The process of digitization is characterized by the increasing use of sensors and software. This makes it possible to connect people, products, and services, as well as entire production plants with their specific internal and external planning and production processes, via the Internet. The boundaries between the real and the virtual world become more and more blurred. In this process, data is generated and collected on a massive scale. After analysis and interpretation, this data forms the basis for smart services –data-based services that complement purely physical products and allow a high level of personalization according to specific customer needs and expectations.
With Industrie 4.0, Germany took the important step of driving digital transformation in the field of production with the concept of smart factories. However, digital transformation affects all domains, leading to the disruption of traditional, in part rigid structures of value creation and to interactions extending across companies or even industries. This creates opportunities for the development and implementation of innovative business models, based on platforms in digital ecosystems. Individualized smart services often become more important than offering a physical product. They can help save resources in production, realize new revenue and profit models, create jobs and thus safeguard Germany's competitiveness in the future as well.
In a total of four course weeks, acclaimed figures from the fields of business and science will guide you through the world of smart services, providing you with a theoretical and practical overview that extends across industries. After a general introduction to the topic, you’ll see the disruptive change processes at work within existing business models. At the same time, the potential of smart services to develop new business models will be highlighted. Following this, key technological enablers for implementing smart services will be explained. In the next step, the focus is on the necessary changes in management and business organization. Finally, you’ll get an overview of best practices from various industries or areas of application during week 4.
