acatech STUDY shows how transformation into a Smart Service provider works
Munich, 31 May 2023
The acatech Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index has in recent years successfully helped companies transition to Industry 4.0. Its successor – the acatech Maturity Index Smart Services, which has been published recently – shows companies how to surmount the next transformation hurdle: becoming a Smart Service provider. The publication is intended mainly for small and medium enterprises.
Traditional manufacturers have been synonymous with “Made in Germany” for decades and are regarded as drivers of innovation and prosperity. For these companies, the inception of Industry 4.0 around a decade ago marked the start of a radical process of transformation that entered a new phase a number of years ago. A data-driven industry – i.e. industrial metaverse – makes it imperative that companies evolve into Smart Service providers.
There is huge potential in the combination of networked products, data-based services and customer-oriented value propositions. For example, the product “intelligent car”, the service “autonomous driving” and the value proposition “comfortable and safe travel” is currently transforming entire sectors.
In a new acatech STUDY, a project team led by Roman Dumitrescu, Frank Riemensperger and Günther Schuh shows how companies can can leverage on the potential of Smart Services by adjusting their business. “The challenge for manufacturing companies at the moment is coming up with successful business models for the world of Smart Services. The major players can do this by themselves but the innovation hub that is Germany also includes hidden champions: small and medium enterprises. The acatech Maturity Index Smart Services supports all kinds of companies in accomplishing the transformation with the aim of making them, and thus the German economy, Smart-Service-fit,” explained acatech Executive Board member Frank Riemensperger.
Regardless of what level they are at, our maturity model aims to help companies find out where they should position themselves in the Smart Service world to gain advantage. Next, it pinpoints ways of attaining that position, ultimately facilitating the servitisation of the company’s portfolio of offerings.
Frank Riemensperger, Member of the acatech Executive Board
According to the maturity model for the acatech Maturity Index Smart Services, there are six stages of company development:
- A Digital Starter typically already has a fundamental awareness of the need to make the Smart Service transformation, but for various reasons it has not yet managed to face the challenges of transitioning. Its products are not yet “smart” or part of the Internet of Things and they only have simple digital features. Product and service are seen in isolation.
- A Smart Product Manufacturer shows the beginnings of transformation and has started initiatives, but there are many sticking points in the process. For example, such companies’ smart products are usually able to record data but these are often just simple data concerning no more than the status of the product. Also, such companies do not yet use data for service in a standardised and systematic way.
- A Smart Service Explorer is already in a position to develop and trial Smart Service concepts. While not yet on the market, these are often developed and trialled on an exploratory basis involving pilot customers as part of research and development partnerships. For such companies, the challenge in particular lies in obtaining enough of the right data for their new services.
- Companies at maturity level “Smart Service Provider” have tried out Smart Services, identified them as a promising strand of business and brought their first products to market. Smart Service providers use Smart Services mainly to round off their portfolio. They have not yet made the full transformation from manufacturer to a primarily service-dominated organisation.
- As the Smart Service business becomes more professional and expands, the company goes from Smart Service provider to Smart Solution Integrator. Such companies’ smart products cover all the data relevant to customer value added; the companies have implemented retrofits and updates in the products. Their customers benefit from clearly defined packages of solutions and get exactly the services they need to achieve their individual goals.
- The maturity model refers to companies who define the entire market environment with their offerings as “Ecosystem Leaders”. These companies develop Smart Services for entire (digital) ecosystems together with customers, partners and, in some cases, even with competitors. This enables them to leverage potential benefits that they could not by themselves.
For each level, the study identifies constructive options for further development. To obtain a Quick Assessment of how far they have got in establishing a Smart Service business, companies can also use the acatech Maturity Hub Smart Services that accompanies the study.