Title: An ontology-based approach to product extension services modelling in servitisation

Authors: Jin Shen, Liya Wang, Yiwen Sun

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, China. ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, China. ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, China

Abstract: Manufacturers are undergoing a transition from being product-focused to service-based. Product Extension Services (PESs) are essential ingredients in various servitisation strategies. As the business of PESs grows quickly, it is imperative to develop a formal conceptual model. Thereby, this paper investigates an ontology-based approach for representing information and semantic knowledge of intangible PESs. A general knowledge representation scheme, called PESO, is hierarchically developed. At the lower level, a meta-ontology is defined where agreed terms and vocabulary are explained explicitly. The concepts and relations in the ontology are elicited from empirical research. The process ontology in OWL-S is reused by using ontology import mechanism. A precise and formal representation based on OWL is also provided. The resulting PESO provides a common semantic foundation for meaningful representation and knowledge exchange across multi-disciplinary teams and heterogeneous systems. A specific PES called |Building Solution| is finally illustrated to demonstrate the potential of PESO.

Keywords: PESs; product extension services; servitisation; ontologies; ontology building; semantic modelling; OWL; knowledge representation; knowledge exchange; multidisciplinary teams.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOI.2010.037004

International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics, 2010 Vol.5 No.4, pp.373 - 399

Published online: 20 Nov 2010 *

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