The Successful Commercialization of a Digital Twin in an Industrial Product Service System

Abstract

This paper describes the design, development and commercialization of a digital twin in an industrial product service system (industrial PSS). The twin was one of a number developed as part of a Smart Twin project in Switzerland with multiple industrial partners. The case here follows a commercialization process for digital twin-enabled services and will highlight some of the critical success factors. The service provided with the support of the digital twin was based on the reliable and predictable operation of a server room. Equipment in the room comes from several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and a system integrator manages the system. The approach is to apply action research as the methodology on a single case and then to identify and assess the aspects where Service Dominant (S-D) logic supported or hindered the development of the new digital technology-based service that was being co-created between the supplier and the customer. The analysis of the case confirmed that S-D logic supported the development of Smart Service offerings and showed that value co-creation can be developed.