A designerly approach to enable organizations to deliver product-service systems

Design is not only just for products, logo’s or websites anymore. More and more companies are embracing design as a way to enable their organization to adapt to changes in society. One of the challenges many organizations face at the moment is how to create value for their customers by delivering experiences. One of the ways to do this is to develop services to complement the service offering. These so-called product-service systems need to be designed just like products, logo’s and websites. Their development requires a designerly approach in order to make them valuable for the company and the customer. But how can this designerly approach actually enable organizations to become better at delivering Product-Service Systems? And what is the role of design consultants in embedding this designerly approach in organizations? Does the application of Design Thinking play a role in this? And can they support organizations to adopt Design Thinking? Design consultants are able to compare the practice of different companies and are on the cutting edge of the field. This article is built upon a series of interviews with different consultants, to arrive at suggestions for professionals that wish to shift from a traditional product-centered approach towards delivering Product-Service Systems