The challenge

Abstract

Industries involved in manufacturing and providing services for high-value, long-life products must address challenges related to upgrading their products once they are in operation. The aim of this chapter is to present some of those challenges, which have been addressed in the Use-it-Wisely (UIW) project using the tools and methods presented in this book. To outline these different challenges and how they are interrelated, an imaginary company is assumed, a European manufacturer producing high-investment equipment for customers worldwide. Their products are complex machinery with a long life cycle, and thus, an important part of the business is focused not only on manufacturing but also on inspection, maintenance, refurbishing, upgrading, and retirement. This chapter presents a brief description of its activities and business areas to highlight the main challenges that this company has to address in the current context of globalization, rapid change and high restrictions, together with other companies and stakeholders that define a value network. Finally, the chapter outlines how these challenges have been organized to discover key elements for addressing them. This organization is a result of the UIW-project.