PROTEUS (PROduct/service-system Tools for Ensuring User-oriented Service) is a recently completed innovation consortium, with a deep focus on developing new knowledge about how after-sales service can be effectively integrated into product- and business development, so as to become a source of revenue, rather than a cost to the providing company.
The innovation consortium ran from January 2010-December 2013 and was co-funded by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI), the Danish Maritime Foundation and DTU. The purpose of the project was to simultaneously create research insights and innovation results over a prolonged (4 year) collaborative project, consisting of representatives from Danish research institutions, a technical service partner (consultancy), international university partners and ten maritime companies. The ten participating companies in the project were interested in understanding, through examples, how to effectively and systematically integrate service development into their product development and business creation processes.
The unique quality of PROTEUS is that it has seized a unique opportunity to substantially increase both industry- and research-related knowledge of how to create technical solutions and new ways of doing business, that integrate products and services as parts of integrated offerings to the market. PROTEUS is the first PSS research project to focus on an entire industry branch.