MEPSS aims to provide industry with a toolkit that enables them to analyse newly developed product-services. The Product Service Systems Methodology project MEPSS will provide methodologies to a cluster of industrial projects under GROWTH TRA 1.5.

The project outcome will offer companies the tools to successfully implement new product-services that will be in line with their business goals, offer optimal quality for their individual customers and minimise negative impacts on the environment, thus resulting in sustainable growth.

The toolkit will be developed by researchers in the field of Product Service Systems (PSS) methodology, in close co-operation with industry participants who will provide up-to-date input of business cases and participate in testing and refinement of the developed methodologies and tools. MEPSS Consortium partners include: CIRIS Polit. di Milan, Pré, INSEAD, Ecobilan, PwC, GrAT, Econcept, Dalt, UNILEVER, Motorola GmbH and many others.

The presentation will focus on the results in the tool selection and development tasks of the project. This report will include a global PSS methodology review and a description of the methods and tools selected in MEPSS for further development. Most important a well focused report on the development work in the first months of the MEPSS project will be included.

Main objective of the project is to develop a solid scientific framework for development and introduction PSS, and the determination of their economic and environmental impact both at micro level (individual industry or client), meso level (product-chain) and macro level (country or EU).

The project provides:

• an integrated theory through the joint effort of the EU consortium of respected experts in different disciplines.
• a business model and tools for industry and policy that may serve as a methodological framework to further both future research as well as the implementation across European business sectors.

The presentation will include the selected project results in the following fields:

1. Consumer acceptance of PSS innovations;
2. Life Cycle Assessment / Life Cycle Costing of ecological and economic impacts of PSS innovations;
3. Assessment of macroeconomic and societal impacts of PSS’s
4. Cultural background and ethics related to functionalities of PSS
5. Consequences of PSS innovations on the design and R&D process

Technical achievements include: combining and upgrading state-of-the-art theories for the use in PSS, bridging the theoretical world of ‘products’ and ‘services’, development of new additional theory and building of PSS business modelling. We will reflect the progress in MEPSS making use of the following questions:

• What determines success/failure of PSS in terms of customer acceptance and cultural differences?
• How can we assess and evaluate the lifecycle and macro effects of PSS in terms of environmental, economic, and social sustainability?
• How can industry design and implement a PSS in a systematic and efficient way?

Back to Top | Back to 3S abstract programme

Last updated: 13 November, 2008