A simplified approach towards customer and provider value in PSS for small and medium-sized enterprises

While the provision of PSS is becoming more and more common, the transition toward a servitized business model is still critical. This is particularly true for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to their limited internal resources and ability to define a servitization strategy. A crucial aspect during this transition is the identification of the right solutions to be implemented into the business, which must render high value capture for providers and create value for customers. While a literature review showed that a large number of evaluation methods are available, these are often complex and require substantial amounts of resources in order to be carried out. This paper aims at supporting companies in taking decisions during early design phases by proposing a method that combines two existing approaches: The EVA method and the ProVa method. The combined method simplifies the existing ones while aiming at an easy implementation and application in SMEs. It is composed of two steps, the first pursuing the identification of valuable concepts from both the customer and the provider perspective; the second pursuing an individual analysis of the components available for use in the concept selected. The application of the simplified method in a student-executed case of a startup company seeking to enter the distributed mobility market highlights the ease of use of the method in rendering valuable PSS concepts and in evaluating its specific components.