, evaluate, and develop smart digitalized solutions within time constraints.. Prioritizing resource-efficient and sustainable solutions is crucial.. Four complementary support resources are suggested: knowledge management platform, data management platform, progression metrics, and evaluation tools.
- What research method was used?
- Mixed-methods research, combining a systematic literature review with semi-structured interviews and a pre-study..
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2020 journal from Sustainability.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing new products, consider how a digital platform can be used to manage and integrate information related to digital features, environmental impact, and potential service models throughout the development lifecycle.
- What are the limitations?
- The study focused on Swedish manufacturing companies, which may limit the generalizability of findings to other geographical or industrial contexts. The specific implementation details and effectiveness of the proposed support resources were not empirically tested in this study.