Modular Product Service Strategy Of The Manufacturer In The Context Of Manufacturing Servitization

Product modularization changes the way of product organization and production,making manufacturers re-examine the service capabilities and service resources of supply chain members in the context of manufacturing servitization.Based on the long-term cooperative relationship,the upstream module supplier will act as the service provider.From the perspective of the consumer market,consumers are shifting from buying products to leasing products.The consumers care little about the product ownership,which means they shift their consumption behavior from product quality to service quality.From the perspective of the firms,they should reintegrate the service resource in order to meet consumers’ needs.The manufacturer delegates its upstream module supplier to provide services,or establishes its own platform to provide services actively.In addition,the manufacturer focuses on integration not only in a single supply chain but also in cross-supply chains,yielding there are complex internal and external conditions.What are the motivations and operation mechanisms contained in the modular product service provision? Therefore,module-based service provision is of great significance and innovation in theory and practice,which is helpful for the guide of manufacturing servitization.The issue of module-based service provision is explored,relying on supply chain management theory,value chain theory,resource dependence theory,game theory and optimization theory methods.The main research content is divided into the following four parts.(1)Module product service provision strategy of the manufacturer when product quality is considered.When the consumers purchase products,they focus on not only product quality but also service quality so that the manufacturer should pay more attention to the service provision.Multistage game models are established to compare the two service modes,the manufacturer providing services itself and delegating the module supplier to provide services.It indicates that the products with high-quality are more suitable to be the connection between firms and consumers to deliver service value.In addition,the choice of the two service modes depends on both the module supplier’s service capacity and the manufacturer’s service capacity.(2)Module product service strategy under different service investment manners.Different service investment manners enable manufacturers to have different control capabilities of cost and service level.Consider a supply chain composed of two competing module suppliers and a comanufacturer.The manufacturer delegates product services to two competing module suppliers by paying different forms of service commission fees.It shows that no matter whether the service commission fee is fixed or variable with the service level,there is always an appropriate pair of service commission fees to maximize the profit of the manufacturer.However,there are differences in cost and revenue incentives.Service commission fee,service cost coefficient,consumer service sensitivity and market types all will greatly affect service levels,product prices and profitability.(3)Module product service strategy of the manufacturer’s platform considering the module configuration rate.In the product leasing service scenario,consumers concern more about service accessibility which depends on the number of modules.Multi-stage game models are established respectively for three different asset structures.It indicates that the enlarged market demand is always helpful for high-quality-high-price product service provisions.When the module configuration ratio is at a medium level,supply chain members are more incentive to jointly prefer the heavy-asset operation mode of the manufacturer while when the manufacturer operates with light assets and the module configuration ratio is low,the supplier has more incentive to provide services.(4)Equilibrium structures of two supply chains with module product service.The manufacturer establishes its own platform channel and provides services with heavy assets and wholesale price contract,or let the module supplier provide services on the platform with light assets and commission models.Therefore,there are three different supply chain competition structures,in which the service level,product and service package pricing decisions under each competition structure will be discussed.It indicates that when the service commission rate is exogenous,there is an internal pricing adjustment mechanism for supply chain members,yielding more internal integration and flexibility.The relationship between the manufacturer and the module supplier has changed,from a traditional cooperative relationship to a more complex co-opetition relationship.