Analysing network uncertainty for industrial product-service delivery: A hybrid fuzzy approach

More and more manufacturers are transitioning from product-focused operations towards global service-oriented operations through approaches such as an industrial product-service system (IPS2). These systems deliver a blend of goods, equipment and services for improved value/revenue streams and there is a need to leverage the knowledge of domain experts in evaluating the uncertainties of IPS2 adoption. Along these lines, this article proposes a hybrid fuzzy methodology that leverages the knowledge of domain experts for evaluating the uncertainty of service networks that deliver an IPS2. The proposed methodology conceptualises a framework of network uncertainty metrics and applies a set of fuzzy-based techniques (fuzzy Delphi, fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (fuzzy AHP) and fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (fuzzy TOPSIS)) to evaluate levels of fuzziness for transitions from traditional product-focused operations towards service-oriented operations. The applicability of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through a case study of a stainless steel manufacturer and the limitations and generalisation potentials of the research are used to highlight future research challenges for service-oriented uncertainty evaluation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.