Understanding the Business Value of Intelligent Products for Product Development in Manufacturing Industries

Intelligent products are transforming manufacturing industries and offer new opportunities for business innovation. As little is known about the business value of intelligent products for product development, this exploratory paper aims to provide guidance. Empirical data from case studies and focus groups and a structured literature review suggest that a positive impact on every product development stage exists. More specifically, findings propose that intelligent products enable (1) transparency generation on market opportunities, (2) specification of requirements, (3) customer- and user-centric product portfolio planning, (4) design and process planning for usage, (5) shortening and replacing of physical prototyping and field testing, and (6) superordinate benefits. With the inherent limitations of a case study approach, we supply scholars and practitioners with first exploratory insights into this emerging research field.