The ongoing transition challenges the way we work since ownership and responsibility for the product we use changes. Increasingly, manufacturers become service providers rather than product providers.
So far – the focus on this transition has been on the service dimension itself – and comparatively little has been suggested on how the products themselves are affected when integrating the service and product dimensions.
A framework is suggested where the life cycle of a Product/Service System is presented. The framework is represented by five life cycle phases where three actor categories views are represented. The framework is described using examples from different industries/businesses.
The intention is that the framework can be used for both B2C and B2B type of relations. One core characteristic is that the “traditional” sales phase is replaced by a sales occasion that occur within different life cycle phases depending on which business context/model is used.