Servitization in Industry

This book summarizes the “interim result” of the servitization activities in manufacturing industries. While the early literature on servitization tended to stress only its advantages, more recently, scholars have also started to refer to the challenges associated with servitization. This book attempts to give a balanced picture of servitization. The book is structured in four parts: Part I introduces the topic by presenting the most recent academic discussion about servitization and uses an empirical analysis to show the degree of servitization across Europe. The results of this analysis are then compared to the discussion in the literature. This comparison highlights the existing discrepancies between the rather euphoric literature and the more skeptical practical experience. The second and third parts attempt to explain these discrepancies by taking as a starting point the assumption that servitization recommendations have to consider the heterogeneity of the manufacturing sector and the capabilities of the provider. Part II presents articles which analyze the specific characteristics of different sectors with their barriers and potentials and presents frameworks for a successful servitization of the core sectors in European manufacturing industries which include, e.g. aeronautics, automotive, ICT, chemical industries, pulp and paper industries and different engineering sectors. Part III focuses on companies’ capabilities which are necessary for successful servitization. These include strategic management, marketing, organization, innovation, engineering, human resources, controlling, quality and networks. All the contributions in parts II and III add up to a detailed picture of servitization for sectors and functions and indicate the practical implications for enterprises in manufacturing industries. The fourth part concludes the book with a chapter summarizing the findings and giving an outlook of servitization in manufacturing industries, its challenges and future developments.

Gunter Lay was born in 1951 and studied business administration at the University of Mannheim, focusing on the topics of “Organization” and “Personnel”. After obtaining his degree, he worked for two years as a scientific researcher with Professor Gaugler (University of Mannheim). In 1978, he started working at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, in Karlsruhe, where he developed the field of “Innovations in Production”. His main areas of research, are technical and organizational innovations in production; how these diffuse, their economic and social impacts, and the evaluation of technology policy measures to promote them. He obtained his PhD in 1992 from the University of Kassel with the thesis titled “Changes in Work Organization and Job Content when Applying CAD”.

Gunter Lay’s research results have been published in a large number of professional journals. He is an invited member on a number of expert panels and advisory boards on ac-count of his many years of experience. Parallel to his work at the Fraunhofer ISI, he was offered lecturing assignments at the Universities of Strasbourg, Hanover and Kassel as well as the Technical College Schmalkalden. In 1996 he was awarded a visiting professorship at the University of Grenoble.

For the last 10 years, his research at Fraunhofer ISI has focused on the servitization of manufacturing industries. He analyzes the chances, risks and challenges associated with the transition to servitized business concepts. His findings have been presented at national and international conferences and workshops and in a number of publications. In industrial projects he develops and implements solutions for managing the strategic and operational tasks of servitizing especially for small and medium sized manufacturers.