Hur svenska tillverkningsföretag måste ompröva innovation vid introducering av digitaliserade produkter

Sammanfattning: This master thesis has been performed for Deloitte AB in their pursuit of increasing their knowledge about how digitalization of end products is affecting the Swedish manufacturing industry. The general issue of this thesis is to understand how the business environment of the Swedish manufacturing companies is affected by the introduction of digitalized products and how they are changing in order to be successful in the upcoming digital era. Once these changes are understood, this thesis seeks to analyse how they are affecting the organization and management of innovation. Additionally, this thesis aims to explain the business opportunities that emerge with the rise of the digital user-centered innovation practices that are enabled by digitalized end products. This thesis combined interview data with survey data from people within managerial positions at several Swedish manufacturing companies. It was identified that a stronger focus in innovation around digitalization of end products is needed and that companies will have to rethink the organization of innovation in a cross functional, integrated, and agile way. As digitalization is triggering innovation, more resources to innovate around digitalized end products should be allocated. Digitalization should hence be included in the normal business strategy of the companies. Many different business opportunities that emerge from the data that is enabled by the digital user-centered practices were identified. Data collected from this new way for companies to interact with their end-users will be available at any time and everywhere throughout the whole industrial value-chain. In order for this data to be of use, companies have to transform it into business outcomes by analysing it. Traditional manufacturing companies are just at the earliest stage of analysing the gathered data and they believe that the business opportunities from it only show the tip of the iceberg.