Smart Services
Creating Customer Value
GET SMART TO WIN
Digital isn’t just disrupting how products are made. It’s also changing how they are consumed and managed, from ideation to end of life: in short, the entire value chain.
Though critical to building internal efficiencies, Industry 4.0—smart connected products built on digitized factories and platforms—is too limited to unlock the full scope of opportunities created by this remarkable transformation.
What’s needed is a more comprehensive view of value creation: one that leverages the power of smart services as the backbone of the end-to-end digital value chain described by Industry X.0. Industry X.0 encompasses a universe of “living” products and services: software-intelligent and closely aligned with their users and ecosystems. At its heart are the smart, interconnected devices and appliances that constitute Industry 4.0.
The Prize For Taking Such A Comprehensive View:
significantly more satisfied customers and significantly higher revenues and operating margins for the business.
VALUE CREATION
IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
Over the next decade, as Industry 4.0 evolves into Industry X.0, automotive and industrial equipment organizations need to raise their value creation game.
In addition to driving operational efficiencies, they must seek to respond to the seismic shift in customer expectations we call “industrial consumerism” and create new, and differentiated customer experiences. Smart services, built on an orchestrated ecosystem of data-transmitting devices and a common platform, are key enablers of the new business models that deliver such experiences and drive revenue growth. Leading innovators, moreover, are already leveraging their power.
EXTENDING THE
DIGITAL VALUE CHAIN
Smart services challenge organizations to completely re-think their product development processes, which now hinge on successfully digesting a mass of new data sources. Few players boast the in-house capabilities to capture all this new value alone: hence the need for multi-dimensional ecosystems of partners that transform traditional value chains into more open, transparent, and comprehensive networks.
ENABLING A NEW
END STATE
The industrial value chains of the future will be end-to-end ecosystems, from product design through to ongoing use by the end consumer.
This end state won’t be accomplished overnight, but there are concrete steps that organizations can take now to start driving sustained, superior returns for both customers and the business.
UNDERSTAND THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE
by scanning existing uses of smart technologies, including by other industries and start-ups.
SEARCH THEIR EXISTING PRODUCT BASE
for opportunities to add smart services and embed them into next generation roadmaps.
PINPOINT UNMET CUSTOMER NEEDS
an input to generate smart services ideas.
EXPERIMENT REPEATEDLY
with the most promising ideas and use the learnings to continuously while ensuring it aligns top-down with the broader Industry X.0 organizational vision.
CONSIDER UTILIZING AN INCUBATOR
staffed with cross-functional expertise and free from the legacy business model, for experimentation and pilots.
CONTINUE EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW IDEAS
and refining strategy based on incorporating pilot learnings, leveraging ongoing technology trends and capitalizing on newly created business infrastructures.
SCALE THE PILOTS THAT ARE MOST SUCCESSFUL
and build the operating model foundations for growth.
UNDERSTAND THE CYBER SECURITY IMPLICATIONS
of creating an ecosystem. This is the top concern for industrial organizations regarding ecosystems.
SEARCH FOR CLUSTERS OF ECOSYSTEM PARTNERS
who could help you get to market fast with best-of-breed ideas.
IDENTIFY OPERATING MODEL GAPS
that would hinder executing the strategy, with a focus on partnering, solutions management, analytics and product development.
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
One
Smart services go beyond the operational efficiencies of Industry 4.0 to create the new customer and service experiences and respective business models that generate new revenue streams.
Two
Value is being created in new places and organizations must pivot to the new or risk being displaced by new entrants. Accenture research shows that leaders are more focused on the necessary digital transformation and are already delivering significantly higher growth and margin.
Three
Organizations must build the ecosystem partnering, analytics, software and product development capabilities to enable the future operating model.
CONTACTS
AUTHORS
ACCENTURE RESEARCH
