Abstract
New business models offer companies powerful options for embracing the circular economy. But it would not be possible to scale many of these business models without the support of innovative technologies. Digital innovations in social, mobile, analytics, cloud, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication are especially effective in connecting physical and digital channels, and in connecting people with the internet of things. Just think of the Sharing Platform business model (e.g., car sharing or asset sharing in industry) and the Product Life-Extension model (e.g., maintenance, repair, and remarketing). These are not new concepts, but where traditionally information costs, manual labor requirements and collaboration hurdles created barriers to scale, technology is now razing them. Sharing consumer goods or manufacturing tools historically required customized solutions and lots of manual work to exchange information, schedule handovers, track the position and status of goods, and so on. Companies like Nexia and Innoverne are now automating these logistics with remote-control software in the case of Nexia and, for Innoverne, white-label software platforms that turn products into services and run multistore, multichannel, end-to-end eCommerce, and reverse logistics. Designing value chains to embed circular business models all the way through to the customer’s use and return is a major new frontier for digital. It can revolutionize service and flexibility, where the physical and digital worlds merge and products start to flow between users, markets, and lifecycles at very low transaction costs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Accenture, “Industrial Internet Insights Report for 2015,” 2014, http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Industrial-Internet-Changing-Competitive-Landscape-Industries.pdf.
GE Reports, “Analyze This: The Industrial Internet by the Numbers & Outcomes,” accessed October 7, 2013, http://www.gereports.com/post/74545267912/analyze-this-the-industrial-internet-by-the-numbers.
The Integer Group, The Checkout, Issue 5. 2013 “Mobile Edition,” http://shopperculture.integer.com/the-checkout-2013-archive.html.
Accenture, “A New Era for Retail: Cloud Computing Changes the Game,” 2013, http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-A-New-Era-For-Retail.pdf.
Christopher L. Weber, Jonathan G. Koomey, and H. Scott Matthews, “The Energy and Climate Change Impacts of Different Music Delivery Methods,” accessed August 17, 2009, http://download.intel.com/pressroom/pdf/cdsvsdownloads release.pdf.
Christopher L. Weber, Jonathan G. Koomey, and H. Scott Matthews “The Energy and Climate Change Implications of Different Music Delivery Methods,” accessed August 17, 2009, http://download.intel.com/pressroom/pdf/CDsvsdownloads release.pdf.
Weber et al., “The Energy and Climate Change Implications of Different Music Delivery Methods,” accessed August 17, 2009, http://download.intel.com/pressroom/pdf/CDsvsdownloadsrelease.pdf.
European Commission, “Digital Editions: Pathway to Greener Publications,” accessed June 9, 2009, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/about-eco-innovation/good-practices/united-kingdom/395_en.htm.
Copenhagen Connecting, “Copenhagen Connecting — An Unique and Innovative Opportunity to Shape the Future of Copenhagen,” accessed February 3, 2015, https://docs.google.com/a/melcher.com/spreadsheets/d/1M149zx2MQBYH8QwEgI8J7GzlelQtSupbjUEYsAsj3Rg/edit?usp=sharing.
International Institute for Sustainable Development, “Chaparral Steel Company,” accessed November 18, 2014, http://www.iisd.org/business/viewcasestudy.aspx?id=51.
Indigo Development, “Industrial Ecology: Case Profiles,” accessed July 2014, http://www.indigodev.com/Cases.html.
Slag Cement Association, “Material, Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings,” accessed July 2014, http://www.slagcement.org/Sustainability/Materials.html.
University of Bath, “Micro-Capsules and Bacteria to be Used in Self-Healing Concrete,” accessed May 30, 2013, http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2014/12/03/micro-capsules-and-bacteria-to-be-used-in-self-healing-concrete/.
3M News Release, “3M Introduces Asset and Inventory Tracking System,” March 11, 2010, 3m.com/tracking/docs/AITS_Press_Release.doc.
Stratasys, “Streamlining Manufacturing,” 2013 Case Study, http://www.stratasys.com/~/media/Case%20Studies/Commerical%20Products/SSYS-CS-Thogus-05-13.pdf.
Transport Intelligence, “The Implications of 3D Printing for the Global Logistics Industry,” 2012, http://www.transportintelligence.com/articles-papers/the-implications-of-3d-printing-for-the-global-logistics-industry/76.
Copyright information
© 2015 Peter Lacy and Jakob Rutqvist
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lacy, P., Rutqvist, J. (2015). Driving the Technology and Digital Edge in Circular Advantage: Ten Transformational Plays. In: Waste to Wealth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137530707_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137530707_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-58040-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53070-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)