Productization as a link to combining product portfolio management and product family development

In R&D many disciplines focus on different aspects of managing the product life cycle. Generally, the focus can be divided into technical aspects and business aspects. Combining these two views, and research areas can be beneficial in the context of productization. Productization links to the concept of product structure and relates to modelling of the offering according to a consistent product structure, commercially and technically. The goal of this research is to identify how a business-specific product structure can be formed and should be managed to maximize the value of the offering. This study uses a literature review for defining the current state of product portfolio management (PPM) and product family development (PFD) concepts with linkages to productization. As a result, this study presents similarities and differences between PPM and PFD through the productization lens. A suggestion of combining the best practices of both approaches is demonstrated through an illustrative case study. Also, proposals for future research are presented. The main contribution involves indicating that effective PPM requires a business-specific physical product structure and partitioning logic. The benefits of PPM can only be truly captured through applicable product structure. Therefore, PFD is recommended to be used in designing product portfolio related technical aspects. PPM is applied for management purposes with the support of a defined product structure.