23. October 2019
Successful Digital Business through Smart Service Engineering
Industry 4.0 has long ceased to be only a dream of the future, yet far fewer companies in mechanical and plant engineering have been working successfully with digital business models to date than one would expect: It seems that the willingness to take risks in the manufacturing industry is low. But what is stopping companies and what steps are necessary to develop profitable digital business models? Our latest whitepaper “Digital business models in the manufacturing industry” provides answers and shows how you can drive your digital business forward!
Develop digital business models: Slow but steady is the way to success!
Today, the majority of machine and plant manufacturers in Germany have neither their own venture capital department nor a digital subsidiary. In order to remove the hurdles of digital business model development, our new whitepaper illustrates how the technological possibilities of Industrie 4.0 can be translated into sustainable competitive advantages. The perspectives for the digitalization strategy in mechanical and plant engineering and the special effects of digital business models are presented as well. The credo for success, as explained in this paper, is: Step by step – companies must accept that they have to learn more and more about digital business models in the long term, the road towards a successful digital business is not a fast and easy one. This also means that a digital portfolio that complements existing business areas must be built before a separate digital business unit can emerge from this. This parallel development requires not only a rethinking in the area of organization, but also regarding investment calculations and cooperation measures. Financial willingness to take risks, patience and the willingness to engage in strategic partnerships are essential success factors as well.
Assessing digital business models correctly
The successful development of a digital business must not stop at lengthy analyses in the very beginning – instead, rapid prototype realization and recurring optimization cycles play an important role for the success of digital business models. With the help of “Smart Service Engineering”, the unique development approach of the Center Smart Services, companies are guided to develop digital solutions and successfully place them onto the market. The process model consists of several partial elements and associated standardized methods. They are used to develop smart services that not only deliver benefits and monetary success, but also serve as the foundation for innovative digital business models.
Would you like to find out more about the Smart Service Engineering Cycle and how you can build and expand your digital business? The whitepaper is available for download free of charge! Marcel Faulhaber will be happy to answer any questions you may have about setting up your digital business or using the Smart Service Engineering Cycle.